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 . This Office Action is responsive to the communication filed on 17 July 2025. Claims 1-30 are pending.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 6 is improperly punctuated. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 6 is improperly punctuated. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 25 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 6 is improperly punctuated. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The factual inquiries 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 1-2, 5-7 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnston et al. (Hereinafter, Johnston, US 2011/0067059 A1) in view of Redford et al. (Hereinafter, Redford, US 8,660,545 B1).
Per claim 1, Johnston discloses a system for controlling content presentation via voice commands(e.g., system 1200 as shown in Fig. 12; Abstract; paragraph [0022]; paragraph [0056]), comprising:
a personal computing device (e.g., mobile communications device 1202 as shown in Fig. 12; paragraph [0056], “Referring to FIG. 12, a particular embodiment of a system 1200 to control media using a speech mashup is illustrated. The system 1200 enables use of a mobile communications device 1202 to control media, such as video content, audio content, or both, presented at a display device 1204 separate from the mobile communications device 1202...” );
a television (e.g., display device 1204 as shown in Fig. 12; paragraph [0056]; paragraph [0060], “…The control signals may cause the media control device 1212 to display a particular program, to schedule a program for recording, or to otherwise control presentation of media at the display device 1204, which may be coupled to the media control device 1212 ... “; paragraph [0071]);
a server system (e.g., system 1200 as shown in Fig. 12; paragraph [0056], “Referring to FIG. 12, a particular embodiment of a system 1200 to control media using a speech mashup is illustrated. The system 1200 enables use of a mobile communications device 1202 to control media, such as video content, audio content, or both, presented at a display device 1204 separate from the mobile communications device 1202 ...”; paragraph [0061], “In a particular embodiment, the media control server 1210 is in communication with a plurality of media control devices via a private access network 1214, such as an Internet protocol television (IPTV) system, a cable television system or a satellite television system. The plurality of media control devices may include media control devices located at more than one subscriber residence…“) capable of forming a connection between the personal computing device and the television(paragraph [0061], “…Accordingly, the media control server 1210 may select a particular media control device to which to send the control signals, based on identification information associated with the mobile communications device 1202. For example, the media control server 1210 may search subscriber account information based on the identification information associated with the mobile communications device 1202 to identify the particular media control device 1212 to be controlled based on the commands received from the mobile communications device 1202. “);
wherein the personal computing device (e.g., general-purpose computing device 100 as shown in Fig. 1 and 202A-202D as shown in Fig. 2; paragraph [0027]; paragraph [0030]) comprises:
a processor(e.g., processing unit (CPU) 120 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0025]),
a network interface(e.g., communication interface 180 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0028], “… A communications interface 180 generally enables the computing device 100 to communicate with one or more other computing devices using various communication and network protocols. “);
memory capable of storing executable instructions (e.g., system memory 130 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0027]); and
an input device capable of receiving user input(e.g., input device190 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0028], “To enable user interaction with the computing device 100, an input device 190 represents any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for speech, a touch sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, and so forth ...”), where the input device is capable of receiving user input in the form of speech (paragraph [0025], “ A particular system includes a mobile communications device that includes one or more input devices. The one or more input devices including a microphone to receive a speech input …. “);
wherein the executable instructions are capable of configuring the processor to:
receive, via the input device, user input in the form of speech(Abstract, “ Systems and methods to control media are disclosed. A particular method includes receiving a speech input at a mobile communications device... “), where the user input is a request to play user-selected content (paragraph [0059]; Examiner’s Note: Johnston discloses that “one or more commands may instruct the media control server 1210, the media control device 1212, or any combination thereof to record, download, display or otherwise access a particular media content item.” ); and
send, in response to the speech input(e.g., step 1518 as shown in Fig. 15), a message (e.g., REST API request parameters and associated description as shown in Fig. 6A) identifying the user- selected content to the server system (paragraph [0060], “In a particular embodiment, in response to the one or more commands, the media control server 1210 sends control signals to the media control device 1212, such as a set-top box device or a media recorder (e.g., a personal video recorder). The control signals may cause the media control device 1212 to display a particular program, to schedule a program for recording, or to otherwise control presentation of media at the display device 1204, which may be coupled to the media control device 1212…”; paragraph [0075]);
wherein the server system (e.g., system 1200 as shown in Fig. 12; paragraph [0056]) comprises a plurality of computer servers (e.g., speech to text server 1208 and media control server 1210 as shown in Fig. 12; paragraph [0059]) but does not expressly disclose a plurality of computer servers including:
at least one database server capable of maintaining a database in which a connection between the personal computing device and the television is recorded; and
at least one server configured to:
receive, via the Internet, the message sent by the personal computing device;
verify that the connection between the personal computing device and the television is recorded within the database;
translate the message sent by the personal computing device into a command, where the command includes at least one of:
an indication of a specific media player; and
an indication of the user-selected content; and
send the command to the television via the Internet;
wherein the television comprises:
a processor,
a network interface;
memory capable of storing the specific media player, and
a display screen;
wherein the specific media player, in response to receipt by the television of the command from the server system, is capable of causing the processor to:
stream the user-selected content from a content provider associated with the specific media player via the Internet; and
cause the user-selected content to play on the display screen.
Redford disclose a plurality of computer servers (e.g., computer system 250 as shown in Fig. 2B; Examiner’s Note: Redford discloses a computer systems 250 including authority server 282 and content provider server 2811 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 11, lines 49-59) including:
at least one database server capable (e.g., authority server 282 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 26, lines 11-24) of maintaining a database in which a connection between the personal computing device and the television is recorded (e.g., database 831 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 27, lines 17-33); and
at least one server(e.g., content provider server 2811as shown in Fig. 8B; column 26, lines 11-24) configured to:
receive, via the Internet, the message sent by the personal computing device (e.g., signal 832 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 27, lines 16-22);
verify that the connection between the personal computing device and the television is recorded within the database(e.g., act 1122 as shown in Fig. 11B and act 1127 as shown in Fig. 11C; column 35, lines 25-58);
translate the message sent by the personal computing device into a command(e.g., column 27, lines 4-55; column 31, lines 7-23), where the command includes at least one of:
an indication of a specific media player(e.g., act 1137 as shown in Fig. 11E; column 31, lines 24-42; column 36, lines 9-17); and
an indication of the user-selected content(e.g., Fig. 11F illustrates where the command an indication of the user-selected content; column 36, lines 18-40); and
send the command to the television via the Internet (column 31, , lines 742);
wherein the television comprises (e.g., internet-enabled television 303 as shown in Fig. 6B; column 25, lines 61-67 to column 26, lines 1-10 ):
a processor (e.g., internet-enabled television 303 as shown in Fig. 6B; column 25, lines 61-67 to column 26, lines 1-10 ),
a network interface(e.g., data network interface circuit 392 as shown in Fig. 7; column 24, lines 27-50);
memory capable of storing the specific media player (e.g., internet-enabled television 303 as shown in Fig. 6B; column 25, lines 61-67 to column 26, lines 1-10 ), and
a display screen (e.g., screen 307 as shown in Figs. 3A and 7; column 24, lines 42-50);
wherein the specific media player, in response to receipt by the television of the command from the server system, is capable of causing the processor to:
stream the user-selected content from a content provider associated with the specific media player via the Internet (e.g., act 413 as shown in Fig. 6B; column 22, lines 47-61); and
cause the user-selected content to play on the display screen(column 22, lines 47-61).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the video display device of Redford with the media control of Johnston for providing a richer viewing experience to a user as suggested by Johnston (column 2, lines 17-23).
Per claim 2, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 1, wherein:
the user input is a request to play the user-selected content on the television(Redford, e.g., acts 431 and 413 as shown in Fig. 6B; column 22, lines 5-23; column 22, lines 47-61); and
the message identifying the user-selected content also identifies the television(Redford, e.g., act 803 as shown in Fig. 8A; column 27, lines 34-55).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the video display device of Redford with the media control of Johnston for providing a richer viewing experience to a user as suggested by Johnston (column 2, lines 17-23).
Per claim 5, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 1, wherein receipt of the command by the television causes the processor of the television to:
establish a secure Internet connection with a server system of the content provider associated with the specific media player via the network interface (Redford, e.g., act 804 as shown in Fig. 8A; column 27, lines 56-67 to column 28, lines 1-3; Redford discloses using HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) to establish a secure Internet connection with a server system of an appropriate content provider via the network interface. );
obtain the specific media player via the secure connection; and load the specific media player files in the memory of the television (Redford, column 26, lines 35-41; column 35, lines 14-24; Examiner’s Note: Cucu discloses an HTMLMediaElement API that provide features to allow control of video
players programmatically.);
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the video display device of Redford with the media control of Johnston for providing a richer viewing experience to a user as suggested by Johnston (column 2, lines 17-23).
Claim 6, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 1, wherein:
the database comprises at least one table in which connections between a group of personal computing devices and a display device are recorded (Redford, e.g., act 802 as shown in Fig. 8A; column 27, lines 17-33); and
the connection between the personal computing device and the television is recorded in the database as a connection between a group of personal computing devices comprising the personal computing device and the television (Redford, e.g., act 802 as shown in Fig. 8A; column 27, lines 17-33).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the video display device of Redford with the media control of Johnston for providing a richer viewing experience to a user as suggested by Johnston (column 2, lines 17-23).
Per claim 7, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 6, further comprising:
a mobile device (Johnston, e.g., general-purpose computing device 100 as shown in Fig. 1 and 202A-202D as shown in Fig. 2; paragraph [0027]; paragraph [0030]) comprising:
a display screen(Johnston, e.g., output device 170 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0028]);
an input device(Johnston, e.g., input device 170 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0028]; Redford, e.g., touch-sensitive screen 204 as shown in 2A-2N; column 5,
lines 54-58);
memory containing a downloadable mobile application (Redford, column 23, lines 49-54; Examiner’s Note: Redford discloses downloadable mobile applications 203A-2N as shown in Fig. 2B );
a network interface capable of coupling the mobile device to a network(Redford, e.g., data network interface circuit 392 as shown in Fig. 7; column 24, lines 27-50);
a processor(Redford, column 4, lines 29-31; column 23, lines 49-54, “ Note that handheld device 200 in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6B includes at least a processor coupled to memory and the memory stores an EPG app 202I with the related EPG data including one or more descriptions 206A-206Z of correspond “);
wherein the processor of the mobile device is configured by the downloadable mobile application(Redford, column 2, lines 59-67; column 35, lines 42-58;column 32, lines 12-39; Examiner’s Note: Fig. 2B illustrates wherein the processor is configured by the downloadable mobile application. ) to:
display, via the display screen, a list of display devices including the television(Redford, e.g., act 1131 as shown in Fig,. 11D; column 35, lines 59-67 to column 36, lines 1-8; Examiner’s Note: Redford discloses identifying at least one internet-enabled TV on the display of handheld 200. );
receive, via the input device, a selection of the television from the list of display devices(Redford, e.g., act 1131 as shown in Fig,. 11D; column 35, lines 59-67 to column 36, lines 1-8; Examiner’s Note: Redford discloses marking handheld device and TV as being associated in act 1134 as shown in Fig. 11D.); and
send, via the network interface, a message indicating the selection of the television to the server system(Redford, e.g., signal 832 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 27, lines 34-55 );
wherein the server system (Redford, e.g. authority server 282 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 26, lines 25-56) is further configured to:
receive the message indicating the selection of the television sent by the mobile device (Redford, e.g., signal 832 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 27, lines 17--55 ); and
record the connection between the group of personal computing devices comprising the personal computing device and the television in the database in response to receipt of the message sent by the mobile device (Redford, e.g., database 831 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 27, lines 17-55).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the video display device of Redford with the media control of Johnston for providing a richer viewing experience to a user as suggested by Johnston (column 2, lines 17-23).
Per claim 12, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 1, wherein the at least one server is configured to send the command to the television by at least one of:
pushing a message containing the command to the television (Redford, column 44, lines 48-52); and
sending the command to the television in response to receipt of a polling request from the television(Redford, act 922 as shown in Fig. 9C; column 31, lines 15-16).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the video display device of Redford with the media control of Johnston for providing a richer viewing experience to a user as suggested by Johnston (column 2, lines 17-23).
Claims 3-4 and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnston et al. (Hereinafter, Johnston, US 2011/0067059 A1) in view of Redford et al. (Hereinafter, Redford, US 8,660,545 B1), and further in view of Cucu et al. (Hereinafter, Cucu, US 2012/0260267 A1).
Per claim 3, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 1, but do not expressly disclose wherein the command includes a transmission code, where the transmission code instructs the television to load the specific media player and play the user- selected content.
Cucu discloses wherein the command includes a transmission code (Cucu, e.g., code 102 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0013]; paragraph [0017]; paragraph [0032]; paragraph [0047]; Examiner’s Note: Cucu discloses transmitting code 102 to a device such as a television in block 402 as shown in Fig. 4), where the transmission code instructs the television to load the specific media player and play the user- selected content (Cucu, paragraph [0033]; paragraph [0038]; Examiner’s Note: Cucu discloses a markup document can defining getter and setter methods supported by a scripting API to carry out player commands. ).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the methods and systems of Cucu with Johnston and Redford for improving both the user experience and the experience of developers who work to distribute content to the users as suggested by Cucu (paragraph [0002]).
Per claim 4, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 1, but does not expressly disclose wherein:
the television further comprises a storage device containing the specific media player; and
receipt of the command by the television causes the processor of the television to load the specific media player from storage into the memory of the television.
Cucu discloses wherein:
the television (e.g., computing device 202 as shown in Fig. 2; paragraph [0023]) further comprises a storage device (e.g., computer-readable medium (memory 206) as shown in Fig. 2; paragraph [0028] ) containing the specific media player (paragraphs [0024-0025]; Examiner’s Note: Cucu’s proxy object(s) 126 are capable of using a plurality of different downloadable JavaScript media players to play content selected by a user of a personal computing device.); and
receipt of the command by the television causes the processor of the television to load the specific media player from storage into the memory of the television (paragraph [0014]; paragraph [0018]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the methods and systems of Cucu with Johnston and Redford for improving both the user experience and the experience of developers who work to distribute content to the users as suggested by Cucu (paragraph [0002]).
Claim 10, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 1, but does not expressly disclose wherein:
the server system is configured to identify the specific media player based upon the message sent by the personal computing device; and
the command is formatted in a manner that is specific to the specific media player.
Cucu wherein:
the server system is configured to identify the specific media player based upon the message sent by the personal computing device (e.g., block 404 as shown in Fig. 4; paragraph [0047]); and
the command is formatted in a manner that is specific to the specific media player(paragraphs [0020-0021]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the methods and systems of Cucu with Johnston and Redford for improving both the user experience and the experience of developers who work to distribute content to the users as suggested by Cucu (paragraph [0002]).
Claim 11, Johnston, Redford, and Cucu disclose the system of claim 10, wherein the command is formatted as a JavaScript object (Cucu, paragraphs [0013], [0025], [0034], [0039-0040], and [0043]).
Claims 8-9, 21-22 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnston et al. (Hereinafter, Johnston, US 2011/0067059 A1) in view of Redford et al. (Hereinafter, Redford, US 8,660,545 B1), and further in view of Sukeda et al. (Hereinafter, Sukeda, US 2009/0172780 A1).
Per claim 8, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 7, wherein:
a mobile device (Johnston, e.g., general-purpose computing device 100 as shown in Fig. 1 and 202A-202D as shown in Fig. 2; paragraph [0027]; paragraph [0030]) comprising:
a display screen(Johnston, e.g., output device 170 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0028]);
an input device(Johnston, e.g., input device 170 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0028]; Redford, e.g., touch-sensitive screen 204 as shown in 2A-2N; column 5, lines 54-58);
memory containing a downloadable mobile application(Redford, column 23, lines 49-54; Examiner’s Note: Redford discloses downloadable mobile applications 203A-2N as shown in Fig. 2B );
a network interface capable of coupling the mobile device to a network(Redford, e.g., data network interface circuit 392 as shown in Fig. 7; column 24, lines 27-50); and
a processor(Redford, column 4, lines 29-31; column 23, lines 49-54, “ Note that handheld device 200 in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6B includes at least a processor coupled to memory and the memory stores an EPG app 202I with the related EPG data including one or more descriptions 206A-206Z of correspond “);
wherein the server system is further configured to:
receive the message sent by the mobile device(Redford, e.g., signal 832 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 27, lines 17--55 ); and
record the connection between the group of personal computing devices comprising the personal computing device and the television in the database in response to receipt of the message sent by the mobile device(Redford, e.g., database 831 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 27, lines 17-55).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the video display device of Redford with the media control of Johnston for providing a richer viewing experience to a user as suggested by Johnston (column 2, lines 17-23).
Johnston and Redford do not expressly disclose:
wherein the processor of the television is further configured to cause display of a synchronization code via the display screen;
wherein the processor of the mobile device is configured by the downloadable mobile application to:
receive, via the input device, the synchronization code;
send, via the network interface, a message to the server system, where the message is generated based upon the synchronization code.
However, Sukeda discloses:
wherein the processor of the television is further configured to cause display of a synchronization code via the display screen (e.g., step 302 as shown in Fig. 4; paragraph [0052]);
wherein the processor of the mobile device is configured by the downloadable mobile application to:
receive, via the input device, the synchronization code(e.g., step 303 as shown in Fig. 4; paragraph [0052], “… This QR Code includes a URL for registration, the display terminal ID, and other necessary data. When the QR Code is read using the operation terminal (mainly, mobile phone) (303), and the operation terminal accesses the URL for registration with an identification code of the operation terminal itself being attached (304), the server receives the display terminal ID and the terminal identification code of the operation terminal, and starts registration processing ... “ );
send, via the network interface, a message to the server system (e.g., screen 464 as shown in Fig. 20 ), where the message is generated based upon the synchronization code (e.g., steps 304-305 as shown in Fig. 4; paragraph [0052]; paragraph [0081]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the server device of Sukeda with the media control of Johnston and Redford for making it convenient to watch various moving image contents on television as suggested by Sukeda paragraph [0007]).
Per claim 9, Johnston, Redford, and Sukeda disclose the system of claim 8, wherein:
the synchronization code displayed via the display screen of the television is a QR code(Sukeda, paragraph [0081]);
the input device of the mobile device is a camera(Sukeda, paragraph [0081]); and
the processor the mobile device is further configured by the downloadable mobile application to capture an image of the QR code displayed on the display screen of the television using the camera of the mobile device(Sukeda, paragraph [0081]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the server device of Sukeda with the media control of Johnston and Redford for making it convenient to watch various moving image contents on television as suggested by Sukeda paragraph [0007]).
Per claim 21, Johnston discloses a system for controlling content presentation via voice commands(e.g., system 1200 as shown in Fig. 12; Abstract; paragraph [0022]; paragraph [0056]), comprising:
a controller device (e.g., media controller 1430 as shown in Fig. 14; paragraph [0067], “…In another example, the processor 1402 may generate a control signal based on the text and send the control signal to a media controller to control media presented via the media controller ... “; paragraph [0068]);
a receiver device (e.g., display device 1434 as shown in Fig. 14; paragraph [0068]);
a server system capable of forming a connection between the controller device and the receiver device (e.g., server computing device 1400 as Fig. 14; paragraph [0069]);
wherein the controller device comprises:
a processor (e.g., processor 120 as shown Fig. 1; paragraph [0027]),
a network interface(e.g., communications interface 180 as shown Fig. 1; paragraph [0028]);
memory capable of storing executable instructions(e.g., system memory 130 as shown Fig. 1; paragraph [0028]); and
an input device capable of receiving user input(e.g., input device190 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0028], “To enable user interaction with the computing device 100, an input device 190 represents any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for speech, a touch sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, and so forth ...”), where the input device is capable of receiving user input in the form of speech(paragraph [0025], “ A particular system includes a mobile communications device that includes one or more input devices. The one or more input devices including a microphone to receive a speech input …. “);
wherein the executable instructions are capable of configuring the processor to:
receive, via the input device, user input in the form of speech (paragraph [0025]; paragraph [0059]); and
send a message based upon the speech input to the server system (paragraph [0060], “In a particular embodiment, in response to the one or more commands, the media control server 1210 sends control signals to the media control device 1212, such as a set-top box device or a media recorder (e.g., a personal video recorder). The control signals may cause the media control device 1212 to display a particular program, to schedule a program for recording, or to otherwise control presentation of media at the display device 1204, which may be coupled to the media control device 1212…”; paragraph [0075]); but does not expressly disclose:
wherein the server system comprises a plurality of computer servers including:
at least one database server capable of maintaining a database in which a connection between the controller device and the receiver device is recorded;
at least one server configured to:
receive, via the Internet, the message sent by the controller device;
convert the message sent by the controller device into a command to play a piece of content; and
send the command to play the piece of content to the receiver device via the Internet;
wherein the receiver device comprises:
a processor,
a network interface;
memory capable of storing the specific media player, and
wherein the specific media player, in response to receipt by the receiver device of the command from the server system, is capable of causing the processor to:
stream the piece of content from a content provider via the Internet; and
cause the piece of content to play.
Redford discloses wherein the server system comprises a plurality of computer servers (e.g., computer system 250 as shown in Fig. 2B; Examiner’s Note: Redford discloses a computer systems 250 including authority server 282 and content provider server 2811 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 11, lines 49-59) including:
at least one database server capable (e.g., authority server 282 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 26, lines 11-24) of maintaining a database in which a connection between the controller device and the receiver device is recorded (e.g., database 831 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 27, lines 17-33);
at least one server(e.g., content provider server 2811as shown in Fig. 8B; column 26, lines 11-24) configured to:
receive, via the Internet, the message sent by the controller device (e.g., signal 832 as shown in Fig. 8B; column 27, lines 16-22);
convert the message sent by the controller device into a command to play a piece of content(e.g., column 27, lines 4-55; column 31, lines 7-23); and
send the command to play the piece of content to the receiver device via the Internet(column 31, , lines 742);
wherein the receiver device (e.g., internet-enabled television 303 as shown in Fig. 6B; column 25, lines 61-67 to column 26, lines 1-10 )comprises:
a processor(e.g., internet-enabled television 303 as shown in Fig. 6B; column 25, lines 61-67 to column 26, lines 1-10 ),
a network interface(e.g., data network interface circuit 392 as shown in Fig. 7; column 24, lines 27-50);
memory capable of storing the specific media player(e.g., internet-enabled television 303 as shown in Fig. 6B; column 25, lines 61-67 to column 26, lines 1-10 ), and
wherein the specific media player, in response to receipt by the receiver device of the command from the server system, is capable of causing the processor to:
stream the piece of content from a content provider via the Internet (e.g., act 413 as shown in Fig. 6B; column 22, lines 47-61); and
cause the piece of content to play(column 22, lines 47-61).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the video display device of Redford with the media control of Johnston for providing a richer viewing experience to a user as suggested by Johnston (column 2, lines 17-23).
Per claim 22, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 21, wherein the server system is configured to verify that the connection between the controller device and the receiver device is recorded within the database prior to the at least one server sending the command to the receiver device(Redford, e.g., act 1122 as shown in Fig. 11B and act 1127 as shown in Fig. 11C; column 35, lines 25-58).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the video display device of Redford with the media control of Johnston for providing a richer viewing experience to a user as suggested by Johnston (column 2, lines 17-23).
Per claim 25, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 22, wherein receipt of the command by the receiver device causes the processor of the receiver device to:
establish a secure Internet connection with a server system of the content provider via the network interface (Redford, e.g., act 804 as shown in Fig. 8A; column 27, lines 56-67 to column 28, lines 1-3; Redford discloses using HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) to establish a secure Internet connection with a server system of an appropriate content provider via the network interface. );
obtain the specific media player via the secure connection(Redford, column 26, lines 35-41; column 35, lines 14-24); and
load the specific media player in the memory of the receiver device (Redford, column 26, lines 35-41).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the video display device of Redford with the media control of Johnston for providing a richer viewing experience to a user as suggested by Johnston (column 2, lines 17-23).
Claims 23-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnston et al. (Hereinafter, Johnston, US 2011/0067059 A1) in view of Redford et al. (Hereinafter, Redford, US 8,660,545 B1), and further in view of Cucu et al. (Hereinafter, Cucu, US 2012/0260267 A1).
Claim 23, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 22, but do not expressly disclose wherein the command includes a transmission code, where the transmission code comprises an identifier for the specific media player and an identifier for the piece of content.
Cucu discloses wherein the command includes a transmission code (e.g., code 102 as shown in Fig. 1; paragraph [0013]; paragraph [0017]; paragraph [0032]; paragraph [0047]; Examiner's Note: Cucu discloses transmitting code 102 to a device such as a television in block 402 as shown in Fig. 4), where the transmission code comprises an identifier for the specific media player and an identifier for the piece of content (paragraph [0033]; paragraph [0038]; Examiner's Note: Cucu discloses a markup document can defining getter and setter methods supported by a scripting API).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the rendering device of Cucu with the media control of Johnston and Redford for improving both user experience as suggested by Cucu (paragraph [0002]).
Claim 24, Johnston and Redford disclose the system of claim 22, but do not expressly disclose wherein:
the receiver device further comprises a storage device containing the specific media player; and
receipt of the command by the receiver device causes the processor of the receiver device to load the specific media player from storage into the memory of the receiver device.
Cucu discloses wherein:
the receiver device further comprises a storage device (e.g., memory 206 as shown in Fig. 2;paragraph [0030] ) containing the specific media player(e.g., proxy object 126 as shown in Fig. 2; paragraph [0032]); and
receipt of the command by the receiver device causes the processor of the receiver device to load the specific media player from storage into the memory of the receiver device.
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the rendering device of Cucu with the media control of Johnston and Redford for improving both user experience as suggested by Cucu (paragraph [0002]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-15 and 17-20 are allowable. Claim 16 would be allowable upon overcoming claim objections. The prior art fails to disclose “wherein the server system comprises: at least one database server capable of maintaining a database in which connections between groups of personal computing devices and display devices are recorded; and at least one server configured to: receive, via the Internet, the message sent by the first personal computing device; and in response to receipt of the message sent by the first personal computing device, cause a connection between a group of personal computing devices and the television to be recorded in the database, where the group of personal computing devices comprises the first computing device and the second computing device” as recites in claim 13.
Claims 26-30 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARRIN HOPE whose telephone number is (571)270-5079. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thr - 6:45-4:15, Fri - 6:45-3:15, Alt. Fri Off.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Stephen S Hong can be reached at (571)272-4124. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
DARRIN HOPE
Examiner
Art Unit 2178
/STEPHEN S HONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2178