DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
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 conflicting claims 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); 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 nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined 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 § 2146 et seq. 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 filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-15 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-15 of U.S. Patent No. 12,368,932. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because both generate distinct user groups based on the presence of the content consumption device and a plurality of identifying devices associated with a plurality of users, a feature explicitly recited in U.S. Patent No. 12,368,932, but inherently claimed in the outstanding application (“the plurality of identifying devices” as claimed, is the identified group).
Application No. 19,272,737 Claim 1
U.S. Patent No. 12,368,932 Claim 1
A content consumption device, comprising: one or more hardware processors and memory configured to:
A content consumption device, comprising: one or more hardware processors and memory configured to:
monitor interactions with the content consumption device by a plurality of users during a first time in which the content consumption device detects a continuing presence of a plurality of identifying devices on a local area network that includes the content consumption device to accumulate behavior history data for the plurality of users; and
assign a plurality of identifying devices to a user group in response to detecting a contemporaneous presence of the plurality of identifying devices on a local area network that includes the content consumption device; monitor interactions with the content consumption device to accumulate behavior history data for the user group; and
provide access to content via the content consumption device according to the behavior history data for the plurality of users during a second time, subsequent to the first time, in which the content consumer device again detects the contemporaneous presence of the plurality of identifying devices on the local area network that includes the content consumption device.
provide access to content via the content consumption device according to the behavior history data for the user group in response to a subsequent detection of the contemporaneous presence of the plurality of identifying devices on the local area network that includes the content consumption device.
Claims 2-15 are similarly unpatentable over claims 2-15 of U.S. Patent No. 12,368,932.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-15 are allowable over the prior art. The claimed invention is directed towards a device and method for creating user groups and providing access to content according to behavior history for said user group. While the “user group” is explicitly recited in the parent (U.S. Patent No. 12,368,932), the same user grouping is similarly claimed in the outstanding application as well, which tracks the “continuing presence of a plurality of identifying devices” and subsequently “again detects the contemporaneous presence of the plurality of identifying devices”. Said devices and the content consumption device are functionally the “user group” as previously claimed in U.S. Patent No. 12,368,932. While the prior art does teach similar instances of creating user groups for the purpose of controlling access to content (see Ramirez-Flores et al. 2013/0047175 and Cain et al. 2014/0006550), said examples rely upon camera imaging to determine the user group present. Other prior art similarly teaches the use of identifying devices to determine who is consuming content in proximity to a content consumption device (see for example Marci et al. 9,514,436). The examiner found no motivation in the prior art at the time of invention to modify existing camera-based systems to instead rely on identifying devices as claimed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOMINIC D SALTARELLI whose telephone number is (571)272-7302. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
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/DOMINIC D SALTARELLI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421
