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 .
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 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. 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 §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) 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 USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/forms/. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Instant Application
Patent No. 12,413,830
(Claim 1)
1. A computer-implemented method for selecting one or more insertion points in a media program including a plurality of markers having a second marker following a first marker and preceding a third marker, the method comprising: performing one or more first operations to automatically analyze a first interval within the media program that precedes the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the first marker; determining a first characteristic associated with the first interval; performing one or more second operations to automatically analyze a second interval within the media program that follows the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the third marker; determining a second characteristic associated with the second interval; computing a score for the second marker based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic; selecting, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program; and updating metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program.
(Claim 2)
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic is one of an audio characteristic or a video characteristic, and wherein the method further comprises: playing or streaming additional content at the first insertion point.
(Claim 3)
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic is one of an audio characteristic or a video characteristic, and wherein the method further comprises: inserting additional content in the media program at the first insertion point.
(Claim 4)
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determining one or more treatments associated with the second marker based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic, wherein the one or more treatments comprise at least one of a fade-in or a fade-out.
(Claim 5)
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising: applying the at least one of the fade-in or the fade-out around the second marker.
(Claim 6)
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: computing a score for the first marker; computing a score for the third marker; and generating a ranking for the plurality of markers based on the score for the first marker, the score for the second marker and the score for the third marker.
(Claim 7)
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic comprises at least one of an audio loudness level or a presence or absence of speech.
(Claim 8)
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic comprises a first audio spectrum characteristic for the first interval and a second audio spectrum characteristic for the second interval.
(Claim 9)
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first characteristic includes a video characteristic.
(Claim 10)
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the video characteristic comprises at least one of a luminance level, a measurement of dispersion in scenes, a spatial activity, a temporal activity, or a semantic characteristic.
(Claim 11)
11. A computer system for selecting one or more insertion points in a media program including a plurality of markers having a second marker following a first marker and preceding a third marker, the computer system comprising: a processor configured to: perform one or more first operations to automatically analyze a first interval within the media program that precedes the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the first marker; determine a first characteristic associated with the first interval; perform one or more second operations to automatically analyze a second interval within the media program that follows the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the third marker; determine a second characteristic associated with the second interval; compute a score for the second marker based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic; select, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program; and update metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program.
(Claim 12)
12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the first characteristic is one of an audio characteristic or a video characteristic, wherein the processor is further configured to: play or stream additional content at the first insertion point.
(Claim 13)
13. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the first characteristic is one of an audio characteristic or a video characteristic, wherein the processor is further configured to: insert additional content at the first insertion point.
(Claim 14)
14. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine one or more treatments associated with the second marker based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic, wherein the one or more treatments comprise at least one of a fade-in or a fade-out.
(Claim 15)
15. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to: apply the at least one of the fade-in or the fade-out around the second marker.
(Claim 16)
16. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to: compute a score for the first marker; compute a score for the third marker; and generate a ranking for the plurality of markers based on the score for the first marker, the score for the second marker and the score for the third marker.
(Claim 17)
17. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the first characteristic comprises at least one of an audio loudness level or a presence or absence of speech.
(Claim 18)
18. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the first characteristic comprises a first audio spectrum characteristic for the first interval and a second audio spectrum characteristic for the second interval.
(Claim 19)
19. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the first characteristic includes a video characteristic.
(Claim 20)
20. The computer system of claim 19, wherein the video characteristic comprises at least one of a luminance level, a measurement of dispersion in scenes, a spatial activity, a temporal activity, or a semantic characteristic.
(Claim 1)
1. A computer-implemented method for inserting additional content into a media program, the method comprising: determining a plurality of markers corresponding to a plurality of locations within the media program; for each marker included in the plurality of markers, performing one or more operations to automatically analyze a first set of intervals within the media program that lead up to the marker and a second set of intervals within the media program that immediately follow the marker and determine a set of characteristics associated with the first set of intervals and the second set of intervals; generating a plurality of scores for the plurality of markers based on the sets of characteristics; and inserting the additional content at one or more markers included in the plurality of markers based on the plurality of scores; wherein generating the plurality of scores comprises computing a score for a first marker included in the plurality of markers based on a first characteristic determined for a first interval within the media program that leads up to the first marker and a second characteristic determined for a second interval within the media program that immediately follows the first marker.
(Claim 1 above and Claims 7-8 bellow include the claimed limitations of Claim 2 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 1 above and Claims 7-8 bellow include the claimed limitations of Claim 3 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 2)
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining one or more marker treatments associated with the one or more markers based on the sets of characteristics determined for the one or more markers, wherein the one or more marker treatments comprise at least one of a fade-in or a fade-out.
(Claim 2 above includes the claimed limitations of Claim 5 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 3)
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the plurality of scores comprises computing an overall score for the first marker included in the plurality of markers based on a weighted combination of a subset of the plurality of scores determined based on the set of characteristics for the first marker.
(Claim 1 above and Claim 4 bellow include the claimed limitations of Claim 6 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 4)
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: generating a ranking for the plurality of markers based on the plurality of scores; and determining the one or more markers based on the ranking.
(Claim 5)
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first and second characteristics determined for the first marker included in the plurality of markers comprises at least one of an audio loudness level or a presence or absence of speech.
(Claim 6)
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first and second characteristics determined for the first marker included in the plurality of markers comprises a first set of audio spectrum characteristics determined for the first interval leading up to the first marker and a second set of audio spectrum characteristics determined for the second interval immediately following the first marker.
(Claim 8 bellow includes the claimed limitations of Claim 9 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 9 bellow includes the claimed limitations of Claim 10 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 7)
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of scores comprises one or more scores representing one or more similarities between the first set of audio spectrum characteristics and the second set of audio spectrum characteristics.
(Claim 8)
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the set of characteristics include a set of video characteristics, and wherein generating the plurality of scores for the plurality of markers is based on the set of video characteristics determined for one or more portions of the media program proximate to each marker included in the plurality of markers.
(Claim 9)
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the set of video characteristics comprises at least one of a luminance level, a measurement of dispersion in scenes, a spatial activity, a temporal activity, or a semantic characteristic.
(Claim 1 above includes the claimed limitations of Claim 11 of the Instant Application)
(Claims 1, 7 and 8 above include the claimed limitations of Claim 12 of the Instant Application)
(Claims 1, 7 and 8 above include the claimed limitations of Claim 13 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 2 above includes the claimed limitations of Claim 14 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 2 above includes the claimed limitations of Claim 15 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 1 above and Claim 4 bellow include the claimed limitations of Claim 16 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 5 above includes the claimed limitations of Claim 17 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 6 above includes the claimed limitations of Claim 18 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 8 above includes the claimed limitations of Claim 19 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 9 above includes the claimed limitations of Claim 20 of the Instant Application)
(Claim 10)
10. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform: determining a plurality of markers corresponding to a plurality of locations within a media program; for each marker included in the plurality of markers, performing one or more operations to automatically analyze a first set of intervals within the media program that lead up to the marker and a second set of intervals within the media program that immediately follow the marker and determine a set of characteristics associated with the first set of intervals and the second set of intervals; generating a plurality of scores for the plurality of markers based on the sets of characteristics; and inserting additional content at one or more markers included in the plurality of markers based on the plurality of scores; wherein generating the plurality of scores comprises computing a score for a first marker included in the plurality of markers based on a first characteristic determined for a first interval within the media program that leads up to the first marker and a second characteristic determined for a second interval within the media program that immediately follows the first marker.
(Claim 11)
11. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein generating the plurality of scores comprises: inputting the first and second characteristics for the first marker included in the plurality of markers into a machine learning model; and wherein computing the score for the first marker is an output of the machine learning model.
(Claim 12)
12. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein performing one or more operations to automatically analyze the first set of intervals and the second set of intervals comprises: determining a first set of audio spectrum characteristics for the first interval leading up to the first marker and a second set of audio spectrum characteristics for the second interval immediately following the first marker; and computing a set of pairwise similarities between the first set of spectrum characteristics and the second set of spectrum characteristics.
(Claim 13)
13. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the first set of audio spectrum characteristics and the second set of audio spectrum characteristics are determined based on a window size that is shorter than the first interval and the second interval.
(Claim 14)
14. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein generating the plurality of scores comprises an aggregation of the set of pairwise similarities.
(Claim 15)
15. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the first set of audio spectrum characteristics and the second set of audio spectrum characteristics comprise at least one of a mel-scale spectrogram, a mel-frequency ceptrum coefficient, or a tempogram.
(Claim 16)
16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the first and second characteristics determined for the first marker included in the plurality of markers comprises a first audio loudness level associated with the first interval leading up to the first marker, a second audio loudness level associated with the second interval immediately following the first marker, a first detection of speech within a third interval leading up to the first marker, and a second detection of speech within a fourth interval immediately following the first marker.
(Claim 17)
17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the first and second characteristics determined for the first marker included in the plurality of markers comprises an indication of semantic continuity across the first marker.
(Claim 18)
18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the set of characteristics include a set of video characteristics, and wherein the generating the plurality of scores for the plurality of markers is based on the set of video characteristics determined for one or more portions of the media program proximate to each marker included in the plurality of markers.
(Claim 19)
19. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform: determining a plurality of markers corresponding to a plurality of locations within a media program; for each marker included in the plurality of markers, performing one or more operations to automatically analyze a first set of intervals within the media program that lead up to the marker and a second set of intervals within the media program that immediately follow the marker and determine a set of characteristics associated with the first set of intervals and the second set of intervals; generating a plurality of scores for the plurality of markers based on the sets of characteristics; and inserting additional content at one or more markers included in the plurality of markers based on the plurality of scores; wherein generating the plurality of scores comprises: inputting the first and second characteristics for the first marker included in the plurality of markers into a machine learning model; and obtaining the scores as an output of the machine learning model.
(Claim 20)
20. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform: determining a plurality of markers corresponding to a plurality of locations within a media program; for each marker included in the plurality of markers, performing one or more operations to automatically analyze a first set of intervals within the media program that lead up to the marker and a second set of intervals within the media program that immediately follow the marker and determine a set of characteristics associated with the first set of intervals and the second set of intervals; generating a plurality of scores for the plurality of markers based on the sets of characteristics; and inserting additional content at one or more markers included in the plurality of markers based on the plurality of scores; wherein the first and second characteristics determined for a first marker included in the plurality of markers comprises a first audio loudness level associated with the first interval leading up to the first marker, a second audio loudness level associated with the second interval immediately following the first marker, a first detection of speech within a third interval leading up to the first marker, and a second detection of speech within a fourth interval immediately following the first marker.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-9 of Patent No. US 12,413,830, and further in view of SRIVASTAVA et al. Publication No. US 2019/0090020.
Re claim 1, claim 1 of the Patent No. 12,413,830, recites each and every limitation of claim 1 of the Instant Application except for the limitation of “selecting, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program; and updating metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program.”
However, the reference of SRIVASTAVA explicitly teaches “selecting, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program” (see ¶s 117, 118 for selecting, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program (i.e. the processor 204 may be configured to compute the audio score based on decibel sounds registered in the audio signals after noise cancellation, accordingly, the processor 204 may be further configured to compute the video score and the distribution score based on the generated emotional response from different audiences, such as the audience 112 as described in figs. 1-2 paragraph 112, furthermore, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions of the first timeline, for example, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed the first marker 106 at a first position 402, and the second marker 108 at a second position 404 as described in figs. 1-4 paragraph 116)); “and updating metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program” (see ¶s 49, 81 for updating metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program (i.e. after the pre-calibration stage, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed a set of markers in the media item 104 which may be played by the media device 110, the set of markers may be embedded based on the expected-emotions-tagging metadata stored for the media item 104 in a memory of the calibration system 102, the set of markers may be at least one of audio markers, video markers, or frame markers, the expected-emotions-tagging metadata may include an associative relationship between a set of time slots (or a set of scenes) and a set of specified emotional states that may be expected from the audience 112 at playback of the media item 104, the first marker 106 may be embedded at a first timestamp (or at the first timeslot 106A to 106B) at a first scene marked within the media item 104 as described in fig. 1 paragraph 48). Also, see figs. 2, 3, 12 paragraphs 114, 115, 162, 163)
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate this feature (insertion) taught by SRIVASTAVA into the method recited by claim 1 of Patent No. 12,413,830.
One skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the feature as taught by SRIVASTAVA above into the information processing recited in claim 1 of Patent No. 12,413,830 for the benefit of embedding a set of markers in the media item 104 which may be played by the media device 110, wherein the set of markers may be embedded based on the expected-emotions-tagging metadata stored for the media item 104 in a memory of the calibration system 102, wherein the set of markers may be at least one of audio markers, video markers, or frame markers, wherein the expected-emotions-tagging metadata may include an associative relationship between a set of time slots (or a set of scenes) and a set of specified emotional states that may be expected from the audience 112 at playback of the media item 104, wherein the first marker 106 may be embedded at a first timestamp (or at the first timeslot 106A to 106B) at a first scene marked within the media item 104 in order to ease the processing time when embedding a set of markers in the media item 104 (see fig. 1 ¶ 48)
Re claim 2, claims 1, 7 and 8 of the Patent No. 12,413,830, recites each and every limitation of claim 2 of the Instant Application except for the limitation of “playing or streaming additional content at the first insertion point.”
However, the reference of SRIVASTAVA explicitly teaches “playing or streaming additional content at the first insertion point” (see ¶s 145, 148-149 for playing or streaming additional content at the first insertion point (i.e. the expected emotions-tagging metadata may include an associative relationship between a set of time slots and a set of specified emotional states that are expected from the audience 112 at the set of time slots in playback of the media item 104 as described in fig. 12 paragraph 162, furthermore, the emotional response data may be captured from the audience 112 at playback of the first scene of the media item 104, the processor 204 may be configured to compute the transmission delay for the first emotional response for a first scene of the media item 104 with respect to a position of the first marker 106 of the plurality of markers embedded in the media item 104 as described in fig. 12 paragraph 167). Also, see paragraphs 154-155, 163)
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate this feature (playing) taught by SRIVASTAVA into the method recited by claim 1 of Patent No. 12,413,830.
One skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the feature as taught by SRIVASTAVA above into the information processing recited in claim 1 of Patent No. 12,413,830 for the benefit of embedding a plurality of markers in the media item 104 that is played by the media device 110, based on expected emotions-tagging metadata, wherein the processor 204 may be configured to embed the plurality of markers in one or more positions, such as the first timeslot 106A to 106B in order to improve efficiency when embedding a plurality of markers in the media item 104 that is played by the media device 110 (see fig. 12 ¶ 163)
Re claim 3, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 3 of the Instant Application is recited in claims 1, 7 and 8 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 4, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 4 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 2 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 5, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 5 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 2 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 6, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 6 of the Instant Application is recited in claims 1 and 4 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 7, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 7 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 5 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 8, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 8 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 6 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 9, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 9 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 8 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 10, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 10 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 9 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 11, claim 1 of the Patent No. 12,413,830, recites each and every limitation of claim 11 of the Instant Application except for the limitation of “select, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program; and update metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program.”
However, the reference of SRIVASTAVA explicitly teaches “select, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program” (see ¶s 117, 118 for select, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program (i.e. the processor 204 may be configured to compute the audio score based on decibel sounds registered in the audio signals after noise cancellation, accordingly, the processor 204 may be further configured to compute the video score and the distribution score based on the generated emotional response from different audiences, such as the audience 112 as described in figs. 1-2 paragraph 112, furthermore, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions of the first timeline, for example, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed the first marker 106 at a first position 402, and the second marker 108 at a second position 404 as described in figs. 1-4 paragraph 116)); “and update metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program” (see ¶s 49, 81 for update metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program (i.e. after the pre-calibration stage, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed a set of markers in the media item 104 which may be played by the media device 110, the set of markers may be embedded based on the expected-emotions-tagging metadata stored for the media item 104 in a memory of the calibration system 102, the set of markers may be at least one of audio markers, video markers, or frame markers, the expected-emotions-tagging metadata may include an associative relationship between a set of time slots (or a set of scenes) and a set of specified emotional states that may be expected from the audience 112 at playback of the media item 104, the first marker 106 may be embedded at a first timestamp (or at the first timeslot 106A to 106B) at a first scene marked within the media item 104 as described in fig. 1 paragraph 48). Also, see figs. 2, 3, 12 paragraphs 114, 115, 162, 163)
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate this feature (insertion) taught by SRIVASTAVA into the system recited by claim 11 of Patent No. 12,413,830.
One skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the feature as taught by SRIVASTAVA above into the information processing recited in claim 1 of Patent No. 12,413,830 for the benefit of embedding a set of markers in the media item 104 which may be played by the media device 110, wherein the set of markers may be embedded based on the expected-emotions-tagging metadata stored for the media item 104 in a memory of the calibration system 102, wherein the set of markers may be at least one of audio markers, video markers, or frame markers, wherein the expected-emotions-tagging metadata may include an associative relationship between a set of time slots (or a set of scenes) and a set of specified emotional states that may be expected from the audience 112 at playback of the media item 104, wherein the first marker 106 may be embedded at a first timestamp (or at the first timeslot 106A to 106B) at a first scene marked within the media item 104 in order to ease the processing time when embedding a set of markers in the media item 104 (see fig. 1 ¶ 48)
Re claim 12, claims 1, 7 and 8 of the Patent No. 12,413,830, recites each and every limitation of claim 12 of the Instant Application except for the limitation of “play or stream additional content at the first insertion point.”
However, the reference of SRIVASTAVA explicitly teaches “play or stream additional content at the first insertion point” (see ¶s 145, 148-149 for play or stream additional content at the first insertion point (i.e. the expected emotions-tagging metadata may include an associative relationship between a set of time slots and a set of specified emotional states that are expected from the audience 112 at the set of time slots in playback of the media item 104 as described in fig. 12 paragraph 162, furthermore, the emotional response data may be captured from the audience 112 at playback of the first scene of the media item 104, the processor 204 may be configured to compute the transmission delay for the first emotional response for a first scene of the media item 104 with respect to a position of the first marker 106 of the plurality of markers embedded in the media item 104 as described in fig. 12 paragraph 167). Also, see paragraphs 154-155, 163)
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate this feature (playing) taught by SRIVASTAVA into the system recited by claim 1 of Patent No. 12,413,830.
One skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the feature as taught by SRIVASTAVA above into the information processing recited in claim 1 of Patent No. 12,413,830 for the benefit of embedding a plurality of markers in the media item 104 that is played by the media device 110, based on expected emotions-tagging metadata, wherein the processor 204 may be configured to embed the plurality of markers in one or more positions, such as the first timeslot 106A to 106B in order to improve efficiency when embedding a plurality of markers in the media item 104 that is played by the media device 110 (see fig. 12 ¶ 163)
Re claim 13, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 13 of the Instant Application is recited in claims 1, 7 and 8 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 14, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 14 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 2 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 15, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 15 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 2 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 16, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 16 of the Instant Application is recited in claims 1 and 4 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 17, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 17 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 5 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 18, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 18 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 6 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 19, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 19 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 8 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Re claim 20, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 20 of the Instant Application is recited in claim 9 of the Patent No. 12,413,830.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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 1-3, 8-13 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by SRIVASTAVA et al. (US 2019/0090020 A1)(hereinafter SRIVASTAVA).
Re claim 1, SRIVASTAVA discloses a computer-implemented method for selecting one or more insertion points in a media program including a plurality of markers having a second marker following a first marker and preceding a third marker, the method comprising: performing one or more first operations to automatically analyze a first interval within the media program that precedes the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the first marker (see ¶ 36 for performing one or more first operations to automatically analyze a first interval within the media program that precedes the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the first marker (i.e. the media item 104 may include a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions within the media item 104, for example, as shown, the media item 104 may include a first marker 106 that spans a first timeslot 106A to 106B and a second marker 108 that spans a second timeslot 108A to 108B as described in fig. 1 paragraph 34, furthermore, the high point analyzer 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and interfaces that may be configured to identify a set of highlight points and a set of lowlight points in a media item, such as the media item 104, the identification of the set of highlight points and the set of lowlight points may be continuously mapped at the playback duration of the media item 104, the high point analyzer 208 may be implemented as a software application or a hardware circuit, such as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor as described in fig. 2 paragraph 65, moreover, the processor 204 may be further configured to identify, using the highpoint analyzer, the set of highlight points in the media item 104 based on analysis of a distribution of the plurality of peaks and valleys with respect to the plurality of markers in the media item 104, alternatively stated, the set of highlight points may be identified based on how evenly spread the points are and what were the individual values for audio, video and pulse recorded compared to the actual emotional response from the media item 104 as described in fig. 2 paragraph 103). Also, see paragraphs 93-94, 99-102, 104); determining a first characteristic associated with the first interval (see ¶s 34, 36 for determining a first characteristic associated with the first interval (i.e. the high point analyzer 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and interfaces that may be configured to identify a set of highlight points and a set of lowlight points in a media item, such as the media item 104, the identification of the set of highlight points and the set of lowlight points may be continuously mapped at the playback duration of the media item 104, the high point analyzer 208 may be implemented as a software application or a hardware circuit, such as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor as described in fig. 2 paragraph 65, moreover, the processor 204 may be further configured to identify, using the highpoint analyzer, the set of highlight points in the media item 104 based on analysis of a distribution of the plurality of peaks and valleys with respect to the plurality of markers in the media item 104, alternatively stated, the set of highlight points may be identified based on how evenly spread the points are and what were the individual values for audio, video and pulse recorded compared to the actual emotional response from the media item 104 as described in fig. 2 paragraph 103). Also, see paragraphs 93-94, 99-102, 104); performing one or more second operations to automatically analyze a second interval within the media program that follows the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the third marker (see ¶ 36 for performing one or more second operations to automatically analyze a second interval within the media program that follows the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the third marker (i.e. the media item 104 may include a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions within the media item 104, for example, as shown, the media item 104 may include a first marker 106 that spans a first timeslot 106A to 106B and a second marker 108 that spans a second timeslot 108A to 108B as described in fig. 1 paragraph 34, furthermore, the high point analyzer 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and interfaces that may be configured to identify a set of highlight points and a set of lowlight points in a media item, such as the media item 104, the identification of the set of highlight points and the set of lowlight points may be continuously mapped at the playback duration of the media item 104, the high point analyzer 208 may be implemented as a software application or a hardware circuit, such as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor as described in fig. 2 paragraph 65, moreover, the processor 204 may be further configured to identify, using the highpoint analyzer, the set of highlight points in the media item 104 based on analysis of a distribution of the plurality of peaks and valleys with respect to the plurality of markers in the media item 104, alternatively stated, the set of highlight points may be identified based on how evenly spread the points are and what were the individual values for audio, video and pulse recorded compared to the actual emotional response from the media item 104 as described in fig. 2 paragraph 103). Also, see paragraphs 93-94, 99-102, 104); determining a second characteristic associated with the second interval (see ¶s 34, 36 for determining a second characteristic associated with the second interval (i.e. the high point analyzer 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and interfaces that may be configured to identify a set of highlight points and a set of lowlight points in a media item, such as the media item 104, the identification of the set of highlight points and the set of lowlight points may be continuously mapped at the playback duration of the media item 104, the high point analyzer 208 may be implemented as a software application or a hardware circuit, such as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor as described in fig. 2 paragraph 65, moreover, the processor 204 may be further configured to identify, using the highpoint analyzer, the set of highlight points in the media item 104 based on analysis of a distribution of the plurality of peaks and valleys with respect to the plurality of markers in the media item 104, alternatively stated, the set of highlight points may be identified based on how evenly spread the points are and what were the individual values for audio, video and pulse recorded compared to the actual emotional response from the media item 104 as described in fig. 2 paragraph 103). Also, see paragraphs 93-94, 99-102, 104); computing a score for the second marker based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic (see ¶ 111 for computing a score for the second marker based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic (i.e. the media item 104 may include a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions within the media item 104, for example, as shown, the media item 104 may include a first marker106 that spans a first timeslot 106A to 106B and a second marker 108 that spans a second timeslot 108A to 108B as described in fig. 1 paragraph 34, furthermore, the calibration system 102 may be further configured to analyze the audience response to calibrate the plurality of markers in the media item 104 of the set of media items, alternatively stated, the calibration system 102 may embed one or more markers in the media item 104 and calibrate a position of the plurality of markers in the media item 104 based on an audience response at specific durations of playback of the media item 104 as described in fig. 1 paragraph 36, moreover, the processor 204 may be configured to compute the audio score based on decibel sounds registered in the audio signals after noise cancellation, accordingly, the processor 204 may be further configured to compute the video score and the distribution score based on the generated emotional response from different audiences, such as the audience 112 as described in figs. 1-2 paragraph 112)); selecting, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program (see ¶s 117, 118 for selecting, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program (i.e. the processor 204 may be configured to compute the audio score based on decibel sounds registered in the audio signals after noise cancellation, accordingly, the processor 204 may be further configured to compute the video score and the distribution score based on the generated emotional response from different audiences, such as the audience 112 as described in figs. 1-2 paragraph 112, furthermore, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions of the first timeline, for example, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed the first marker 106 at a first position 402, and the second marker 108 at a second position 404 as described in figs. 1-4 paragraph 116)); and updating metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program (see ¶s 49, 81 for updating metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program (i.e. after the pre-calibration stage, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed a set of markers in the media item 104 which may be played by the media device 110, the set of markers may be embedded based on the expected-emotions-tagging metadata stored for the media item 104 in a memory of the calibration system 102, the set of markers may be at least one of audio markers, video markers, or frame markers, the expected-emotions-tagging metadata may include an associative relationship between a set of time slots (or a set of scenes) and a set of specified emotional states that may be expected from the audience 112 at playback of the media item 104, the first marker 106 may be embedded at a first timestamp (or at the first timeslot 106A to 106B) at a first scene marked within the media item 104 as described in fig. 1 paragraph 48). Also, see figs. 2, 3, 12 paragraphs 114, 115, 162, 163)
Re claim 2, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claim 1 discloses all the claim limitations with additional claimed feature wherein the first characteristic is one of an audio characteristic or a video characteristic (see ¶s 48-49, 51 for the first characteristic is one of an audio characteristic or a video characteristic (i.e. the second audio signal may comprise sounds, such as claps, whistles, laughs, chatter, and the like, from the test audience 116, and also sound of the audio output related to the test media item as described in fig. 1 paragraph 73). Also, see figs. 2, 5 paragraphs 81-82, 111-112, 119-121), and wherein the method further comprises: playing or streaming additional content at the first insertion point (see ¶s 145, 148-149 for playing or streaming additional content at the first insertion point (i.e. the expected emotions-tagging metadata may include an associative relationship between a set of time slots and a set of specified emotional states that are expected from the audience 112 at the set of time slots in playback of the media item 104 as described in fig. 12 paragraph 162, furthermore, the emotional response data may be captured from the audience 112 at playback of the first scene of the media item 104, the processor 204 may be configured to compute the transmission delay for the first emotional response for a first scene of the media item 104 with respect to a position of the first marker 106 of the plurality of markers embedded in the media item 104 as described in fig. 12 paragraph 167). Also, see paragraphs 154-155, 163)
Re claim 3, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claim 1 discloses all the claim limitations with additional claimed feature wherein the first characteristic is one of an audio characteristic or a video characteristic (see ¶s 48-49, 51 for the first characteristic is one of an audio characteristic or a video characteristic (i.e. the second audio signal may comprise sounds, such as claps, whistles, laughs, chatter, and the like, from the test audience 116, and also sound of the audio output related to the test media item as described in fig. 1 paragraph 73). Also, see figs. 2, 5 paragraphs 81-82, 111-112, 119-121), and wherein the method further comprises: inserting additional content in the media program at the first insertion point (see ¶ 81 for inserting additional content in the media program at the first insertion point (i.e. after the pre-calibration stage, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed a set of markers in the media item 104 which may be played by the media device 110, the set of markers may be embedded based on the expected-emotions-tagging metadata stored for the media item 104 in a memory of the calibration system 102, the set of markers may be at least one of audio markers, video markers, or frame markers, the expected-emotions-tagging metadata may include an associative relationship between a set of time slots (or a set of scenes) and a set of specified emotional states that may be expected from the audience 112 at playback of the media item 104, the first marker 106 may be embedded at a first timestamp (or at the first timeslot 106A to 106B) at a first scene marked within the media item 104 as described in fig. 1 paragraph 48))
Re claim 8, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claim 1 discloses all the claim limitations with additional claimed feature wherein the first characteristic comprises a first audio spectrum characteristic for the first interval and a second audio spectrum characteristic for the second interval (see ¶ 119 for the first characteristic comprises a first audio spectrum characteristic for the first interval and a second audio spectrum characteristic for the second interval (i.e. the captured first audio signal 502 may further include a first noise signal, which may correspond to an audio noise generated in the test environment because of the acoustic properties of the test environment, for example, acoustic properties of the test environment may cause generation of echoes and reverberations of the audio signals of the test media item in the test environment, such echoes and reverberations of the one or more audio signals may manifest as the first noise signal in the captured first audio signal 502 as described in fig. 5 paragraph 120, furthermore, the captured second audio signal 504 may include an audio component of the test media item and a noise component from the test audience 116 and the ambient environment, the captured second audio signal 504 may include a first noise signal which may correspond to audio noise generated in the test environment because of the acoustic properties of the test environment, for example, acoustic properties of the test environment may cause generation of echoes and reverberations of the audio signals of the test media item in the test environment, such echoes and reverberations of the audio signals may manifest as the first noise signal in the captured second audio signal as described in fig. 5 paragraph 121))
Re claim 9, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claim 1 discloses all the claim limitations with additional claimed feature wherein the first characteristic includes a video characteristic (see ¶s 48, 84 for the first characteristic includes a video characteristic (i.e. the processor 204 may be further configured identify a plurality of peak points 908 in the video signal based on a set of parameters as described in fig. 9 paragraph 138). Also, see paragraphs 139)
Re claim 10, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claim 9 discloses all the claim limitations with additional claimed feature wherein the video characteristic comprises at least one of a luminance level, a measurement of dispersion in scenes, a spatial activity, a temporal activity, or a semantic characteristic (see ¶s 48, 56 for the video characteristic comprises at least one of a luminance level, a measurement of dispersion in scenes, a spatial activity, a temporal activity, or a semantic characteristic (i.e. the calibration system 102 may be configured to compute a reaction delay for a first emotional response of the audience 112 captured by the plurality of different types of sensors 114 for a first scene of the media item 104 with respect to a position of the first marker 106, the first marker 106 may span a first time slot of the set of time slots in the media item 104, the first time slot may correspond to the first scene in the media item 104 as described in fig. 1 paragraph 55, furthermore, a measure of an impact of different marked scenes may be analyzed based on the set of common peaks in the plurality of different types of input signals, such impact measure may be utilized to derive a rating for each marked scene of the media item 104 and a cumulative rating for the entire media item as described in fig. 1 paragraph 61))
Re claim 11, SRIVASTAVA discloses a computer system for selecting one or more insertion points in a media program including a plurality of markers having a second marker following a first marker and preceding a third marker, the computer system comprising: a processor configured to (i.e. processor 204 as shown in fig. 2): perform one or more first operations to automatically analyze a first interval within the media program that precedes the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the first marker (see ¶ 36 for perform one or more first operations to automatically analyze a first interval within the media program that precedes the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the first marker (i.e. the media item 104 may include a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions within the media item 104, for example, as shown, the media item 104 may include a first marker 106 that spans a first timeslot 106A to 106B and a second marker 108 that spans a second timeslot 108A to 108B as described in fig. 1 paragraph 34, furthermore, the high point analyzer 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and interfaces that may be configured to identify a set of highlight points and a set of lowlight points in a media item, such as the media item 104, the identification of the set of highlight points and the set of lowlight points may be continuously mapped at the playback duration of the media item 104, the high point analyzer 208 may be implemented as a software application or a hardware circuit, such as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor as described in fig. 2 paragraph 65, moreover, the processor 204 may be further configured to identify, using the highpoint analyzer, the set of highlight points in the media item 104 based on analysis of a distribution of the plurality of peaks and valleys with respect to the plurality of markers in the media item 104, alternatively stated, the set of highlight points may be identified based on how evenly spread the points are and what were the individual values for audio, video and pulse recorded compared to the actual emotional response from the media item 104 as described in fig. 2 paragraph 103). Also, see paragraphs 93-94, 99-102, 104); determine a first characteristic associated with the first interval (see ¶s 34, 36 for determine a first characteristic associated with the first interval (i.e. the high point analyzer 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and interfaces that may be configured to identify a set of highlight points and a set of lowlight points in a media item, such as the media item 104, the identification of the set of highlight points and the set of lowlight points may be continuously mapped at the playback duration of the media item 104, the high point analyzer 208 may be implemented as a software application or a hardware circuit, such as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor as described in fig. 2 paragraph 65, moreover, the processor 204 may be further configured to identify, using the highpoint analyzer, the set of highlight points in the media item 104 based on analysis of a distribution of the plurality of peaks and valleys with respect to the plurality of markers in the media item 104, alternatively stated, the set of highlight points may be identified based on how evenly spread the points are and what were the individual values for audio, video and pulse recorded compared to the actual emotional response from the media item 104 as described in fig. 2 paragraph 103). Also, see paragraphs 93-94, 99-102, 104); perform one or more second operations to automatically analyze a second interval within the media program that follows the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the third marker (see ¶ 36 for perform one or more second operations to automatically analyze a second interval within the media program that follows the second marker and is more proximate to the second marker than the third marker (i.e. the media item 104 may include a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions within the media item 104, for example, as shown, the media item 104 may include a first marker 106 that spans a first timeslot 106A to 106B and a second marker 108 that spans a second timeslot 108A to 108B as described in fig. 1 paragraph 34, furthermore, the high point analyzer 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and interfaces that may be configured to identify a set of highlight points and a set of lowlight points in a media item, such as the media item 104, the identification of the set of highlight points and the set of lowlight points may be continuously mapped at the playback duration of the media item 104, the high point analyzer 208 may be implemented as a software application or a hardware circuit, such as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor as described in fig. 2 paragraph 65, moreover, the processor 204 may be further configured to identify, using the highpoint analyzer, the set of highlight points in the media item 104 based on analysis of a distribution of the plurality of peaks and valleys with respect to the plurality of markers in the media item 104, alternatively stated, the set of highlight points may be identified based on how evenly spread the points are and what were the individual values for audio, video and pulse recorded compared to the actual emotional response from the media item 104 as described in fig. 2 paragraph 103). Also, see paragraphs 93-94, 99-102, 104); determine a second characteristic associated with the second interval (see ¶s 34, 36 for determine a second characteristic associated with the second interval (i.e. the high point analyzer 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and interfaces that may be configured to identify a set of highlight points and a set of lowlight points in a media item, such as the media item 104, the identification of the set of highlight points and the set of lowlight points may be continuously mapped at the playback duration of the media item 104, the high point analyzer 208 may be implemented as a software application or a hardware circuit, such as an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor as described in fig. 2 paragraph 65, moreover, the processor 204 may be further configured to identify, using the highpoint analyzer, the set of highlight points in the media item 104 based on analysis of a distribution of the plurality of peaks and valleys with respect to the plurality of markers in the media item 104, alternatively stated, the set of highlight points may be identified based on how evenly spread the points are and what were the individual values for audio, video and pulse recorded compared to the actual emotional response from the media item 104 as described in fig. 2 paragraph 103). Also, see paragraphs 93-94, 99-102, 104); compute a score for the second marker based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic (see ¶ 111 for compute a score for the second marker based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic (i.e. the media item 104 may include a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions within the media item 104, for example, as shown, the media item 104 may include a first marker106 that spans a first timeslot 106A to 106B and a second marker 108 that spans a second timeslot 108A to 108B as described in fig. 1 paragraph 34, furthermore, the calibration system 102 may be further configured to analyze the audience response to calibrate the plurality of markers in the media item 104 of the set of media items, alternatively stated, the calibration system 102 may embed one or more markers in the media item 104 and calibrate a position of the plurality of markers in the media item 104 based on an audience response at specific durations of playback of the media item 104 as described in fig. 1 paragraph 36, moreover, the processor 204 may be configured to compute the audio score based on decibel sounds registered in the audio signals after noise cancellation, accordingly, the processor 204 may be further configured to compute the video score and the distribution score based on the generated emotional response from different audiences, such as the audience 112 as described in figs. 1-2 paragraph 112)); select, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program (see ¶s 117, 118 for select, based on the score, the second marker as a first insertion point of the one or more insertion points in the media program (i.e. the processor 204 may be configured to compute the audio score based on decibel sounds registered in the audio signals after noise cancellation, accordingly, the processor 204 may be further configured to compute the video score and the distribution score based on the generated emotional response from different audiences, such as the audience 112 as described in figs. 1-2 paragraph 112, furthermore, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions of the first timeline, for example, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed the first marker 106 at a first position 402, and the second marker 108 at a second position 404 as described in figs. 1-4 paragraph 116)); and update metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program (see ¶s 49, 81 for update metadata of the media program to include the first insertion point as one of the one or more insertion points in the media program (i.e. after the pre-calibration stage, the calibration system 102 may be configured to embed a set of markers in the media item 104 which may be played by the media device 110, the set of markers may be embedded based on the expected-emotions-tagging metadata stored for the media item 104 in a memory of the calibration system 102, the set of markers may be at least one of audio markers, video markers, or frame markers, the expected-emotions-tagging metadata may include an associative relationship between a set of time slots (or a set of scenes) and a set of specified emotional states that may be expected from the audience 112 at playback of the media item 104, the first marker 106 may be embedded at a first timestamp (or at the first timeslot 106A to 106B) at a first scene marked within the media item 104 as described in fig. 1 paragraph 48). Also, see figs. 2, 3, 12 paragraphs 114, 115, 162, 163)
Re claim 12, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claims 2 and 11 discloses all the claimed limitations of claim 12.
Re claim 13, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claims 3 and 11 discloses all the claimed limitations of claim 13.
Re claim 18, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claim 8 discloses all the claimed limitations of claim 18.
Re claim 19, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claim 9 discloses all the claimed limitations of claim 19.
Re claim 20, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claim 10 discloses all the claimed limitations of claim 20.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claims 4, 5, 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SRIVASTAVA et al. (US 2019/0090020 A1)(hereinafter SRIVASTAVA) as applied to claims 1-3, 8-13 and 18-20 above, and further in view of Matias (US 9,838,730 B1)(hereinafter Matias).
Re claim 4, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claim 1 discloses all the claimed limitations but fails to explicitly teach further comprising: determining one or more treatments associated with the second marker based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic, wherein the one or more treatments comprise at least one of a fade-in or a fade-out. However, the reference of Matias explicitly teaches further comprising: determining one or more treatments associated with the second marker based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic, wherein the one or more treatments comprise at least one of a fade-in or a fade-out (see col. 11 lines 50-54 to lines 62-67 for determining one or more treatments associated with the second marker based on the first characteristic and the second characteristic, wherein the one or more treatments comprise at least one of a fade-in or a fade-out (i.e. an audio event marker may provide information about one or more characteristics of an audio track at a point in time within the audio track or a duration of time within the audio track, by way of non-limiting example, one or more audio event markers may indicate one of more of a beat, a tempo, a rhythm, an instrument, a volume, a vocal, a frequency, a style, a start, an end, and/or other audio events within the audio track as described in col. 11 lines 54-62, furthermore, toggling such an option may change a playback of the video clip so that the audio track fades out and the audio of the video clip fades in as the playback approaches a moment of interest/a point in time corresponding to a moment of interest, the audio track may fade back in and the audio of the video clip may fade back out after the playback passes the moment of interest/the point in time corresponding to the moment of interest as described in fig. 9 col. 15 lines 22-30))
Therefore, taking the combined teachings of SRIVASTAVA and Matias as a whole, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate this feature (fade-in or fade-out) into the system of SRIVASTAVA as taught by Matias.
One would have been motivated to incorporate the above feature as taught by Matias into the system of SRIVASTAVA for the benefit of having audio mixing panel 901 that may include one or more options (e.g., in audio option 903, etc.) to decrease the volume at which one or more audio tracks are played at one or more moments in the video clip corresponding to one or more moments of interest, for example, audio option 903 may include a toggle that allows a user to enable decrease in volume of an audio track at one or more moments and increase in volume of an audio of the video clip at one or more moments, for example, audio option 903 may allow the audio of the video clip to be toggled off, wherein toggling such an option may change a playback of the video clip so that the audio track fades out and the audio of the video clip fades in as the playback approaches a moment of interest/a point in time corresponding to a moment of interest, wherein the audio track may fade back in and the audio of the video clip may fade back out after the playback passes the moment of interest/the point in time corresponding to the moment of interest, wherein such a playback of the audio track and the audio of the video clip may result in a momentary fade of the audio track and louder playback of audio of the video clip around the moment of interest in order to have a user friendly interaction (see fig. 9 col. 15 lines 13-33)
Re claim 5, the combination of SRIVASTAVA and Matias as discussed above in claim 4 discloses all the claimed limitations but fails to explicitly teach further comprising: applying the at least one of the fade-in or the fade-out around the second marker. However, the reference of Matias explicitly teaches further comprising: applying the at least one of the fade-in or the fade-out around the second marker (see col. 11 lines 50-54 to lines 62-67 for applying the at least one of the fade-in or the fade-out around the second marker (i.e. an audio event marker may provide information about one or more characteristics of an audio track at a point in time within the audio track or a duration of time within the audio track, by way of non-limiting example, one or more audio event markers may indicate one of more of a beat, a tempo, a rhythm, an instrument, a volume, a vocal, a frequency, a style, a start, an end, and/or other audio events within the audio track as described in col. 11 lines 54-62, furthermore, toggling such an option may change a playback of the video clip so that the audio track fades out and the audio of the video clip fades in as the playback approaches a moment of interest/a point in time corresponding to a moment of interest, the audio track may fade back in and the audio of the video clip may fade back out after the playback passes the moment of interest/the point in time corresponding to the moment of interest as described in fig. 9 col. 15 lines 22-30))
Therefore, taking the combined teachings of SRIVASTAVA and Matias as a whole, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate this feature (fade-in or fade-out) into the system of SRIVASTAVA as taught by Matias.
Per claim 5, SRIVASTAVA and Matias are combined for the same motivation as set forth in claim 4 above.
Re claim 14, the combination of SRIVASTAVA and Matias as discussed above in claim 4, and also, claim 11 discloses all the claimed limitations claim 14.
Re claim 15, the combination of SRIVASTAVA and Matias as discussed above in claim 5, and also, claim 11 discloses all the claimed limitations claim 15.
Claims 6, 7, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SRIVASTAVA et al. (US 2019/0090020 A1)(hereinafter SRIVASTAVA) as applied to claims 1-3, 8-13 and 18-20 above, and further in view of Gupta et al. (US 11,336,930 B1) (hereinafter Gupta).
Re claim 6, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claim 1 discloses all the claim limitations with additional claimed feature further comprising: computing a score for the first marker (see ¶ 111 for computing a score for the first marker (i.e. the media item 104 may include a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions within the media item 104, for example, as shown, the media item 104 may include a first marker106 that spans a first timeslot 106A to 106B and a second marker 108 that spans a second timeslot 108A to 108B as described in fig. 1 paragraph 34, furthermore, the calibration system 102 may be further configured to analyze the audience response to calibrate the plurality of markers in the media item 104 of the set of media items, alternatively stated, the calibration system 102 may embed one or more markers in the media item 104 and calibrate a position of the plurality of markers in the media item 104 based on an audience response at specific durations of playback of the media item 104 as described in fig. 1 paragraph 36, moreover, the processor 204 may be configured to compute the audio score based on decibel sounds registered in the audio signals after noise cancellation, accordingly, the processor 204 may be further configured to compute the video score and the distribution score based on the generated emotional response from different audiences, such as the audience 112 as described in figs. 1-2 paragraph 112)); computing a score for the third marker (see ¶ 111 for computing a score for the third marker (i.e. the media item 104 may include a plurality of markers at a plurality of positions within the media item 104, for example, as shown, the media item 104 may include a first marker106 that spans a first timeslot 106A to 106B and a second marker 108 that spans a second timeslot 108A to 108B as described in fig. 1 paragraph 34, furthermore, the calibration system 102 may be further configured to analyze the audience response to calibrate the plurality of markers in the media item 104 of the set of media items, alternatively stated, the calibration system 102 may embed one or more markers in the media item 104 and calibrate a position of the plurality of markers in the media item 104 based on an audience response at specific durations of playback of the media item 104 as described in fig. 1 paragraph 36, moreover, the processor 204 may be configured to compute the audio score based on decibel sounds registered in the audio signals after noise cancellation, accordingly, the processor 204 may be further configured to compute the video score and the distribution score based on the generated emotional response from different audiences, such as the audience 112 as described in figs. 1-2 paragraph 112))
SRIVASTAVA fails to explicitly teach and generating a ranking for the plurality of markers based on the score for the first marker, the score for the second marker and the score for the third marker. However, the reference of Gupta explicitly teaches and generating a ranking for the plurality of markers based on the score for the first marker, the score for the second marker and the score for the third marker (see col. 6 lines 65-67, col. 7 lines 1-10 for generating a ranking for the plurality of markers based on the score for the first marker, the score for the second marker and the score for the third marker (i.e. each marker may also have a “confidence” value (also, interchangeably referred to herein as a “confidence factor,” “confidence score,” or simply “confidence”) which indicates how confident is it that the characteristic of the marker is actually present between a particular start and end location as described in col. 4 lines 17-21, furthermore, this process effectively performs a ranking of candidate locations in the video content for ad break insertion based on a presence of positive markers (and no negative markers), wherein the more positive markers exist at a location, the higher the ranking, while also factoring confidence values of the respective markers as described in col. 7 lines 39-44))
Therefore, taking the combined teachings of SRIVASTAVA and Gupta as a whole, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate this feature (ranking) into the system of SRIVASTAVA as taught by Gupta.
One would have been motivated to incorporate the above feature as taught by Gupta into the system of SRIVASTAVA for the benefit of performing a ranking of candidate locations in the video content for ad break insertion based on a presence of positive markers (and no negative markers), wherein the more positive markers exist at a location, the higher the ranking, while also factoring confidence values of the respective markers in order to improve efficiency when ranking of candidate locations in the video content for ad break insertion based on a presence of positive markers (see col. 7 lines 39-44)
Re claim 7, SRIVASTAVA as discussed above in claim 1 discloses all the claimed limitations but fails to explicitly teach wherein the first characteristic comprises at least one of an audio loudness level or a presence or absence of speech. However, the reference of Gupta explicitly teaches wherein the first characteristic comprises at least one of an audio loudness level or a presence or absence of speech (see col. 3 lines 26-48, col. 4 lines 12-16 to lines 40-50 for the first characteristic comprises at least one of an audio loudness level or a presence or absence of speech (i.e. a silent audio frame may be detected by examining the average volume level in the audio track and determining when a particular audio frame or audio segment is below a predetermined threshold value with respect to the average volume level, thus, while a silent audio frame indication is a binary value (YES or NO), the audio volume indicates the actual volume level in decibels as described in col. 6 lines 45-51). Also, see col. 6 lines 1-14)
Therefore, taking the combined teachings of SRIVASTAVA and Gupta as a whole, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate this feature (audio loudness level or a presence or absence of speech) into the system of SRIVASTAVA as taught by Gupta.
One would have been motivated to incorporate the above feature as taught by Gupta into the system of SRIVASTAVA for the benefit of detecting a silent audio frame by examining the average volume level in the audio track and determining when a particular audio frame or audio segment is below a predetermined threshold value with respect to the average volume level, thus, while a silent audio frame indication is a binary value (YES or NO), the audio volume indicates the actual volume level in decibels in order to improve efficiency when examining the average volume level in the audio track and determining when a particular audio frame or audio segment is below a predetermined threshold value with respect to the average volume level (see col. 6 lines 45-51)
Re claim 16, the combination of SRIVASTAVA and Gupta as discussed above in claim 6, and also, claim 11 discloses all the claimed limitations claim 16.
Re claim 17, the combination of SRIVASTAVA and Gupta as discussed above in claim 7 discloses all the claimed limitations claim 17.
Conclusion
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6/3/2026
/JOSE M. MESA/
Examiner
Art Unit 2484
/THAI Q TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2484
Prosecution Insights