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 .
Miscellaneous
Claims pending: 1-20
Claims amended: n/a
Claims cancelled: n/a
New claims: n/a
Double Patenting
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. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321 (b).
The USPTO internet Web site contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit http://www.uspto.gov/forms/. The filing date of the application will determine what form 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-application-process/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12363363 since the claims, if allowed, would improperly extend the "right to exclude" already granted in the patent.
The subject matter claimed in the instant application is fully disclosed in the patent and is covered by the patent since the patent and the application are claiming common subject matter, as follows:
Application's Claim(s) 1, 9, 17 similarly claim: A computing system comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, having stored thereon program instructions that, upon execution by the processor, cause performance of a set of operations comprising: comparing first monitored media signatures associated with an advertisement block to a plurality of sequences of monitored media signatures associated with a time period; determining a start boundary and an end boundary of an advertisement in the advertisement block based on a comparison of the first monitored media signatures and the plurality of sequences of monitored media signatures, the advertisement associated with second monitored media signatures representative of a subset of the first monitored media signatures between the start boundary and the end boundary; and mapping the second monitored media signatures to the advertisement, wherein the mapping is used to credit media exposure to the advertisement... On the other hand, Patent No. 12363363 Claims 1, 8, 14, similarly, claim: an audience measurement computing system comprising: at least one processor; memory having stored therein computer readable instructions that, upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the audience measurement computing system to: compare first monitored media signatures associated with an advertisement block to a plurality of sequences of monitored media signatures associated with a first time period; determine a start boundary and an end boundary of a first advertisement in the advertisement block based on the comparison of the first monitored media signatures and the plurality of sequences of monitored media signatures, the first advertisement associated with second monitored media signatures representative of a subset of the first monitored media signatures between the start boundary and the end boundary; generate an entry in an advertisement relationship graph for the second monitored media signatures, the entry to map the second monitored media signatures to the first advertisement; and credit media exposure to the first advertisement based on the second monitored media signatures in the advertisement relationship graph. For that reason, Application's Claim(s) 1-20, and Patented Claims 1-20 are not patentably distinct from each other, and is therefore an obvious variant thereof.
Claims 1-20 of the instant application is fully encompassed by claims 1-20 of Patent No. 12363363. Allowance of the application claims 1-20 would result in an unjustified time- wise extension of the monopoly granted for the invention defined by Patent No. 12363363.
Therefore, obviousness-type double patenting is appropriate.
http://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 can be allowed upon the resolution of the above double patenting rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RONG LE whose telephone number is (571)270-7637. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (9 am - 6pm).
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/RONG LE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421
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