COMCAST CABLE COMMUNICATIONS, LLCDownload PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardMay 20, 20202019001959 (P.T.A.B. May. 20, 2020) Copy Citation UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www.uspto.gov APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 13/826,090 03/14/2013 Leslie Eugene Chipman 007412.01596 8306 71867 7590 05/20/2020 BANNER & WITCOFF , LTD ATTORNEYS FOR CLIENT NUMBER 007412 1100 13th STREET, N.W. SUITE 1200 WASHINGTON, DC 20005-4051 EXAMINER MONSHI, SAMIRA ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2422 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 05/20/2020 ELECTRONIC Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the following e-mail address(es): PTO-71867@bannerwitcoff.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________ BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD ____________ Ex parte LESLIE EUGENE CHIPMAN, AMIT BAGGA, JENNY JIANG, ANITA ERADLA, and SCOT ZOLA Appeal 2019-001959 Application 13/826,090 Technology Center 2400 ____________ Before GREGG I. ANDERSON, ADAM J. PYONIN, and MICHAEL M. BARRY, Administrative Patent Judges. BARRY, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), Comcast Cable Communications, LLC (“Appellant”) appeals the Examiner’s decision to reject claims 1–4, 6, 7, 10, 12–16, and 19–26, which are all of the pending claims.1 See Appeal Br. 6–18; Final Act. 1–24. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We REVERSE. 1 We use “Appellant” to refer to the “applicant” as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.42. Appellant identifies the real party in interest as Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. Appeal Br. 3. Appeal 2019-001959 Application 13/826,090 2 Introduction The Specification states there is an ever-present need to provide more useful tools to viewers so that they may be presented with information about content, such as a television program, that enables the viewers to learn of a development or event in the content or enables the viewers to switch to content that is more immediately of interest to them. Spec. ¶ 3. Claims 1, 6, and 12 are independent, of which claim 1 is illustrative: 1. A method comprising: identifying, from video content, video segments that depict a plurality of events matching event criteria; combining the video segments into a sequence of the video segments; storing the sequence of the video segments to a location; determining an identifier or a link, the identifier or the link being configured to enable the sequence of the video segments to be requested; generating an event message that alerts a user to an occurrence of the plurality of events and that comprises the identifier or the link; transmitting the event message to a second device; receiving, after transmitting the event message to the second device, from the second device, a request for the sequence of the video segments that comprises the identifier or the link; transmitting, to the second device, the sequence of the video segments as a response to the request for the sequence of the video segments; receiving, from the second device, a command to transmit the sequence of the video segments to a first device; and Appeal 2019-001959 Application 13/826,090 3 transmitting, to the first device, at least a portion of the sequence of the video segments as a response to the command. Appeal Br. 19 (Claims App’x). The Rejections The Examiner rejected claims 1, 2, 4, and 24–26 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over Chapman (US 2006/0200842 A1; pub. Sept. 7, 2006), Maharajh (US 2011/0225417 A1; pub. Sept. 15, 2011), and Hedge (US 2009/ 0288132 A1; pub. Nov. 19, 2009). Final Act. 2–8. The Examiner rejected claims 6, 10, 12, 13, 15, and 23 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over Chapman and Hedge. Final Act. 8–16. The Examiner rejected claim 3 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over Chapman, Maharajh, Hedge, and Packard (US 2014/0359662 A1; pub. Dec. 4, 2014). Final Act. 16–18. The Examiner rejected claims 7, 19, 21, and 22 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over Chapman, Hedge, and Packard. Final Act. 18–21. The Examiner rejected claims 14, 16, and 20 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over Chapman, Hedge, and Gutowski (US 2006/0105793 A1; pub. May 18, 2006). Final Act. 21–24. ANALYSIS Appellant contends, inter alia,2 the Examiner errs in relying on the combination of Chapman, Maharaj, and Hegde. Appeal Br. 11. Hegde is relied on for teaching the disputed limitations of “receiving, from the second device, a command to transmit the sequence of the video segments to a first device; and transmitting, to the first device, at least a portion of the sequence 2 We reverse the Examiner based on a dispositive issue and, therefore, we do not address all of Appellant’s arguments. Appeal 2019-001959 Application 13/826,090 4 of the video segments as a response to the command,” as recited in each of the independent claims. Final Act. 6 (claim 1), 10–11 (claim 6), and 13 (claim 12); see also Ans. 4–6. Appellant argues that the combination of references would not make sense for a number of reasons. Appeal Br. 11– 12. Appellant’s argument is persuasive. In rejecting the independent claims, the Examiner finds Chapman teaches transmitting “an event message that alerts a user to an occurrence of [a] plurality of events” depicted in “a sequence of video segments” as recited in claim 1 and as similarly recited in claims 6 and 24. Final Act. 2–4 (claim 1), 8–10 (claim 6), and 11–12 (claim 12). We agree with the Examiner that Chapman’s disclosure of techniques for “formulating picture-in-picture (PIP) alerts based on the matching events, and providing the PIP alerts to the consumer’s output device” (Chapman, Abstract; see also Fig.7) teaches transmitting a message to alert a user to events depicted in a sequence of video segments, as recited. Final Act. 3; see also Chapman ¶ 82 (explaining that PIP alerts may be video streams). In view of Chapman, the Examiner then finds Hegde’s disclosure for controlling a television display using mobile devices teaches “receiving, from the second device [(i.e., Hegde’s mobile phone 1)], a command to transmit the sequence of the video segments to a first device [(i.e., Hegde’s television 3)]; and transmitting, to the first device, at least a portion of the sequence of the video segments as a response to the command.” See Final Act. 6; Ans. 4–6. Hegde’s Figures 2 and 7, reproduced below, illustrate the disclosure from Hegde upon which the Examiner relies: Appeal 2019-001959 Application 13/826,090 5 Hegde Figure 2 shows mobile phones 1a and 1b that operate as remote controllers for television 3 (with each mobile phone providing audio corresponding to content displayed on the television, e.g., phone 1a providing audio for video image 301 and phone 2a providing audio for video image 302). See Hegde ¶¶ 28–29. Appeal 2019-001959 Application 13/826,090 6 Hegde “FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate an operation between TV [700] and mobile devices [705, 710] by transmission and receiving of messages.” Hegde ¶ 73; see also id. ¶¶ 74–80. We agree with Appellant that Hegde’s mobile phone messages to the TV “are akin to tuning commands from a television remote control.” Appeal Br. 11. As Hegde Figures 7A–B illustrate, its mobile devices send “Action” messages (commands) to the television to “Change Channel” and “switch to pic in pic,” with the only data provided with the commands being a channel number. See Hegde ¶¶ 73–80. A TV’s receiving of a command designating a channel number to use does not constitute “receiving, from the second device” (i.e., Hegde’s mobile phone) “a command to transmit the sequence of the video segments to a first device” (i.e., the TV), as recited. Appeal 2019-001959 Application 13/826,090 7 The Examiner’s stated rationale for combining Chapman and Hegde—“to inform of the channel change to the mobile device” (Final Act. 6, 11, 13)—does not fill the gap in terms of explaining how or why, in view Chapman’s PIP alerts that constitute “a sequence of video segments” that are displayed on the TV, Hegde’s action messages for controlling which channels the TV uses would have suggested receiving “a command to transmit the sequence of the video segments,” as recited. Accordingly, Appellant persuades us the Examiner errs in relying on Hegde for teaching the disputed limitations. Furthermore, the Examiner has not sufficiently explained how or why a person of ordinary skill with combine the teachings of Hegde with Chapman. CONCLUSION We do not, therefore, sustain the § 103 rejections of the independent claims 1, 6, and 12. We likewise do not sustain the § 103 rejections of their dependent claims 2–4, 7, 10, 13–16, and 19–26. DECISION SUMMARY In summary: Appeal 2019-001959 Application 13/826,090 8 Claim(s) Rejected 35 U.S.C. § Reference(s)/Basis Affirmed Reversed 1, 2, 4, 24–26 103 Chapman, Maharajh, Hegde 1, 2, 4, 24–26 6, 10, 12, 13, 15, 23 103 Chapman, Hegde 6, 10, 12, 13, 15, 23 3 103 Chapman, Maharajh, Hegde, Packard 3 7, 19, 21, 22 103 Chapman, Hegde, Packard 7, 19, 21, 22 14, 16, 20 103 Chapman, Hegde, Gutowski 14, 16, 20 Overall Outcome 1–4, 6, 7, 10, 12–16, 19–26 REVERSED Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation