Ex Parte LEEDownload PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardMay 6, 201914300525 - (D) (P.T.A.B. May. 6, 2019) Copy Citation UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE 14/300,525 06/10/2014 58027 7590 05/08/2019 H.C. PARK & ASSOCIATES, PLC 1894 PRESTON WHITE DRIVE RESTON, VA 20191 FIRST NAMED INVENTOR Joon-Seub LEE 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 ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. P5737USOO 7773 EXAMINER HO,RUAYL ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2175 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 05/08/2019 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): PATENT@PARK-LAW.COM PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte JOON-SEUB LEE Appeal2018-006909 Application 14/300,525 Technology Center 2100 Before JOHN A. JEFFERY, BARBARA A. PARVIS, and SCOTT E. BAIN, Administrative Patent Judges. JEFFERY, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Appellant1 appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner's decision to reject claims 1, 3-12, 14--16, and 18-22. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We reverse and enter a new ground of rejection. STATEMENT OF THE CASE Appellant's invention displays an integrated communication history of a user terminal by (1) transmitting or receiving content using an integrated communication service, (2) collecting communication history of content transmission or reception using the integrated communication service, and 1 Appellant identifies the real party in interest as Pantech Inc. App. Br. 3. Appeal2018-006909 Application 14/300,525 (3) generating a user interface feature based on the communication history. See generally Abstract. Claim 1 is illustrative: 1. A method for displaying an integrated communication history of a user terminal, the method comprising the user terminal: transmitting or receiving a content using an integrated communication service; and executing instructions on a processor of the user terminal to perform processes of: collecting communication history of content transmission or reception using the integrated communication service; generating a user interface feature based on the communication history; and displaying the communication history in a user interface on a display of the user terminal in association with the user interface feature, wherein the user interface excludes communication history that has been locked based on a contact or a type of the transmission or reception. THE REJECTIONS The Examiner rejected claims 1, 3-7, 9-12, 14--16, and 18-22 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over Jang (US 2013/0339520 Al; published Dec. 19, 2013), Lubbers (US 2009/0006877 Al; published Jan. 1, 2009), and Garbow (US 2008/0114767 Al; published May 15, 2008). Ans. 3-8. 2 The Examiner rejected claim 8 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over Jang, Lubbers, Garbow, and Javenpaa (US 2011/0231544 Al; published Sept. 22, 2011). Ans. 8-9. 2 Throughout this opinion, we refer to ( 1) the Appeal Brief filed March 19, 2018 ("App. Br."); (2) the Examiner's Answer mailed April 24, 2018 ("Ans."); and (3) the Reply Brief filed June 25, 2018 ("Reply Br."). 2 Appeal2018-006909 Application 14/300,525 THE REJECTION OVER JANG, LUBBERS, AND GARBOW Regarding independent claim 1, the Examiner finds that Jang discloses displaying a user terminal's integrated communication history, where the terminal collects and displays the history in a user interface on the terminal's display. Ans. 3--4. Although the Examiner acknowledges that Jang does not "spell out the 'locked content is invisible,"' the Examiner cites Lubbers and Garbow for teaching the recited user interface's excluding locked communication history, and concludes that it would have been obvious to incorporate Lubbers' and Garbow' s features into Jang "to enhance its communication history management functions." Ans. 4. Appellant argues that not only did the Examiner fail to articulate a proper reason to combine the references-references that are said to be non- analogous art-but the references also do not teach or suggest the user interface's excluding locked communication history based on a contact or type of transmission or reception as claimed. App. Br. 10-15; Reply Br. 4-- 9. According to Appellant, the Examiner's articulated reason to combine the references, namely to enhance Jang's communication history management functions, is conclusory, lacks analysis, and does not explain why ordinarily skilled artisans would look to Lubbers' storage array or Garbow's file trading teachings absent impermissible hindsight. App. Br. 10-14. Appellant adds that Lubbers and Garbow do not teach or suggest that elements are locked based on a contact or type of transmission or reception as claimed. App. Br. 15. 3 Appeal2018-006909 Application 14/300,525 ISSUES (1) Under§ 103, has the Examiner erred by finding that Jang, Lubbers, and Garbow collectively would have taught or suggested the user interface's excluding locked communication history based on a contact or type of transmission or reception as recited in claim 1? (2) Is the Examiner's proposed combination of the cited references supported by articulated reasoning with some rational underpinning to justify the Examiner's obviousness conclusion? ANALYSIS We begin by noting that Appellant does not dispute the Examiner's reliance on Jang for teaching the recited elements in all but the last clause of claim 1 (Ans. 3--4). Rather, as noted above, the dispute is based solely on the Examiner's reliance on Lubbers and Garbow for teaching the user interface's locked communication history exclusion in claim 1 's last clause, as well as the cited references' combinability. A key aspect of claim 1 is the user interface excluding locked communication history based on a contact or type of transmission or reception. Our emphasis underscores that not all communication history is excluded: rather, only communication history that is locked. We, therefore, construe the term "locked" as used in this context. Notably, the Specification does not define the term "locked," unlike other terms whose concrete definitions leave no doubt as to their meaning. See, e.g., Spec. ,r,r 27-28 (defining various terms). Nevertheless, the Specification explains that interface manager 400 can generate and display part of a communication history as a user interface based on communication 4 Appeal2018-006909 Application 14/300,525 history that has not been locked among the whole communication history managed by communication history manager 300. Spec. ,r 52; Fig. 1. According to the Specification's paragraph 52, the managed communication history can include lock setting information. For example, communication history may be locked according to the contact or type of communication, and interface manager 400 may exclude the locked communication history when generating a user interface. Spec. ,r,r 52, 77. In addition, the user terminal can have a lock setting capability enabling a user to lock or unlock all or part of the communication history. Id. ,r 53. When a user unlocks a locked communication history, the unlocked communication history can be displayed through the user interface. Id. ,r,r 53, 77; Fig. 5. Notably, methods or procedures for implementing the lock setting capability are unlimited. Id. ,r 53. Figure 6A, for example, shows a screen displayed on a user terminal with a user interface associated with a communication history indicating various calls' content represented by various icons, namely "P" for photo content, "C" for a chat message, "F" for a general file, etc. Id. ,r,r 74--76. As shown below, five calls are displayed with their associated icons and other identifying information, including the party's name associated with the respective call. 5 Appeal2018-006909 Application 14/300,525 !Oa ::1 indicator Ton~ (\ 010-123-'}999 /Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation