Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 11825139, I will first access the patent's full text to review its "References Cited" section. This section, provided by the patent office, lists the prior art that the examiner and applicant considered relevant during prosecution.

Based on the full patent text of US11825139, the following prior art references are cited:

Patent Citations:

• US20060215760A1
  • Full Citation: US20060215760A1 (Monaco Joseph W.)
  • Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: 2006-09-28; Filing date: 2004-10-27
  • Brief Description: Titled "Optimal rate allocation for a group of channels," this patent application describes systems and methods for allocating transmission bandwidth among a group of video channels based on various factors to optimize overall video quality. This could relate to how US11825139 manages bitrate for content delivery.
  • Potentially Anticipating Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: Potentially anticipates claims relating to maintaining or adjusting bitrate for content playback, particularly those in Claim 1, 6, 7, and 13, which deal with maintaining a bitrate and adjusting it if playback cannot be sustained.
• EP1775953A1
  • Full Citation: EP1775953A1 (Universiteit Gent)
  • Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: 2007-04-18; Filing date: 2005-10-14
  • Brief Description: Titled "Switching between digital video streams using buffering of second digital video stream," this European patent application describes methods for reducing the delay when switching between digital video streams by buffering portions of a second stream while the first is still playing. This is directly relevant to the "content change process" and latency reduction aimed at by US11825139.
  • Potentially Anticipating Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: Potentially anticipates claims related to optimizing content change processes and reducing delay during content transitions, particularly the preamble of Claim 1, which discusses "causing playback of a first piece of content" and "receiving...a selection of a new piece of content for playback during playback of the first piece of content," and the concept of preserving aspects of the playback for quicker transitions.
• US20080195743A1
  • Full Citation: US20080195743A1 (Brueck David F)
  • Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: 2008-08-14; Filing date: 2004-04-30
  • Brief Description: Titled "Apparatus, system, and method for multi-bitrate content streaming," this patent application addresses managing and streaming content at multiple bitrates. This aligns with US11825139's focus on bitrate preservation and adaptation during content changes.
  • Potentially Anticipating Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: Potentially anticipates claims regarding the use of multiple bitrates and maintaining a selected bitrate for content delivery, specifically Claim 1 (maintaining bitrate to initiate playback of new content), Claim 6 (initiating playback of new content using a bitrate of the first content), and Claim 13 (source element initiating playback at the same bitrate and adjusting it).
• US20090254657A1
  • Full Citation: US20090254657A1 (Melnyk Miguel A)
  • Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: 2009-10-08; Filing date: 2007-07-10
  • Brief Description: Titled "Adaptive Bitrate Management," this patent application focuses on managing adaptive bitrates, which is a core concept in US11825139 for smooth content transitions.
  • Potentially Anticipating Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: Potentially anticipates claims related to adaptive bitrate management and its application during content changes, similar to US20080195743A1, specifically Claims 1, 6, 7, and 13.

Legal Note on Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
For a claim to be anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102, every element of the claimed invention must be identically disclosed, either expressly or inherently, in a single prior art reference. If there are differences, the rejection would typically be based on obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103, which takes differences into account. The prior art must have existed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.