Ex Parte Yamada

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

Oct 27, 2005

09778895 (B.P.A.I. Oct. 27, 2005)

1
The opinion in support of the decision being entered today was
not written for publication and is not binding precedent of the
Board.
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS
AND INTERFERENCES

Ex parte JIRO YAMADA

Appeal No. 2005-2320
Application 09/778,895

HEARD: October 19, 2005

Before HAIRSTON, BARRETT, and LEVY, Administrative Patent Judges.
HAIRSTON, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL

This is an appeal from the final rejection of claims
1 through 14.
The disclosed invention relates to the use of copy control
information to control the reproduction of digital audio data
recorded on a digital data recording medium.
Appeal No. 2005-2320
Application 09/778,895
2
Claim 1 is illustrative of the claimed invention, and it
reads as follows:
1. A multimedia copy control system for controlling a copy
of a digital data recording medium in which digital audio data is
stored and from which the digital audio-data is reproduced and
recorded to another recording medium for copying, wherein the
digital audio data stored in the digital data recording medium
includes a first copy control information of a digital format and
a second copy control information of an analog embedded format,
said system comprising:
an encryption decoder configured to decrypt reproduction
output data from the digital data recording medium to judge
whether the reproduction output data is encrypted data;
a first copy control detector configured to detect the first
copy control information from the decrypted reproduction data;
a contents data decoder configured to extract the digital
audio data from the decrypted reproduction data; and
a second copy control detector configured to detect the
second copy control information from the extracted audio data,
wherein encryption of the reproduction output data from the
recording medium is decrypted and judged for each digital
contents unit under reproduction, and when said first copy
control detector detects the first copy control information, the
reproduction of the digital audio data is controlled based on the
first copy control information, and when said first copy control
detector detects no first copy control information, the
reproduction of the digital audio data is controlled based on the
second copy control information.
The reference relied on by the examiner is:
Matsumoto et al. (Matsumoto) 6,320,829 Nov. 20, 2001
(filed May 25, 1999)
Appeal No. 2005-2320
Application 09/778,895
3
Claims 1, 3 through 5, 7 through 11 and 13 stand rejected
under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as being anticipated by Matsumoto.
Claims 2, 6, 12 and 14 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as being unpatentable over Matsumoto.
Reference is made to the briefs and the answer for the
respective positions of the appellant and the examiner.
OPINION
We have carefully considered the entire record before us,
and we will reverse the anticipation rejection of claims 1, 3
through 5, 7 through 11 and 13, and reverse the obviousness
rejection of claims 2, 6, 12 and 14.
Anticipation is established only when a single prior art
reference discloses, expressly or under the principles of
inherency, each and every element of a claimed invention. RCA
Corp. v. Applied Digital data Systems, Inc, 730 F.2d 1440, 1444,
221 USPQ 385, 388 (Fed. Cir.); cert dismissed, 468 U.S. 1228
(1984).
Matsumoto uses copy control information (i.e., CCI and a
watermark) to prevent the unauthorized copying of disks (column
2, lines 28 through 50). Matsumoto discloses the use of a single
decoder 25 which can be located either before or after the CCI
unit 28 and the watermark unit 27 (Figure 3; column 9, lines 7
through 15). If the decoder is located before the CCI unit and
Appeal No. 2005-2320
Application 09/778,895
1 Matsumoto is silent as to the decoder 25 performing more than a
single decoding function.
4
the watermark unit, and if we assume for the sake of argument
that it determines whether the output data from the disk 8 is
encrypted data, then a decoder1 to extract digital audio data from
the decrypted data is not located in Matsumoto. Accordingly, the
anticipation rejection of claims 1, 3 through 5, 7 through 11 and
13 is reversed because each and every claimed element is not
located in Matsumoto.
For all of the reasons expressed supra, and for the
additional reason that the record is silent as to a reason why
the skilled artisan would have attributed any other decoding
functions to the decoder 25, the obviousness rejection of claims
2, 6, 12 and 14 is reversed.
Appeal No. 2005-2320
Application 09/778, 895
5
DECISION
The decision of the examiner rejecting claims 1, 3 through
5, 7 through 11 and 13 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) is reversed, and
the decision of the examiner rejecting claims 2, 6, 12 and 14
under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) is reversed.
REVERSED
KENNETH W. HAIRSTON )
Administrative Patent Judge )
)
)
) BOARD OF PATENT
LEE E. BARRETT ) APPEALS AND
Administrative Patent Judge ) INTERFERENCES
)
)
)
)
STUART S. LEVY )
Administrative Patent Judge )
CEF:pgc
Appeal No. 2005-2320
Application 09/778, 895
6
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