Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1–20 have been submitted for examination.
Claims 1, 4, 7–16, and 19–20 have been examined and rejected.
Claims 2–3, 5–6, and 17–18 are objected to.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2–3, 5–6, and 17–18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 7–8, 10–16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei (US 2022/0124421) in view of Sen (US 2021/0409812).
Regarding claims 1, 16, and 20, Wei discloses:
An information recommendation method, performed by an electronic device, (Wei, ¶ [0026], “A user 160 may, for example, interact with the server 110 over a network using the terminal device 150, so as to receive or transmit a message or the like. The terminal device 150 may be a terminal device with a display screen on which a video may be played, including but not limited to a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop portable computer, a desktop computer, and so on.”) the method comprising:
playing a video (Wei, ¶ [0006], “while playing the video data”) on a video playback interface; (Wei, ¶ [0027], “transmit video data for display to the terminal device 150 in response to the interaction of the user 160.”)
displaying a first bullet comment on the video playback interface, the first bullet comment carrying recommendation information; and (Wei, ¶ [0006], “display the first bullet comment while playing the video data, wherein the first bullet comment includes a link to a recommendation information for the target object, and the recommendation information includes the first multimedia information”)
being a video segment in the video corresponding to a display duration of the first bullet comment. (Wei, ¶ [0076], “A smaller value of the duration of the target entity appearing in the video data and the predetermined duration may be used as the duration of displaying the target bullet comment.”)
Wei does not explicitly teach “playing a first material related to a plot of a first video segment on the video playback interface in response to a trigger operation for the first bullet comment, the first video segment”.
In a similar field of endeavor Sen teaches:
playing a first material related to a plot of a first video segment on the video playback interface in response to a trigger operation, (Sen, ¶ [0038], “The consumer is provided the option to discontinue watching the current segment to conclusion and switch to the more interesting segment.”) the first video segment (Sen, ¶ [0030], “while a particular scene or frame from a particular episode of Game of Thrones, is displayed on display screen 104, identifiers 106 which identify subsequent recommended scenes […] are a shorthand or thumbnail representation of corresponding media content segments”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the system for displaying a recommendation in a bullet comment as taught by Wei with the system for playing related content in response to a trigger as taught by Sen, the motivation is “to prevent visual distractions while the consumer is viewing the displayed media content segment” as taught by Sen (¶ [0030]).
Regarding “for the first bullet comment” this is taught by a combination of Wei (¶ [0006], “so as to display the first bullet comment while playing the video data, wherein the first bullet comment includes a link to a recommendation information for the target object,”) and Sen (¶ [0032], “Identifiers 106 may be represented […] in any other suitable form or in any other suitable shape (e.g., diamonds) of screen representation.”).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Wei and Sen teaches:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the first video segment comprises a plurality of plot units; (Sen, ¶ [0038], “The consumer is provided the option to discontinue watching the current segment to conclusion and switch to the more interesting segment.”) and playing the first material related to the plot of the first video segment on the video playback interface comprises: synchronously playing the first material on the video playback interface when a different plot unit of the first video segment being played, (Sen, ¶ [0030], “while a particular scene or frame from a particular episode of Game of Thrones, is displayed on display screen 104, identifiers 106 which identify subsequent recommended scenes […] are a shorthand or thumbnail representation of corresponding media content segments”) and applying, to the first material, a display effect parameter corresponding to the plot unit. (Sen, ¶ [0005], “The currently displaying media content segment and information regarding upcoming (recommended) media content segments may be displayed simultaneously on a common display screen, the former displayed in considerably larger size than the latter to avoid consumer viewing experience degradation.”)
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Wei and Sen teaches:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the first material comprises a virtual image; (Sen, ¶ [0030], “the identifiers are a shorthand or thumbnail representation of corresponding media content segments. For example, an identifier may be a frame from a famous, recognizable, or popular scene”) and playing the first material related to the plot of the first video segment on the video playback interface comprises: playing the virtual image related to the plot of the first video segment on the video playback interface, a display mode of the virtual image comprising a static display mode and a dynamic display mode. (Sen, ¶ [0030], “Identifiers are generally smaller in size than the displayed media content segment to prevent visual distractions while the consumer is viewing the displayed media content segment.”)
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Wei and Sen teaches:
The method according to claim 8, further comprising: obtaining feature information of the recommendation information, (Wei, ¶ [0006], “display the first bullet comment while playing the video data, wherein the first bullet comment includes a link to a recommendation information for the target object, and the recommendation information includes the first multimedia information”) the recommendation information being related to the plot of the first video segment, (Wei, ¶ [0076], “A smaller value of the duration of the target entity appearing in the video data and the predetermined duration may be used as the duration of displaying the target bullet comment.”) the feature information comprising at least one of a keyword and a recommendation topic of the recommendation information; (Sen, ¶ [0030], “while a particular scene or frame from a particular episode of Game of Thrones, is displayed on display screen 104, identifiers 106 which identify subsequent recommended scenes […] are a shorthand or thumbnail representation of corresponding media content segments”) and obtaining the virtual image having the feature information of the recommendation information as a label, (Sen, ¶ [0030], “the identifiers are a shorthand or thumbnail representation of corresponding media content segments. For example, an identifier may be a frame from a famous, recognizable, or popular scene”) different virtual images being pre-associated with different labels. (Sen, ¶ [0030], “Identifiers are generally smaller in size than the displayed media content segment to prevent visual distractions while the consumer is viewing the displayed media content segment.”)
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Wei and Sen teaches:
The method according to claim 1, wherein displaying the first bullet comment on the video playback interface comprises: displaying the first bullet comment starting from a first end of the video playback interface in response to a playback progress of the video reaching a set time point, and gradually moving the first bullet comment toward a second end until being moved out of the video playback interface. (Wei, ¶ [0006], “display the first bullet comment while playing the video data, wherein the first bullet comment includes a link to a recommendation information for the target object, and the recommendation information includes the first multimedia information”)
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Wei and Sen teaches:
The method according to claim 1, wherein displaying the first bullet comment on the video playback interface comprises: displaying the first bullet comment starting from a first end of the video playback interface in response to a set scene appearing in a video, and gradually moving the first bullet comment toward a second end until being moved out of the video playback interface, recommendation information carried in the first bullet comment being associated with the set scene, (Wei, ¶ [0006], “display the first bullet comment while playing the video data, wherein the first bullet comment includes a link to a recommendation information for the target object, and the recommendation information includes the first multimedia information”) and different scenes being associated with different recommendation information. (Sen, ¶ [0030], “while a particular scene or frame from a particular episode of Game of Thrones, is displayed on display screen 104, identifiers 106 which identify subsequent recommended scenes […] are a shorthand or thumbnail representation of corresponding media content segments”)
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Wei and Sen teaches:
The method according to claim 1, wherein displaying the first bullet comment on the video playback interface comprises: displaying the first bullet comment starting from a first end of the video playback interface in response to appearance of a related object in the video that meets a matching condition with the recommendation information, and gradually moving the first bullet comment toward a second end until being moved out of the video playback interface, (Wei, ¶ [0006], “display the first bullet comment while playing the video data, wherein the first bullet comment includes a link to a recommendation information for the target object, and the recommendation information includes the first multimedia information”) the matching condition comprising: a label of the related object comprises a keyword in the recommendation information, and a label of the related object comprises recommendation topic of the recommendation information. (Sen, ¶ [0030], “while a particular scene or frame from a particular episode of Game of Thrones, is displayed on display screen 104, identifiers 106 which identify subsequent recommended scenes […] are a shorthand or thumbnail representation of corresponding media content segments”)
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Wei and Sen teaches:
The method according to claim 1, wherein displaying the first bullet comment on the video playback interface comprises: playing the video starting from a set playback progress in response to a playback progress setting operation for a timeline of the video, displaying the first bullet comment starting from a first end of the video playback interface, and gradually moving the first bullet comment toward a second end until being moved out of the video playback interface. (Wei, ¶ [0006], “display the first bullet comment while playing the video data, wherein the first bullet comment includes a link to a recommendation information for the target object, and the recommendation information includes the first multimedia information”)
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Wei and Sen teaches:
The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a moving speed, a size, and a display effect parameter of the first bullet comment is different (Wei, ¶ [0006], “display the first bullet comment while playing the video data, wherein the first bullet comment includes a link to a recommendation information for the target object, and the recommendation information includes the first multimedia information”) from that of a second bullet comment, the second bullet comment being a bullet comment that does not carry the recommendation information. (Wei, ¶ [0076], “A smaller value of the duration of the target entity appearing in the video data and the predetermined duration may be used as the duration of displaying the target bullet comment.”)
Claims 4, 9, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei (US 2022/0124421) in view of Sen (US 2021/0409812), and further in view of Nir (US 2023/0071585).
Regarding claims 4, 9, and 19, the combination of Wei and Sen teaches:
The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
The combination of Wei and Sen does not explicitly teach “identifying a target object from the first video segment, the target object comprising one of following: an object that has occurred for a longest duration in the first video segment, an object that has occurred for most times in the first video segment, and an object that has a largest quantity in the first video segment; and using at least one of the target object and a virtualized target object as the first material related to the plot of the first video segment.”.
In a similar field of endeavor Nir teaches:
identifying a target object from the first video segment, (Nir, ¶ [0368], “Areas Detection Module 1310 may be configured to identify the one or more objects of interest based on a previous identification of the one or more objects of interest or one or more objects related thereto in previous video frames.”) the target object comprising one of following: an object that has occurred for a longest duration in the first video segment, an object that has occurred for most times in the first video segment, and an object that has a largest quantity in the first video segment; (Nir, ¶ [0368], “Areas Detection Module 1310 may be configured to detect a set of objects in the frame that comprises the one or more objects of interest or one or more objects related thereto, and continuously tracking locations of these objects over the frames.”) and using at least one of the target object and a virtualized target object as the first material related to the plot of the first video segment. (Nir, ¶ [0368], “AoI Detection Module 1310 may be configured to identify objects within the video frames having an interest level above a predetermined threshold, thereby determine that they are objects of interest.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the system for displaying a recommendation in a bullet comment as taught by Wei with the system for playing related content in response to a trigger as taught by Sen further with the ability to identify objects of interest as taught by Nir, the motivation is “to identify objects within the video frames having an interest level above a predetermined threshold, thereby determine that they are objects of interest” as taught by Nir (¶ [0368]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL B PIERORAZIO whose telephone number is (571)270-3679. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday, 8am - 5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nasser Goodarzi can be reached on 5712704195. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL B. PIERORAZIO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2426
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