Appeal No. 2006-0360
Application No. 10/388,691
the central station in Garfinkle is no longer transmitting after
downloading to the client station, because control for refusing the
video content to the customer takes place in the microprocessor-
based memory interface and memory control unit 22 at the client
end, it appears reasonable to us to say that transmission of the
video content to the client device is refused because the rental
time period has expired. Transmission from the server in Garfinkle
to the client device may be refused for many reasons, as no order
received, transmission has already occurred, and the time period
has expired with no additional order being received. But, clearly,
if the time period has expired and no additional order has been
received at the server, then the server in Garfinkle will refuse to
transmit the video content to the client device because the rental
time period has expired. There may be an additional reason, viz.,
that the time has expired and there has been no additional order by
the customer, but the instant claim language does not specify that
transmission is refused solely, or only because the rental time
period has expired. So long as one reason for the refusal of
transmission is the expiration of the rental time period, this part
of the claim language is met.
As for the claim limitation of “storing at the server, an
indicator of the rental time period,” while Garfinkle is not
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