Obviousness

Obviousness Analysis of US10084840 under 35 U.S.C. § 103

To determine the obviousness of US10084840, we must consider whether the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) at the time of the invention. This analysis follows the framework established by Graham v. John Deere Co. and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., considering the scope and content of the prior art, the differences between the prior art and the claims, the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art, and any secondary considerations of non-obviousness.

The priority date of US10084840 is January 31, 2013. Therefore, prior art references must have been publicly available before this date. [cite: The full patent text confirms this]

Person Having Ordinary Skill in the Art (PHOSITA)

A PHOSITA in this field would be a hypothetical person with ordinary skill and knowledge in social networking platforms, media file management, and annotation technologies. This person would understand how to implement network servers, manage user data, display media, and integrate various software components to create interactive user experiences. They would possess ordinary creativity and be able to apply known techniques in a predictable manner, drawing upon publicly accessible prior art.

Prior Art Keywords

The patent itself lists the following prior art keywords: "media file", "annotation", "file", "playable media", and "computer readable". These keywords suggest a broad field of prior art relevant to media handling and annotation.

Potential Combinations of Prior Art References

Given the claims of US10084840, particularly Independent Claim 1, which focuses on creating and saving annotations associated with playable media files in a social network environment, the following combinations of prior art could render the claims obvious:

Combination 1: A system for social media sharing of playable media + a system for annotating media files.

• Prior Art for Social Media Sharing of Playable Media: By January 31, 2013, numerous social networking platforms existed that allowed users to upload, share, and view playable media files (e.g., videos, audio). These platforms inherently involved:

  • Receiving a Playable Media File from a user (a "first member").
  • Providing the Playable Media File to a network server for storage and distribution.
  • Allowing other members of the social network to access and view the media file.
  • Many social media sites, such as YouTube and Facebook, could be considered prior art for sharing playable media, provided their content met public accessibility requirements before the priority date.

• Prior Art for Annotating Media Files: Prior to 2013, systems for annotating media files were also well-known. These could include:

  • Software that allowed users to add text comments, notes, or even drawings to specific points in a video or audio file.
  • Systems where annotations were stored separately from the main media file to avoid altering the original content and allow for multiple layers of annotations.
  • Annotations with associated time markers (locations) within the media file, ensuring they were displayed at the relevant point during playback. For example, US20200245043A1, although published later, describes systems where annotation input can be received and associated with a displayed segment of recorded video content, and such annotation input is embedded within the annotation data of the recorded data. While US20200245043A1 is a later publication, the description within it of what a PHOSITA would recognize (e.g., annotations being stored as metadata or entities on video streams) suggests that the underlying concepts were likely known prior to its filing date.

• Motivation to Combine: A PHOSITA in the field of social networking and media sharing would have been motivated to combine these elements to enhance user engagement and interaction on social media platforms. The ability to add timed annotations to shared playable media would be a natural extension of existing social sharing functionalities, providing a richer and more interactive experience. For instance, allowing users to comment directly on specific moments in a video, rather than just in a general comment section, would improve the context and relevance of discussions. The technical challenge of storing annotations separately from the media file and associating them via a data profile and a table of contents would be a predictable engineering choice to maintain media integrity and manage multiple annotations efficiently. The concept of creating and updating a table of contents for such annotations would be a logical step for organizing and navigating these additions, similar to how indices or chapters are used in other forms of media. The KSR decision emphasizes that if a combination of familiar elements yields predictable results, it is likely to be obvious. Allowing users to annotate shared videos on a social network would be a predictable application of known annotation technology to a social media context.

Combination 2: A social network with user profiles and content sharing + a system for creating dynamic indices or tables of contents for media.

• Prior Art for Social Networks with User Profiles and Content Sharing: As discussed above, social networks allowing users to share content and maintain profiles with associated information were prevalent before the priority date. The patent itself describes such a network with user profiles (information 137) and the ability to share playable media files between members.

• Prior Art for Creating Dynamic Indices or Tables of Contents for Media: Systems for generating indices, bookmarks, or tables of contents for various types of media (e.g., DVDs, interactive documents, educational videos) were known. These systems often involved associating metadata or pointers with specific locations within the media, allowing for non-linear navigation or the highlighting of particular segments. The idea of dynamically updating such an index as new content (like annotations) is added would also be a logical progression of this technology.

• Motivation to Combine: A PHOSITA would have been motivated to combine these to provide better organization and navigation for user-generated content, especially when that content is augmented with user contributions like annotations. Integrating a dynamic table of contents would improve the discoverability and usability of annotations within a social media context, making it easier for users to see where discussions or key points are located within a longer playable media file. The patent explicitly mentions that information 137 (user profiles and data) is analyzed and mined, suggesting a motivation to organize and present user-generated content in meaningful ways. The network server creating and updating a table of contents for annotations, as described in Claim 1, is a logical and predictable function for managing such data.

It's important to note that the patent's claims for creating and saving annotations separately from the Playable Media File, and the network server determining if it's the first annotation to create or update a table of contents, represent specific implementations of combining these known concepts. However, a PHOSITA would likely find these specific implementations to be predictable and straightforward engineering choices to achieve the desired functionality of enabling shared, timed annotations on social media.