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
Response to Amendment
This action is in response to the amendment filed on 10/24/2025. Claims 1-8 and 10-21 are presently pending. Claim 9 has been canceled by the Applicant. Claims 12-21 are newly presented.
Specification, as amended, is noted.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because it appears to be poor machine translation of a foreign language document. The Specification is evaluated in light of the plain meaning English language phrases.
Phrases such as “microphone slot area”, “stream pooling player”, “hollow part” does not make any sense. Applicant must provide an explanation, on the record, as to the meaning of such phrases and provide a better English translation
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
Figs. 1, and 2a are objected to as their labels such as “microphone slot area”, “stream pooling player”, “hollow part” does not make any sense. The Specification further fails to provide any clarification.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-8 and 10-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims recite “microphone slot area”, “stream pooling player”, “canvas”, “theme”, “cutting out” that are not clear as to their meaning. The specification fails to define such phrases adequately in order to clearly set the metes and bounds of the claims.
In the interest of compact prosecution, as required by the United States Patent Office, Examiner interpret the claims to be directed to display of different windows/ frames corresponding to participants of a steaming event.
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.
Claims 1-8 and 10-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Barbosa da Silva et al., USPGPUB 2023/0300292 (hereinafter “da Silva”).
Regarding claim 1, da Silva discloses a method of processing a live streaming interface Abstract, Fig. 14 and corresponding descriptions), comprising:
acquiring layout information of the live streaming interface, wherein the layout information comprises position information of at least one microphone slot area (Microphone slot area is interpreted as the participant position/ display; ¶¶ [36], [86], [113], [129]-[132]; Also see Fig. 14 and corresponding descriptions); and
processing, according to the layout information, an area in a theme layer view (¶ [125]) corresponding to the microphone slot area, to display content in an area in a stream pulling player layer view corresponding to the microphone slot area (¶¶ [36], [86], [113], [129]-[132]; Also see Fig. 14 and corresponding descriptions), wherein the theme layer view is located above the stream pulling player layer view (¶¶ [37], [43], [52], [62], [110], [135]-[136]).
Regarding claim 2, da Silva discloses wherein processing, according to the layout information, the area in the theme layer view corresponding to the microphone slot area, to display the content in the area in the stream pulling player layer view corresponding to the microphone slot area comprises:
acquiring a canvas (¶ [154]) and a theme image corresponding to the theme layer view (¶¶ [36], [86], [113], [125], [129]-[132]); and
processing an area in the canvas corresponding to the microphone slot area according to the layout information (¶¶ [36], [86], [113], [125], [129]-[132]), and/or processing an area in the theme image corresponding to the microphone slot area according to the layout information, to display the content in the area in the stream pulling player layer view corresponding to the microphone slot area (¶¶ [36], [86], [113], [125], [129]-[132]).
Regarding claim 3, da Silva discloses wherein processing the area in the canvas corresponding to the microphone slot area according to the layout information comprises:
adjusting transparency of the area in the canvas corresponding to the microphone slot area according to the layout information (¶¶ [52], [64]); or cutting out the area in the canvas corresponding to the microphone slot area according to the layout information (It is not clear what is meant by cutting out. Does it mean discontinuing the display, obscuring, over writing, deleting? Regardless Examiner is not able to provide art without clear recitation. Furthermore, the recitation of OR only requires evidence for one condition in order to meet the claim’s limitations).
Regarding claim 4, da Silva discloses wherein processing the area in the theme image corresponding to the microphone slot area according to the layout information comprises:
adjusting transparency of the area in the theme image corresponding to the microphone slot area according to the layout information (¶¶ [52], [64]); or, cutting out the area in the theme image corresponding to the microphone slot area according to the layout information (See rejection of claim 3).
Regarding claim 5, da Silva discloses wherein processing the area in the canvas corresponding to the microphone slot area according to the layout information, and/or processing the area in the theme image corresponding to the microphone slot area according to the layout information, to display the content in the area in the stream pulling player layer view corresponding to the microphone slot area comprises:
acquiring a processed theme layer view according to the processed canvas (¶¶ [52], [64]) and/or the processed theme image (¶ [125]); and
overlaying the processed theme layer view with the stream pulling player layer view to display the content in the area in the stream pulling player layer view corresponding to the microphone slot area (¶¶ [37], [43], [52], [62], [110], [135]-[136]).
Regarding claim 6, da Silva discloses wherein acquiring the processed theme layer view according to the processed canvas and/or the processed theme image comprises:
rendering the unprocessed theme image onto the processed canvas in response to the theme image not being processed (¶¶ [52], [62], [64], [110], [125], [135]-[136]); or rendering the processed theme image onto the processed canvas in response to the theme image being processed, to obtain the processed theme layer view (¶¶ [37], [43], [52], [62], [110], [125], [135]-[136]). Further see Fig. 14, ¶¶ [149]-[158].
Regarding claim 7, da Silva discloses wherein overlaying the processed theme layer view with the stream pulling player layer view to display the content in the area in the stream pulling player layer view corresponding to the microphone slot area comprises:
overlaying the processed theme layer view on a top of the stream pulling player layer view to display the content in the area in the stream pulling player layer view corresponding to the microphone slot area (¶¶ [37], [43], [52], [62], [110], [135]-[136]).
Regarding claim 8, da Silva discloses wherein the position information of the microphone slot area comprises vertex coordinates and/or a border length of the microphone slot area (¶¶ [40], [83], [89], [109], [121]).
The devices of claims 10 and 12-18 recite similar features as those of the methods of claims 1-8, respectively, effectuated by the same, therefore, are rejected by the same analysis.
The computer program product of claims 11 and 21 recite similar features as those of the methods of claims 1-4, respectively, effectuated by the same, therefore, are rejected by the same analysis.
Contacts
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES R MARANDI whose telephone number is (571)270-1843. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8-7 ET flex.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan J Flynn can be reached at 571-272-1915. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES R MARANDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421