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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 14 includes all limitations of claim 7 and fails to further limit the subject matter. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-5, 7-8, 10-12, 14-15, 17-19 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Honma et al (2024/0196036).
Regarding claims 1, 8 and 15, Honma et al teaches one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums that store one or more sequences of instructions for server-side ad insertion (SSAI) systems operating on live broadband video streams (Abstract; Figure 10; Para. 0119), which when executed, cause:
grouping a plurality of users of a content delivery network (CDN) into a plurality of cohorts (Figure 10), wherein each cohort, of said plurality of cohorts, is a group of users which are associated with a matching set of user characteristics (i.e. AD decision server groups viewers based on the viewing related data) (Figures 10-11; Para. 0033, 0061, 0088, 0108); and
upon a video ecosystem receiving a request to stream a live broadband video stream to a user (Figure 10; Para. 0111, 0113), performing: (a) identifying a particular cohort in which said user is a member (i.e. AD decision server acquires viewing related data from terminal(s) 11 and then identifies/groups the viewers from data) (Figure 10; Para. 0102, 0108),
(b) identifying a particular advertisement to be shown to all members of said particular cohort watching said live broadband video stream (i.e. AD decision server selects ad to be allocated for each group of viewers) (Figures 10-11; Para. 0111),
(c) incorporating said particular advertisement into said live broadband video stream to create a cohort-targeted live video stream for said first user (i.e. the encoder 92 inserts the advertisement content selected for each of the groups of the viewers into an advertisement frame of the content) (Figures 10-11; Para. 0103, 0112), and
(d) transmitting, from said video ecosystem, said cohort-targeted live broadband video stream to a user device associated with said user (i.e. the encoder 92 transmits content including a main part and an advertisement to the terminal 11 for each of the groups of the viewers) (Figure 10; Para. 0113).
Claims 3, 10 and 17 are rejected wherein said set of user characteristics comprises at least three of following user characteristics: user wealth, user demographic, geographic location associated with a user account, user age, user income, a user interest, and user purchase intent (i.e. viewing attribute data is attribute data such as gender, a birth year, and a residential place of the viewer. The viewing history data indicates a genre of content viewed by the viewer and history data in a viewing time of the content of the viewer) (Para. 0033, 0036, 0053, 0108).
Claims 4, 11 and 18 are rejected wherein at least a first portion of user characteristics for said user are identified by said video ecosystem and are provided, by said video ecosystem, to an Advertisement Decision System (ADS) [13] (i.e. acquiring viewing related data from terminal(s) 11), wherein said ADS identifies, in consultation with said first portion of user characteristics provided by said video ecosystem, that said user is a member of said particular cohort (i.e. groups viewers based on the viewing-related data) (Figures 7, 10; Para. 0033, 0054, 0107-108).
Claims 5, 12 and 19 are rejected wherein said video ecosystem identifies that said user is a member of said particular cohort (i.e. the AD decision server 13 groups viewers based on the viewing-related data) (Figures 10-11; Para. 0102, 0108).
Claims 7, 14 and 21 are rejected wherein said cohort-targeted live broadband video stream comprises a unique identifier that identifies said particular cohort and said user (i.e. the terminals 11 of a viewer group A (a viewer A1 to a viewer AN) (Figure 10; Para. 0052, 0113).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 2, 6, 9, 13, 16 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Honma et al.
Regarding claims 2, 9 and 16, Honma et al teaches said set of user characteristics as discussed with respect to claim 1. The reference is unclear with respect to conform to version 1.1 of an Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) taxonomy of user characteristics. However, the examiner takes official notice that both concepts and advantages are well known and expected in the art. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the reference by specifically conform to version 1.1 of an Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) taxonomy of user characteristics before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention for the common knowledge purpose to align on shared definitions and structures, organizations can streamline development, enhance data accuracy, and improve collaboration, ultimately driving innovation and efficiency across the ecosystem.
Claims 6, 13 and 20 is rejected wherein said user is a first user, and wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions further cause: upon said video ecosystem receiving a second request to stream said live broadband video stream to a second user different from said first user, wherein said first user and said second user are both members of said particular cohort, performing: (a) identifying said second user is a member of said particular cohort (i.e. the encoder 92 transmits content including a main part and an advertisement to the terminal 11 for each of the groups of the viewers via the origin server 93) (Para. 0113),
(b) consulting a manifest for said particular cohort to identify said particular advertisement to be shown to all members of said particular cohort watching said live broadband video stream, by issuing a Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) request to an Advertisement Decision System (ADS), after receiving said second request (i.e. manifest files are attached to the live stream A, the live stream B, and the live stream C. The manifest files indicate control files indicating transmission order of programs and CMs) (Fig. 10; Para. 0111-114),
(c) incorporating said particular advertisement into said live broadband video stream to create a second cohort-targeted live video stream for said second user (i.e. the encoder 92 inserts the advertisement content selected for each of the groups of the viewers into an advertisement frame of the content) (Figures 10-11; Para. 0103, 0112), and
(d) transmitting, from said video ecosystem, said second cohort-targeted live video stream to a second user device associated with said second user (i.e. the encoder 92 transmits content including a main part and an advertisement to the terminal 11 for each of the groups of the viewers) (Figure 10; Para. 0113-114).
The reference is unclear with respect to a cached manifest and wherein said cached manifest is cached within said video ecosystem and is not retrieved. However, the examiner takes official notice that both concepts and advantages are well known and expected in the art. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the reference by specifically a cached manifest and wherein said cached manifest is cached within said video ecosystem and is not retrieved before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention for the common knowledge purpose to speed up access, improve performance and reduce bandwidth usage.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KUNAL LANGHNOJA whose telephone number is (571)270-3583. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00AM - 5:00PM ET.
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/KUNAL LANGHNOJA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2425
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