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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria1 Virginia 22313- 1450
`www.uspto.gov
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`APPLICATION NO.
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` F ING DATE
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`FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
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`ATTORNEY DOCKET NO.
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`CONF {MATION NO.
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`13/383,905
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`01/13/2012
`
`Yoshinori Hiramatsu
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`OHNO—116US
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`6111
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`EXAMINER
`RATNERPRESTIA —
`04’2”“ —
`7590
`52473
`PO. BOX 980
`DANG, HUNGQ
`VALLEY FORGE, PA 19482-0980
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`PAPER NUMBER
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`ART UNIT
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`2484
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`NOT *ICATION DATE
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`DELIVERY MODE
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`04/29/2014
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`ELECTRONIC
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`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
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`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
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`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above—indicated "Notification Date" to the
`following e—mail address(es):
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`ptocorrespondence @ratnerprestia.c0m
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`PTOL—90A (Rev. 04/07)
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`

`

`
`
`Applicant(s)
`Application No.
` 13/383,905 HIRAMATSU ET AL.
`
`Examiner
`Art Unit
`AIA (First Inventorto File)
`Office Action Summary
`
`2484HUNG DANG first“
`
`-- The MAILING DA TE of this communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address --
`Period for Reply
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`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLY IS SET TO EXPIRE 3 MONTHS FROM THE MAILING DATE OF
`THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available under the provisions 0137 CFR 1.136(a).
`after SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`If NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133).
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, even if timely filed, may reduce any
`earned patent term adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
`
`In no event, however, may a reply be timely filed
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`-
`-
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`Status
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`1)IXI Responsive to communication(s) filed on 10/10/2013.
`[I A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/were filed on
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`2b)lX| This action is non-final.
`2a)I:| This action is FINAL.
`3)I:I An election was made by the applicant in response to a restriction requirement set forth during the interview on
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`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
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`4)|:I Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`closed in accordance with the practice under EX parte Quay/e, 1935 CD. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
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`Disposition of Claims*
`5)|XI Claim(s) 1,35 and 13 is/are pending in the application.
`5a) Of the above claim(s)
`is/are withdrawn from consideration.
`6)|:l Claim(s) _ is/are allowed.
`7)IZ| Claim(s) 1,35 and 13 is/are rejected.
`8)I:I Claim(s) _ is/are objected to.
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`9)|:l Claim(s)
`are subject to restriction and/or election requirement.
`* If any claims have been determined allowable, you may be eligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
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`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
` S
`htt
`://www.usoto. ov/ atents/init events) .tv'index.‘
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`, or send an inquiry to PF"I-Ifeedback{<‘buspto.qov.
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`Application Papers
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`10)I:I The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`11)|:I The drawing(s) filed on _ is/are: a)I:I accepted or b)I:I objected to by the Examiner.
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
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`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
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`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
`12)IZI Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)-(d) or (f).
`Certified copies:
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`b)I:I Some” c)I:I None of the:
`a)le All
`1.IZI Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`2.|:| Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
`3.I:I Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received in this National Stage
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`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
`** See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
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`Attach ment(s)
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`
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`3) I] Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`1) E Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
`Paper No(s)/Mai| Date.
`.
`.
`2) E Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`Paper No(s)/Mai| Date 01/14/2014.
`4) D Other: —-
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`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
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`Office Action Summary
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`Part of Paper No./Mai| Date 20140307
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/383,905
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`Page 2
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`Art Unit: 2484
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`DETAILED ACTION
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`Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1. 114
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`A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set
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`forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this
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`application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set
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`forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action
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`has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on
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`10/10/2013 has been entered.
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`Response to Arguments
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`Applicant's arguments filed 05/08/2013 have been fully considered but they are
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`moot in view of a new ground of rejections.
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`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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`The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis
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`for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
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`(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described
`as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to
`be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been
`obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which
`said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the
`invention was made.
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`Claims 1, 3, and 13 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being
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`unpatentable over Jung et al. (US 2008/0195971 A1 — hereinafter Jung) and
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`Adachi et al. (US 2005/0028196 A1 — hereinafter Adachi).
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`Regarding claim 1, Jung discloses a disc reproduction apparatus reproducing a
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`disc which includes a title having video content (Fig.4; [0038]; [0179] — a reproducing
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`apparatus reproducing a disk as shown in Fig. 4 including a title having video content
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/383,905
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`Page 3
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`Art Unit: 2484
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`encoded in a AV data stream as further described in [0038]), the disc reproduction
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`apparatus comprising: a reproduction section reproducing the title on a monitor ([0038]
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`— a reproduction section reads the AV content and reproduce the content on a screen);
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`a signal processing section for accepting a user's operation and displaying, on the
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`monitor, a pop-up menu which is associated with said disc ([0008]; [0039]-[0041]—
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`accepting a user’s operation such as the pushing of the button for pop-up menu to
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`display the pop-up menu) and a user interface menu for controlling the disc
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`reproduction apparatus independent of said disc ([0008]; [0039]-[0041]— a main menu
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`is displayed for the controlling the disc reproduction apparatus in accordance with
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`navigation command); wherein if said user interface menu is being displayed on said
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`monitor ([0008] — a main menu is being displayed), said signal processing section
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`deletes the user interface menu from being displayed and displays said pop op menu
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`([0008]; [0039]-[0040] — the main menu disappears so that the pop-up menu is
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`displayed in accordance with the user's operation).
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`However, Jung does not disclose the user interface is independent of the disc.
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`Adachi discloses a user interface is independent of the disc (Fig. 9; Fig. 10;
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`[0064]-[0068] — a main menu “selection screen” is independent of the disk).
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`One of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made would have
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`been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Adachi into the disc reproduction
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`apparatus taught by Jung to allow the user to perform setting up the apparatus in a
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`friendly user interface (Adachi:[0011]).
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/383,905
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`Page 4
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`Art Unit: 2484
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`Regarding claim 3, Jung also discloses the signal processing section accepts a
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`user's operation via a touch panel integrated with a remote controller or the monitor
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`([0039] — at least a touch screen).
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`Regarding claim 13, Jung also discloses if said pop-up menu is being displayed
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`on said monitor, then responsive to said user's operation to the monitor, said signal
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`processing section deletes the pop-up menu from being displayed and displays the user
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`interface menu (Fig. 5; [0039-[0041] — switching between different menu pages as
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`shown in Fig. 5 and described in [0039]-[0041] in which a pop up menu as described in
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`[0008] corresponds to the menu page 2 shown in Fig. 2 and the user operates the
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`button 2 to switch back the menu page 1, which is interpreted as the main menu
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`described in [0008]).
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`Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Jung
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`and Adachi as applied to claims 1, 3, and 13 above, and further in view of
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`Uchimura (US 2007/0140667 A1 — hereinafter Uchimura).
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`Regarding claim 4, see the teachings of Jung and Adachi as discussed in claim 3
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`above. Further, Jung also discloses the signal processing section accepts the user's
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`operation to display the pop-up menu via the touch panel (Fig. 5; [0008]; [0043]—
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`accepting a user’s operation via a touch screen to display a pop-up menu), displays the
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`pop-up menu or display the user interface on the monitor ([0008]— displaying the pop-
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`up menu or the user interface menu depending on which button on which menu screen
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`is operated as shown in Fig. 5).
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`Application/Control Number: 13/383,905
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`Page 5
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`Art Unit: 2484
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`However, Jung and Adachi do not disclose upon determining that the pop-up
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`menu is displayable, and displays the user interface on the monitor upon determining
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`that the pop-up menu cannot be displayed.
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`Uchimura discloses displaying a pop-up menu on a monitor upon determining
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`that a pop-up menu is displayble, and displays the user interface on the monitor upon
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`determining that the pop-up menu cannot be displayed. ([0228]—[0229]— displaying an
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`appropriate menu depending on a flag “user_interface_model" - when
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`“user_interface_model” = 1, the pop-up menu can be displayed, when the
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`“user_interface_model" = 0, the pop-up menu cannot be displayed).
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`One of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made would have
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`been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Uchimura into the disc reproduction
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`apparatus taught by Jung and Adachi to display the pop up menu as intended by the
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`disc's author.
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`Claim 5 is are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over
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`Jung, Adachi, and Uchimura as applied to claims 1, 3-4, and 13 above, and further
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`in view of Okamura (US 2006/0123357 A1 — hereinafter Okamura).
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`Regarding claim 5, see the teachings of Jung, Adachi, and Uchimura as
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`discussed in claim 4 above. However, Jung, Adachi, and Uchimura do not disclose
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`when there is not a button for accepting the user's operation at a position on the touch
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`panel where the user has touched, the signal processing section determines that the
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`touch is a user's operation to display the pop-up menu.
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`Application/Control Number: 13/383,905
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`Page 6
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`Art Unit: 2484
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`Okamura discloses when there is not a button for accepting a user's operation at
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`a position on a touch panel where the user has touched, the signal processing section
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`determines that the touch is a user's operation to display a pop-up menu ([0080]; [0097]
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`— touching a touch panel where there is no button for accepting the user’s operation, it
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`is determined that a pop-up menu is to be displayed at the touched position).
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`One of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made would have
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`been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Okamura into the apparatus taught by
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`Jung, Adachi, and Uchimura to enhance the user interface of the apparatus by
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`implementing default touching at a desired position to display a pop-up menu.
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`Conclusion
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`Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
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`examiner should be directed to HUNG DANG whose telephone number is (571)270-
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`1116. The examiner can normally be reached on IFT.
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`If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
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`supervisor, THAI Q. TRAN can be reached on 571-272—7382. The fax phone number
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`for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571 -273-8300.
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/383,905
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`Page 7
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`Art Unit: 2484
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`
`/HUNG DANG/
`
`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2484
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`