Ex Parte Taxier et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Sep 10, 2018

14826419 (P.T.A.B. Sep. 10, 2018)

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