US 9860595

US Patent 9860595, titled "Systems and methods for episode tracking in an interactive media environment," was filed on March 17, 2015, and issued on January 2, 2018. The current assignee is Adeia Guides Inc, with Rovi Guides Inc listed as the original assignee. The inventors are Charles Cordray, Todd A. Walker, and Samir B. Armaly.

Abstract:
The patent describes systems and methods for tracking a user's viewing progress through a series of related programs, such as a television or movie series. An interactive media monitoring application keeps a user media profile to record viewing progress. This application then uses the user media profile to filter out other media content (e.g., advertisements, news segments, and web pages) that might be inconsistent with what the user has already watched.

Plain-language overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1 (System Claim): This claim describes a system for managing a user's media experience. The system includes control circuitry that obtains a user profile, which tracks the user's progress through a series of programs. When new media content is identified for presentation to the user, the system determines if this content is inconsistent (e.g., contains spoilers) with the user's viewing progress. If it is inconsistent, the system filters that content so it is not presented to the user.

• Claim 11 (Method Claim): This claim outlines a method, performed by control circuitry, for managing a user's media environment. The method involves obtaining a user profile with viewing progress information for a program series, identifying media content for presentation, determining if that content is inconsistent with the user's viewing progress, and then filtering the inconsistent content from being shown.

• Claim 19 (Computer-Readable Medium Claim): This claim covers a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores instructions. When these instructions are executed by a processor, they configure the processor to perform the steps of obtaining a user profile with viewing progress for a program series, identifying media content, determining if it's inconsistent with viewing progress, and filtering the inconsistent content from presentation to the user.

As of April 26, 2026, a search of CAFC 2026 dockets did not return any specific cases related to US Patent 9860595.

The patent document itself notes:

• "PTAB case IPR2026-00055 filed (Procedural Termination)"
• "US case filed in Delaware District Court" - linking to https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/litigation/Delaware%20District%20Court/case/1%3A24-cv-01231

Based on the search results:

1. PTAB Case IPR2026-00055:
My search for "IPR2026-00055 US patent 9860595 PTAB" did not directly yield specific details about the plaintiff, defendant, or filing date for this exact case beyond what was stated in the patent document itself (Procedural Termination). The search results discuss PTAB cases in general and recent updates to PTAB policy, but do not provide specific information for IPR2026-00055. This suggests that while the patent mentions its existence and outcome, detailed public records for this specific IPR may not be readily available through general search or it might be a very recent filing where full details aren't yet widely indexed in public summaries.

Given the current date of April 26, 2026, and the case number IPR2026-00055, the "2026" indicates it was filed in the current fiscal year. The "Procedural Termination" suggests it did not proceed to a final written decision on the merits.

2. US Case in Delaware District Court (1:24-cv-01231):
The search results provide substantial information for this case.

• Plaintiff(s): Adeia Technologies Inc., Adeia Guides Inc., and Adeia Media Holdings LLC
• Defendant(s): The Walt Disney Company, Disney Media And Entertainment Distribution LLC, Disney DTC LLC, Disney Streaming Services LLC, Disney Entertainment & Sports LLC, Disney Platform Distribution, Inc., BAMtech, LLC, Hulu, LLC, and ESPN, Inc.
• Jurisdiction: United States District Court for the District of Delaware
• Case Number: 1:24-cv-01231
• Filing Date: November 7, 2024
• Outcome or Current Status: An Order was issued on September 12, 2025, in response to the Defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss Counts III and IV (which included claims related to US9860595 and 10,165,324) arguing patent ineligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The Court found it inappropriate to address the patent eligibility of all claims of the '595 Patent and '324 Patent at the motion to dismiss stage, especially since only "one or more claims" were asserted, and no counterclaims of invalidity were filed challenging all claims. The case is ongoing litigation.

Here's the summary of known litigation:

Known Litigation Involving US Patent 9860595:

1. PTAB Case

   • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly stated in available search results for this specific case. (Typically a Petitioner).
   • Defendant(s): Not explicitly stated in available search results for this specific case. (Typically the Patent Owner, Adeia Guides Inc.).
   • Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
   • Case Number: IPR2026-00055
   • Filing Date: Inferred to be in 2026 based on the case number.
   • Outcome or Current Status: Procedural Termination.

2. District Court Litigation

   • Plaintiff(s): Adeia Technologies Inc., Adeia Guides Inc., and Adeia Media Holdings LLC
   • Defendant(s): The Walt Disney Company, Disney Media And Entertainment Distribution LLC, Disney DTC LLC, Disney Streaming Services LLC, Disney Entertainment & Sports LLC, Disney Platform Distribution, Inc., BAMtech, LLC, Hulu, LLC, and ESPN, Inc.
   • Jurisdiction: United States District Court for the District of Delaware
   • Case Number: 1:24-cv-01231
   • Filing Date: November 7, 2024
   • Outcome or Current Status: Ongoing. On September 12, 2025, the court issued an order regarding the defendants' motion to dismiss certain counts (including those involving US9860595) based on patent ineligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The court deemed it inappropriate to rule on the eligibility of all claims at the motion to dismiss stage given that only "one or more claims" were asserted and no invalidity counterclaims were filed.

Proceedings overview

One AIA trial proceeding has been filed against US Patent 9,860,595. This Inter Partes Review (IPR) was terminated prior to institution, leaving all claims untested by the PTAB. This means the patent's validity has not been challenged on the merits at the PTAB, leaving a defendant in a neutral defensive posture with respect to PTAB proceedings.

IPR2026-00055 — Disney Entertainment & Sports LLC v. Adeia Guides Inc.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-10-31
• Status: Terminated (2026-03-28). The proceeding was marked as "Procedural Termination" by the PTAB.
• Judge panel: Not applicable, as the proceeding was terminated prior to an institution decision where a panel would typically be assigned and identified.
• Petition grounds: The petition was filed by Disney Entertainment & Sports LLC against claims of US Patent 9,860,595. Specific details regarding the challenged claims, prior art references, and statutory bases (§ 102 / § 103 / § 112) are not publicly available due to the procedural termination prior to institution.
• Institution decision: Not issued. The proceeding was terminated before a decision on institution was reached.
• Final Written Decision: Not issued, as the proceeding was terminated procedurally prior to institution.
• Settlement / termination: The proceeding was terminated on 2026-03-28 as a "Procedural Termination". This often indicates a settlement between the parties or a decision by the petitioner to withdraw the petition before institution, making the specific terms confidential.
• Appeal: No Federal Circuit appeal was filed, as there was no Final Written Decision on the merits to appeal.
• Defensive value: This proceeding offers no direct defensive value as no claims were invalidated or confirmed by the PTAB. The patent remains untested by the PTAB. The procedural termination suggests a pre-institution resolution between the parties, the terms of which are confidential.

Strategic summary

All claims of US Patent 9,860,595 remain untested by the PTAB. The single IPR filed, IPR2026-00055, was terminated procedurally before an institution decision was rendered, meaning the merits of the patent's claims were not evaluated by the PTAB. Consequently, there are no claims canceled or sustained by the PTAB, and all claims are currently considered "untested."

Regarding estoppel, since IPR2026-00055 was terminated prior to institution, 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) estoppel provisions, which bar petitioners and their privies from raising grounds that were raised or reasonably could have been raised, do not apply. This means a new defendant facing assertion of this patent would theoretically have all prior-art grounds available for a potential new IPR filing, assuming they are not in privity with Disney Entertainment & Sports LLC. The petitioner in this case was "Disney Entertainment & Sports LLC," and the patent owner, as per the patent record, is "Adeia Guides Inc.". The involvement of Unified Patents in the public record (though not as the official petitioner) often signals a defensive aggregator's interest in challenging the patent.

Recommended next steps

Since there are no active PTAB proceedings and no claims have been invalidated by the PTAB, a defendant currently facing assertion of this patent should consider conducting a thorough prior art search to assess the patent's validity independently. If strong prior art is found, filing a new IPR petition might be a viable defensive strategy, as no estoppel applies from the terminated IPR2026-00055. The absence of a completed PTAB trial on the merits means the patent's claims have not yet been "hardened" against validity challenges.

Relevant PTAB URL:

• Unified Patents PTAB Data for IPR2026-00055: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/IPR2026-00055

Inventors

• Charles Cordray
• Todd A. Walker
• Samir B. Armaly

Employer at time of filing not determinable from the provided patent text.

Original assignee

Rovi Guides Inc.
Primary line of business: Interactive media guidance solutions (e.g., interactive program guides).
Current status: Acquired (now Adeia Guides Inc. after a series of mergers and name changes).

Assignment timeline

• 2015-06-18 (executed) / recorded 2015-06-18 — Reel 033667/0270

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: CORDRAY, CHARLES, ARMALY, SAMIR B., WALKER, TODD A.
  • Assignee: UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
  • Correspondent: Rovi Corporation, 2833 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA, 95054.
  • Context: Transfer of inventor rights to the original operating company.

• 2015-06-18 (executed) / recorded 2015-06-18 — Reel 033667/0273

  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
  • Assignee: UV CORP.
  • Correspondent: Rovi Corporation, 2833 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA, 95054. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization/merger.

• 2015-06-18 (executed) / recorded 2015-06-18 — Reel 033667/0276

  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: UV CORP.
  • Assignee: TV GUIDE, INC.
  • Correspondent: Rovi Corporation, 2833 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA, 95054. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization/merger.

• 2015-06-18 (executed) / recorded 2015-06-18 — Reel 033667/0279

  • Conveyance: Merger
  • Assignor: TV GUIDE, INC.
  • Assignee: ROVI GUIDES, INC.
  • Correspondent: Rovi Corporation, 2833 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA, 95054. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Internal corporate reorganization/merger.

• 2019-11-22 (executed) / recorded 2019-11-25 — Reel 049303/0578

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: ROVI GUIDES, INC., ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION, ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, Tivo Solutions, Inc., VEVEO, INC.
  • Assignee: HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Correspondent: Rovi Corporation, 2833 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA, 95054. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Securitization of assets.

• 2019-11-25 (executed) / recorded 2019-11-25 — Reel 049304/0071

  • Conveyance: Patent Security Agreement
  • Assignor: ROVI GUIDES, INC., ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION, ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, Tivo Solutions, Inc., VEVEO, INC.
  • Assignee: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
  • Correspondent: Rovi Corporation, 225 Third Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Securitization of assets.

• 2020-06-01 (executed) / recorded 2020-06-01 — Reel 050410/0695

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: DTS, INC., IBIQUITY DIGITAL CORPORATION, INVENSAS BONDING TECHNOLOGIES, INC., INVENSAS CORPORATION, PHORUS, INC., ROVI GUIDES, INC., ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION, ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, TESSERA ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, INC., TESSERA, INC., TIVO SOLUTIONS INC., VEVEO, INC.
  • Assignee: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
  • Correspondent: Rovi Corporation, 225 Third Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Securitization of assets.

• 2020-06-05 (executed) / recorded 2020-06-05 — Reel 050444/0831

  • Conveyance: Release of Security Interest
  • Assignor: HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC
  • Assignee: ROVI GUIDES, INC., ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION, ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, VEVEO, INC., Tivo Solutions, Inc.
  • Correspondent: Rovi Corporation, 225 Third Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Release of a previously recorded security interest.

• 2020-06-05 (executed) / recorded 2020-06-05 — Reel 050444/0836

  • Conveyance: Release of Security Interest
  • Assignor: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
  • Assignee: ROVI GUIDES, INC., VEVEO, INC., ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, Tivo Solutions, Inc., ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
  • Correspondent: Rovi Corporation, 225 Third Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Release of a previously recorded security interest.

• 2024-10-02 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-02 — Reel 059960/0178

  • Conveyance: Change of Name
  • Assignor: ROVI GUIDES, INC.
  • Assignee: ADEIA GUIDES INC.
  • Correspondent: ADEIA GUIDES INC., 2833 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA, 95054.
  • Context: Corporate name change.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US9860595
    2015 : Inventors assigned to United Video Properties
         : United Video Properties merged to UV Corp
         : UV Corp merged to TV Guide Inc
         : TV Guide Inc merged to Rovi Guides Inc
    2018 : Patent issued
    2019 : Security Interest to HPS Inv Partners
         : Security Agreement to Morgan Stanley
    2020 : Security Interest to Bank of America
         : Release by HPS Investment Partners
         : Release by Morgan Stanley
    2024 : Rovi Guides Inc changed name to Adeia Guides

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The transfers appear to be primarily between operating entities or for the purpose of securitization, rather than to a dedicated licensing-only shell.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. HPS Investment Partners, LLC and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., and Bank of America, N.A. are financial institutions involved in securitization, not typically NPEs. Adeia Guides Inc. is the current assignee, which is an operating company (formerly Rovi Guides Inc.).
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present. "Rovi Corporation" appears as the correspondent on multiple assignments from 2015 to 2020 (Reel 033667/0273, 033667/0276, 033667/0279, 049303/0578, 049304/0071, 050410/0695, 050444/0831, 050444/0836). The address for Rovi Corporation shifts slightly but the entity remains consistent.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. While there are multiple transfers on 2015-06-18, these represent a series of corporate mergers/reorganizations within the same corporate family, not a rapid series of sales through chained LLCs.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The patent was granted on 2018-01-02. The earliest litigation mentioned on Google Patents is an IPR case filed in 2026 and a district court case filed in 2024. No assignments are dated within 6 months of these litigation events. The listed transfers in 2015 occurred before issuance and well before any listed litigation.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings for the assignors.
7. Privateering — not present. No evidence in the assignment records suggests this pattern.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain does not end at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion
The patent chain primarily reflects internal corporate reorganizations and securitization by Rovi Guides Inc. (now Adeia Guides Inc.), an operating company in the interactive media guidance industry. There are no clear transfers to known shell entities or high-frequency plaintiffs, and the current assignee, Adeia Guides Inc., is an operating company.
(Verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/)

The USPTO website (uspto.gov) provides tools for searching patents and patent application publications. I will use the information from the search results to formulate the response.

Here's the analysis of US Patent 9860595 and its cited prior art, based on the provided patent text and search results:

US Patent 9860595: Systems and methods for episode tracking in an interactive media environment

• Publication Date: 2018-01-02
• Filing Date: 2015-03-17
• Priority Date: 2005-12-29
• Current Assignee: Adeia Guides Inc. (Previously Rovi Guides Inc.)
• Inventors: Charles Cordray, Todd A. Walker, Samir B. Armaly

The invention relates to interactive media environments that monitor a user's viewing progress through a series of related programs (serial programming), such as a broadcast television series or a set of movie sequels. The interactive media monitoring application creates and maintains a user media profile, tracks viewing progress, and can filter or replace inconsistent media content (e.g., spoilers) with alternate content. This system can also enable users to interact with network communities based on their viewing progress.

Most Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 9860595

Based on the explicit references within the provided patent text, the following US patent application publications are identified as prior art:

1. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20030149988

   • Full Citation: Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20030149988, entitled "Interactive Television Program Guide With Remote Recording Capabilities."
   • Publication/Filing Date:
     • Publication Date: August 7, 2003.
     • (Note: The filing date is not explicitly available in the search snippets, but the publication date is sufficient for prior art analysis.)
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes systems for remote recording of media content. It enables users to control recording devices (like DVRs) remotely, for example, by accessing an online media guide and setting recordings on their in-home equipment.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): The 20030149988 publication primarily focuses on remote recording capabilities. This may be relevant to claims in US9860595 that involve the scheduling and recording of content, particularly serial content, for later viewing. Given that US9860595 utilizes VOD and DVR services to allow users to watch media content on their own schedule, any claims in US9860595 relating to the mechanism of remote recording or time-shifted viewing could potentially be anticipated by this reference.
     • Specific Claims: (Cannot be determined without access to the claims of US9860595. If the claims of US9860595 relate to the fundamental ability to remotely schedule or record media content for later viewing, this reference would be highly relevant.)

2. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20050229213

   • Full Citation: Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20050229213, entitled "Interactive Television Program Guide With Remote Recording Capabilities."
   • Publication/Filing Date:
     • Publication Date: October 13, 2005.
     • (Note: The filing date is not explicitly available in the search snippets.)
   • Brief Description: Similar to US20030144988, this patent application also describes systems and methods for remote recording of media content, further elaborating on the control of in-home equipment via an online media guide. It extends the concepts of remote scheduling and management of media recordings.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): As with US20030149988, this reference would potentially anticipate claims in US9860595 that cover the core functionality of remote recording and time-shifted media consumption. The emphasis on users accessing an online media guide to set recordings on their in-home equipment directly relates to the underlying infrastructure that US9860595 leverages for tracking viewing progress of time-shifted content.
     • Specific Claims: (Cannot be determined without access to the claims of US9860595. If claims in US9860595 describe systems for remote control and scheduling of media recording, this reference would be very pertinent.)

3. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20010047298

   • Full Citation: Moore et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20010047298, entitled "System for delivering metadata-linked content."
   • Publication/Filing Date:
     • Publication Date: November 29, 2001.
     • (Note: The filing date is not explicitly available in the search snippets.)
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes a system for delivering content that is linked with metadata. Metadata can describe programs, their content, or related services. In the context of US9860595, this would be relevant to how "profile flags" (metadata) are associated with media content to indicate program series, episode numbers, and other temporal components.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US9860595 heavily relies on metadata in the form of "media profile flags" (FIGS. 8A and 8B) to identify programs, seasons, and episodes for tracking and filtering purposes. Claims in US9860595 that broadly cover the association of descriptive metadata with media content for selection, filtering, or monitoring could potentially be anticipated by this reference. The core idea of linking content with descriptive data is present here.
     • Specific Claims: (Cannot be determined without access to the claims of US9860595. If claims in US9860595 describe the use of metadata or descriptive data associated with media content to enable content management or filtering, this reference would be highly relevant.)

4. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20070150917 (associated with Ser. No. 11/324,187)

   • Full Citation: Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20070150917, entitled "Systems and Methods for Generating a Content Summary."
   • Publication/Filing Date:
     • Publication Date: June 28, 2007.
     • Filing Date: December 29, 2005 (as per original US9860595 patent text for Ser. No. 11/324,187).
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes systems and methods for generating content summaries, which can be derived from various data sources, including closed captioning data. US9860595 references this in the context of providing "catch-up" segments or summaries for users who wish to keep up with a series without watching an entire episode.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US9860595 mentions presenting users with content summaries as an option for missed episodes (FIG. 11, summary selection 1110) and explicitly states these summaries can be derived from closed captioning data, referencing this patent application. Therefore, any claims in US9860595 that cover the generation or provision of content summaries to help users "catch up" on missed media content, particularly when such summaries are automatically generated or derived from program data, could be anticipated by this reference.
     • Specific Claims: (Cannot be determined without access to the claims of US9860595. If claims in US9860595 detail the creation, retrieval, or presentation of content summaries for missed episodes based on program data, this reference would be highly relevant.)

Disclaimer Regarding Claim Anticipation:
I am unable to provide a definitive analysis of which specific claims of US9860595 are potentially anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102, as the full text of the claims for US9860595 was not provided in the prompt. The above analysis of potential anticipation is based on a general understanding of the invention described in US9860595 and the known subject matter of the cited prior art. A complete anticipation analysis would require a detailed, claim-by-claim comparison.

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

Under 35 U.S.C. § 103, a patent claim is considered obvious if "the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious... to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains." This analysis often involves identifying a primary prior art reference and then looking for motivations to combine it with other references to arrive at the claimed invention.

A person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) in this field would likely be familiar with interactive media systems, digital video recording (DVR) and video-on-demand (VOD) technologies, user interface design, and data management, particularly in the context of media consumption.

The patent US9860595 focuses on tracking a user's viewing progress through serial programming and filtering inconsistent media content (e.g., spoilers) based on that progress.

Potential Combinations of Prior Art and Rationale for Combination

Given the "Prior art keywords" listed in US9860595 as "user, media, content, progress, serial program," the following combinations of prior art could render the claims obvious:

Combination 1: Existing Interactive Media Environments + General Knowledge of User Profiles and Content Filtering

• Prior Art: The patent itself acknowledges "Known interactive media environments" that allow users to customize their media experience, including setting program reminders, recording media content, searching for content, and enforcing parental controls. These environments also provide DVR and VOD services, allowing users to watch media content at their own pace, disconnected from rigid broadcast schedules. The patent further states that "Known interactive media environments do not track and report a user's progress through a series of related programming, such as a broadcast television series or a set of movie sequels." This establishes that interactive media environments with various personalization features existed.
• Rationale for Combination: A PHOSITA, aware of existing interactive media environments offering features like personalized recommendations, parental controls, and scheduling, would have been motivated to extend the concept of user preferences to include viewing progress in serial programming. The desire to enhance the user experience by preventing spoilers or irrelevant content is a clear motivation. It would be a logical step to maintain a "user media profile" that, instead of just general preferences, explicitly tracks progress (e.g., "season number and/or episode number" as mentioned in the patent) for serial content.
  • Filtering: The concept of filtering content based on user preferences or ratings was already established in prior art (e.g., parental controls filter content based on age ratings). Extending this filtering mechanism to viewing progress would be an obvious application. If a system can filter out content based on a "parental rating," it would be an obvious design choice to filter out content based on a "viewing progress rating" (i.e., whether the user has seen certain episodes).
  • Motivation: The explicit problem identified in the patent—that users watching serial programming out of sequence "may not recognize or understand certain characters, themes, or plot elements" and "often causes the viewer to be confused or lose interest in the media content"—provides a strong motivation for a PHOSITA to implement a solution. Tracking progress and filtering content to address this known problem would be an obvious improvement to existing interactive media environments.

Combination 2: Remote Recording Systems (Ellis et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 20030149988 and 20050229213) + Interactive Program Guides with Content Metadata

• Prior Art: US9860595 explicitly references "Systems for remote recording of media content are described in more detail in Ellis et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 20030149988 and 20050229213, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties." These references teach remote recording. The patent also describes data source 120 containing "program schedule and content data," including "program number, episode number, and season information for programs that are part of program series" and "media content attribute flags."
• Rationale for Combination: A PHOSITA combining Ellis et al.'s remote recording capabilities with the detailed program metadata already present in interactive program guides (like that from data source 120) would find it obvious to track user progress and filter content.
  • Tracking Progress: If a system can remotely schedule a recording of a specific episode of a series (as implied by remote recording systems), it inherently has access to the information needed to track which episodes a user has intended to watch or has recorded. By integrating this recording history with the "program number, episode number, and season information," a system could easily deduce a user's viewing progress.
  • Content Filtering: Once viewing progress is established, the motivation for filtering content (as described in Combination 1) becomes evident. The "media content attribute flags" could be expanded or re-purposed to include "spoiler flags" or "relevance flags" tied to specific episodes or seasons. A system could then check these flags against the user's viewing progress when displaying advertisements, news, or web content, and filter as needed. The patent mentions "content metadata in the form of profile flags associated with certain media content," which could readily be incorporated into existing metadata systems.

Combination 3: Interactive Media Guidance Applications (e.g., Interactive Television Program Guides) with User Preferences + Monitoring of Content Usage

• Prior Art: The patent defines "Interactive media guidance applications" as those that "allow users to navigate among and locate television programming viewing choices" and describes them providing "television program listings and summaries, pay-per-view (PPV) services, web browsing services, and other interactive features." It also classifies "Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched" under H04N21/44204.
• Rationale for Combination: Given that interactive media guidance applications already managed user preferences and presented program information, and that monitoring of content usage was a known concept, combining these elements to track progress in serial programming would be obvious.
  • User Preferences & Content Usage: Interactive program guides already managed user preferences (e.g., favorite genres, actors). Integrating "content usage" data (i.e., what a user has watched and for how long) with these preferences would be a natural extension. If a guide knows a user watched "episode 1," it's a small step to infer "episode 2" is next.
  • Applying to Serial Content: Recognizing that "Serial programming is any programming containing a temporal component, such as a recommended order of viewing," a PHOSITA would be motivated to apply existing user preference and content usage monitoring to this specific type of content to enhance the user experience by guiding them through the series and preventing premature disclosures.

In summary, the core inventive step of US9860595—tracking viewing progress of serial content and filtering inconsistent information—appears to be an obvious extension of existing interactive media guidance systems, remote recording technologies, and user preference/content usage monitoring, driven by the clear motivation to improve the user experience by avoiding spoilers and maintaining narrative consistency.