Ex Parte Taxier et alDownload PDFPatent Trial and Appeal BoardSep 10, 201814826419 (P.T.A.B. Sep. 10, 2018) Copy Citation UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE 14/826,419 08/14/2015 84577 7590 09/12/2018 Lowe Graham Jones PLLC 701 Fifth Avenue Suite 4800 Seattle, WA 98104 FIRST NAMED INVENTOR Karen Taxier 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. P2015-05-08 8463 EXAMINER IDOWU, OLUGBENGA 0 ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2425 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 09/12/2018 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): patentdocketing@lowegrahamjones.com IPDEPT@dish.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte KAREN T AXIER and MORGAN KIRBY Appeal2018-000704 Application 14/826,419 Technology Center 2400 Before DENISE M. POTHIER, LARRY J. HUME, and STEVEN M. AMUNDSON, Administrative Patent Judges. AMUNDSON, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Appellants 1 seek our review under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from a final rejection of claims 1-21. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We reverse. 1 Appellants identify the real party in interest as EchoStar Technologies L.L.C. App. Br. 1. Appeal2018-000704 Application 14/826,419 STATEMENT OF THE CASE The Invention According to the Specification, the invention concerns "generating and presenting an enhanced electronic program guide (EPG)" that "comprises a reduced size video, a mini guide, a single channel guide bar, and an optional preview guide bar." Spec. ,r,r 20, 38, Abstract. 2 Exemplary Claim Independent claim 1 exemplifies the claims at issue and reads as follows (with formatting added for clarity): 1. A method, comprising: receiving, at a media device, a user request from a user to view presentation of an electronic program guide (EPG); accessing EPG information stored in an EPG information portion of a memory medium of the media device, wherein the EPG information identifies a plurality of programs that are scheduled for broadcast, wherein the EPG information of each program indicates one of a scheduled presentation start time and an end time of the program or the start time and a duration of the program, and wherein the EPG information of each program further identifies a station that is scheduled to present the program, 2 This decision uses the following abbreviations: "Spec." for the Specification, filed August 14, 2015; "Final Act." for the Final Office Action, mailed December 30, 2016; "Adv. Act." for the Advisory Action, mailed March 15, 2017; "App. Br." for the Appeal Brief, filed May 24, 2017; "Ans." for the Examiner's Answer, mailed August 24, 2017; and "Reply Br." for the Reply Brief, filed October 24, 2017. 2 Appeal2018-000704 Application 14/826,419 wherein the station is identified using one of a station channel number and station call letters that are associated with the station; generating an enhanced EPG, wherein the enhanced EPG comprises a reduced size video, a mini guide, and a single channel guide bar; and communicating the enhanced EPG to a display, wherein the enhanced EPG is presented to the user on the display, wherein the reduced size video presents a video portion of a program that is currently being presented at the media device when the user request to view presentation of the EPG is received, wherein the mini guide comprises: a plurality of first channel information blocks arranged in a first vertical column, wherein a width of each of the plurality of first channel information blocks is a predefined first width, and wherein each one of the plurality of first channel information blocks uniquely indicates one of the stations using at least one of its associated station channel number and station call letters; and a plurality of first program information blocks arranged in a second vertical column that is adjacent to the first vertical column, wherein each one of the plurality of first program information blocks is adjacent to and is horizontally aligned with one of the plurality of first channel information blocks, wherein a width of each of the plurality of first program information blocks of the mini guide are a second predefined width, wherein the second predefined width of each of the plurality of first program information blocks is the same, and 3 Appeal2018-000704 Application 14/826,419 wherein each of the first program information blocks present information that identifies a program that is currently being broadcast by the station identified in the horizontally aligned and adjacent first channel information block, wherein the single channel guide bar consists of: a single program information guide bar that is defined by a second channel information block and a plurality of second program information blocks arranged ma row, wherein the second channel information block identifies a user selected station that is broadcasting the program that is currently being presented at the media device, and wherein the second channel information block is the only channel information block included in the single channel guide bar; wherein the row of the plurality of second program information blocks is adjacent to and horizontally aligned with the second channel information block, wherein each of the plurality of second program information blocks identify the programs scheduled for presentation by the selected station indicated in the second channel information block, and wherein the plurality of second program information blocks are arranged in a time ordered sequence of presentation; and a time scale bar that is located adjacent to, and is located above or below, the program information guide bar, wherein the time scale bar is divided up by units of time. App. Br. 21-23 (Claims App.). 4 Appeal2018-000704 Application 14/826,419 The Rejection on Appeal Claims 1-21 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § I02(a)(l) as anticipated by Alexander et al., US 6,177,931 Bl, issued January 23, 2001 ("Alexander"). Final Act. 3-17. ANALYSIS We have reviewed the rejection of claims 1-21 in light of Appellants' arguments the Examiner erred. Based on the record before us and for the reasons explained below, we concur with Appellants' contention that the Examiner erred in finding that the cited portions of Alexander disclose a "mini guide" as required by independent claims 1, 3, and 16. In particular, Appellants contend the Examiner erred in rejecting claims 1, 3, and 16 because Alexander does not disclose a "mini guide" with "program information blocks" having a "predefined width" that "is the same" for every block. See App. Br. 12-16; Reply Br. 2-3. According to Appellants: Claims 1, 3 and 16 recite a mini guide that has the features of "first program information blocks arranged in a second vertical column ... wherein a width of each of the plurality of first program information blocks of the mini guide are a second predefined width, wherein the second predefined width of each of the plurality of first program information blocks is the same, and wherein each of the first program information blocks present information that identifies a program that is currently being broadcast by the station identified in the horizontally aligned and adjacent first channel information block" (for example see Claim 1, emphasis added). App. Br. 12-13. Appellants distinguish the Grid Guide depicted in Alexander's Figure 1 by asserting that "the width of the program indicated on the channel 5 Appeal2018-000704 Application 14/826,419 AMC is not the same as the width of the programs indicated on the channels ABC, FOX and CBS." App. Br. 14. Appellants distinguish the Grid Guide depicted in Alexander's Figure 5 by asserting that "the width of the program indicated on the channel PBS is not the same as the width of the programs indicated on the channels ABC, FOX and CBS." Id. Appellants insist that "[ s ]ince the program information blocks in the EPG Grid Guides 22 of Alexander Figures 1 and 5 do not all have the same width, Alexander does not anticipate the mini guide as recited in Independent Claims 1, 3 and 16." Id. Appellants add that Alexander lacks "the limitation that the program information blocks have the same width." Id. The Examiner finds that in Alexander's Figure 1 "ABC, FOX and CBS all have first program information blocks with the same size" and "ABC, FOX and CBS are analogous to the plurality of first channel information blocks." Ans. 2; see Final Act. 2, 4---6. The Examiner reasons that (1) the claims merely require "a plurality of first channel information blocks with a predefined same width" and (2) "[ n ]othing in the claims require[s] that ALL available channel blocks have the same width." Ans. 2. Appellants respond by asserting that "based on the plain and ordinary meaning of the recited claim language, one skilled in the art clearly understands that all (based on the recited term 'each') available channel information blocks have the same width," i.e., the recited "predefined width." Reply Br. 2. Based on the record before us, we agree with Appellants that the Examiner has not adequately explained how the cited portions of Alexander disclose a "mini guide" according to claims 1, 3, and 16 with "program information blocks" having a "predefined width" that "is the same" for every 6 Appeal2018-000704 Application 14/826,419 block. Although claims 1, 3, and 16 use the transitional term "comprising," that term "does not render a claim anticipated by a device that contains less ... than what is claimed." See In re Skvorecz, 580 F.3d 1262, 1267---68 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (holding that a claim reciting an "offset" for "each wire leg" required an offset for every wire leg). Here, Alexander's Figures 1 and 5 illustrate the same embodiment of Grid Guide 22. See Alexander 2:28-29, 2:39--41, 3:1-20, 9:47-60, Figs. 1, 5; Adv. Act. 2. More specifically, Grid Guide 22 in Figure 1 provides program information for certain channels from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, and Grid Guide 22 in Figure 5 provides program information for the same channels from 10:30 p.m. to 11 :30 p.m. on Saturday. Id. Figs. 1, 5. Figures 1 and 5 individually and collectively show that the program information blocks in Grid Guide 22 have widths corresponding to the lengths of the associated programs. Those program information blocks do not have a "predefined width" that "is the same" for every block because the associated programs have different lengths. As examples, the program information block for "PRIME TIME LIVE" on ABC begins at 9:00 p.m. and ends at 11 :00 p.m.; the program information block for "EARLY EDITION" on CBS begins at 9:00 p.m. and ends no later than 10:30 p.m.; and the program information block for "YOUNG PHILADELPHIANS" on AMC begins at 9:30 p.m. and ends after 11 :30 p.m. Id. Figs. 1, 5. Thus, we do not sustain the§ 102(a)(l) rejection of claims 1, 3, and 16. Claims 2, 4--15, and 21 depend directly or indirectly from claim 1, while claims 17-20 depend directly from claim 16. For the reasons discussed regarding claims 1 and 16, we do not sustain the§ 102(a)(l) rejection of these dependent claims. 7 Appeal2018-000704 Application 14/826,419 Because this determination resolves the appeal with respect to claims 1-21, we need not address Appellants' other arguments regarding Examiner error. See, e.g., Beloit Corp. v. Valmet Oy, 742 F.2d 1421, 1423 (Fed. Cir. 1984) (explaining that an administrative agency may render a decision based on "a single dispositive issue"). DECISION We reverse the Examiner's decision to reject claims 1-21. REVERSED 8 Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation