Obviousness

Here's an analysis of the obviousness of US Patent 9247299 under 35 U.S.C. § 103, focusing on combinations of prior art references cited in the patent. The analysis considers the priority date of US9247299, which is April 2, 2007.

Independent Claims Under Analysis:

The primary independent claims are Claim 1 (television system) and Claim 13 (method for displaying video data). Both claims share the following core elements:

• A television system/method for displaying video data from a plurality of video streams on a display.
• A frame controller causing the video data to be displayed in a plurality of separate pictures, where each picture occupies an area of the display separate from an area occupied by any other picture (i.e., non-overlapping, unlike traditional Picture-in-Picture (PIP)).
• The frame controller receives a first user selection to display a video group related to an attribute, the video group comprising at least a first and a second video stream.
• The first and second video streams of the video group are received and displayed in corresponding first and second pictures.
• The frame controller receives a second user selection to change the display in a given picture of the plurality of pictures to a given video stream of the video group, wherein the given video stream is not currently displayed on the display.
• The frame controller then displays the given video stream in the given picture.

Relevant Prior Art (Published Before April 2, 2007):

Based on the provided "Prior Art" section and the priority date, the most relevant references are:

• US20070011702A1 (Vaysman): Publication Date: January 11, 2007. Describes a "dynamic mosaic extended electronic programming guide for television program selection and display."
• Common General Knowledge (PHOSITA): Knowledge generally possessed by a Person Having Ordinary Skill in the Art in television systems and user interface design as of April 2, 2007.

Combination for Obviousness: US20070011702A1 (Vaysman) + Common General Knowledge

A person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) in television systems and user interface design, faced with the problems articulated in the background of US9247299 (e.g., the "daunting task" of navigating "numerous channels" and the inconvenience of Picture-in-Picture (PIP) overlays), would have been motivated to combine the teachings of Vaysman with common general knowledge to arrive at the claimed invention.

Analysis of Claim Elements:

1. Input Interface for Receiving Video Data from a Plurality of Video Streams:

   • Vaysman, describing a system for "television program selection and display," necessarily includes an input interface for receiving video data from multiple video streams (i.e., television channels). This is a fundamental component of any television system.

2. Frame Controller Displaying Video Data in Separate, Non-Overlapping Pictures:

   • Vaysman teaches a "dynamic mosaic extended electronic programming guide for television program selection and display." The term "mosaic" inherently means displaying multiple distinct visual elements (in this case, video programs/streams) in separate, non-overlapping regions or frames on a screen, as opposed to an overlaying PIP display. This directly covers the limitation that "each picture occupying an area of the display separate from an area occupied by any other picture." The background of US9247299 explicitly criticizes PIP for its overlaying nature, indicating that non-overlaying multi-picture displays were a desired alternative.

3. Receiving a First User Selection to Display a Video Group Related to an Attribute:

   • Vaysman: While Vaysman describes an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) for program selection, it doesn't explicitly detail "channel groups" based on user-selected attributes for a multi-picture display.
   • Motivation from Common General Knowledge: However, at the time of the invention, it was common knowledge for a PHOSITA that television systems (including EPGs) provided ways to organize and filter content. Users could create "favorite channel" lists, and EPGs commonly allowed filtering by genre (e.g., "sports," "news," "movies") or other categories. The background of US9247299 itself notes the existence of "programmed channel list feature of televisions and set-top boxes" where users could customize their channel lists. A PHOSITA would be motivated to combine the mosaic display of Vaysman with these known methods of channel organization to provide users with a more manageable selection of channels. Creating a "video group" (or "channel group" as interchangeably described in the patent) based on an attribute (e.g., genre, age-appropriateness, language, as exemplified in US9247299) for display in a multi-picture mosaic would be an obvious design choice to address the problem of "navigating through so many available channels".

4. Receiving and Displaying First and Second Video Streams of the Video Group in Pictures:

   • This is a direct consequence of displaying the "video group" in the multi-picture mosaic, as taught by Vaysman. Once a group is selected, its constituent streams would be received and shown in the available picture frames.

5. Receiving a Second User Selection to Change a Displayed Picture to an Undisplayed Video Stream from the Same Video Group:

   • Vaysman: Vaysman teaches "television program selection and display" within its mosaic EPG, implying the ability to select new programs for display in the pictures.
   • Motivation from Common General Knowledge: Given the establishment of a "video group" (e.g., "sports channels") and the display of some channels from that group in a mosaic (from Vaysman plus the incorporation of attribute-based grouping), it would be an obvious and desirable user interface enhancement for a PHOSITA to allow users to easily "surf" or cycle through other channels within that specific, predefined group that are not currently displayed. This is analogous to existing channel-changing functions (e.g., "channel up/down") but intelligently constrained to the user's curated "video group." This improves user convenience and efficiency in exploring content within their chosen category, further addressing the problem of channel overload by providing focused browsing options.

Conclusion:

The combination of US20070011702A1 (Vaysman) and common general knowledge available to a PHOSITA in television systems and user interface design as of April 2, 2007, would render claims 1 and 13 of US9247299 obvious. Vaysman clearly teaches the foundational non-overlaying multi-picture mosaic display for television content selection. The motivation to integrate user-defined, attribute-based channel grouping and efficient navigation within such groups (i.e., swapping a displayed channel for an undisplayed one from the same group) stems from the widely recognized need to manage and simplify channel selection in an environment with a growing number of available channels, a problem explicitly highlighted in the background of US9247299 itself. This combination represents a logical and obvious design refinement for improving user experience in multi-channel viewing systems.