DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 10, the specific sport of baseball including nine cards and nine rounds is not disclosed.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-3, 5-6, 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, the phrase “…in a number of rounds equal to the number of periods of play as the sport…” renders the claim indefinite. There are sports which do not have periods during play and therefore it is not clear how such would apply to them. For example, track and field, swimming, dance, baseball, tennis, etc do not have what are typically referred to as periods.
Claims 2-3, 5-6 and 8-10 are rejected for being dependent on the rejected claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. The claims are directed to at least one of abstract idea groupings, according to the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Guidelines (Mathematical Concepts, Mental Processes and/or Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity). Furthermore, the claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception as discussed below.
Step 1 of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
More specifically, regarding Step 1 of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, the claims (1-8) are directed to a process, which is are statutory categories of invention.
Step 2A-1 of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
Next, the claims are analyzed to determine whether they are directed to a judicial exception.
Independent claim 1 recites the following, with the abstract ideas highlighted in bold, including an indication as to the abstract idea grouping(s) to which the indicated limitations belong to, according to the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Guidelines.
Claim 1. A game that employs a deck of cards wherein the game is configured to represent a sport and is played by players in number of rounds equal to the number of periods of play as the sport wherein the game comprises the steps of: producing a deck of cards, wherein the cards have imprinted thereon a likeness of a player of the sport, a lineup position for the player and career statistics of the player with an associated point value; compiling a group of players, distributing a quantity of cards to each player, wherein a portion of the cards from the deck of cards are allocated to each player; the quantity of cards equal to a team lineup for the sport selecting a player to initiate the game; executing a card play for each player in turn, starting with the initiating player, wherein the execution of the card play can include drawing an additional card from the deck of cards; trading a card with another player for another card, and discarding a card; continuing the executing step for each player for a number of rounds of the game, wherein the number of rounds of the game are equivalent in quantity to the number of periods of play in an actual sport of which the cards have player information imprinted thereon; reviewing cards in each players possession after each round of play; determining if a replicated complete team lineup has been obtained, wherein one or more players possesses a card corresponding to each lineup position in a team lineup thereby forming a complete team lineup; and declaring a winner, from the one or more players having cards that represent a complete team lineup. (Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity: managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people (including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions))
The limitations identified above are all drawn to following rules or instructions (for playing a game), as well as interactions between people (i.e. game players). Therefore, the limitations in claim 1, as noted above, recite an abstract idea included in the groupings of Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity.
Regarding dependent claims 2-3, 5-6 and 8-10:
Each claim is dependent either directly or indirectly from the independent claim identified above and includes all the limitations of said independent claim. Therefore, each dependent claim recites the same abstract idea as identified above. Each of the dependent claim further describes additional aspects of the abstract idea, i.e., additional aspects to the Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity. For example, some dependent claims merely provide additional concepts reciting rules for game play and/or additional insignificant extra-solution activity, without anything more significant to establish eligibility under 35 U.S.C. 101.
Step 2A-2 of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
The second prong of step 2a is the consideration if the claim limitations are directed to a practical application.
Limitations that are indicative of integration into a practical application:
-Improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field - see MPEP 2106.05(a)
-Applying or using a judicial exception to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition – see Vanda Memo1-
-Applying the judicial exception with, or by use of, a particular machine - see MPEP 2106.05(b)
-Effecting a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing - see MPEP 2106.05(c)
-Applying or using the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception - see MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo
Limitations that are not indicative of integration into a practical application:
-Adding the words “apply it” (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea - see MPEP 2106.05(f)
-Adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception - see MPEP 2106.05(g)
-Generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use – see MPEP 2106.05(h)
Claims 1-3, 5-6 and 8-10 do not improve the functioning of a computer, as no computer technology is recited/claimed, do not effect a particular treatment, and do not transform or reduce a particular article to a different state or thing. Similarly, there is no improvement to a technical field. In addition, the claims do not apply the judicial exception with, or by use of a particular machine. The claims do not apply or use the judicial exception in a meaningful way. The claimed invention does not suggest improvements to the functioning of a computer or to any other technology or technical field (see MPEP 2106.05 (a)).
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claimed invention generally links the use of the judicial exception to a particular technology or field of use (MPEP 2106.05 (h)).
For the reasons as discussed above, the claim limitations are not integrated to a practical application.
Step 2b of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
Next, the claims as a whole are analyzed to determine whether any element, or combination of elements, is sufficient to ensure that the claim amounts to significantly more than the exception.
The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because no element or combination of elements is sufficient to ensure any claim of the present application as a whole amounts to significantly more than one or more judicial exceptions, as described above. For example, the recitations of utilization of “…a deck of cards wherein the cards have imprinted thereon a likeness of a player of a sport, a lineup position for the player and career statistics of the player with associated point value…” etc. fail to impose meaningful limitations to impart patent-eligibility as these elements are well known, routine and/or conventional (see US 5641164 to Doederlein, col. 1, lines 11-25).
The dependent claims do not add “significantly more” for at least the same reasons as directed to their respective independent claims, at least based on the position, as discussed above, that each of the dependent claims merely provide additional limitations to further expand the abstract idea of the independent claims, without adding anything which would establish eligibility under 35 U.S.C. 101.
Consequently, consideration of each and every element of each and every claim, both individually and as an ordered combination, leads to the conclusion that the claims are not patent-eligible under 35 USC §101.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/1/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding amendments made with respect to rejections under 35 USC 112, the amended claim language continues to raise issues with respect to indefiniteness, as noted above. Furthermore, claim 10 now appears to introduce new matter and has been rejected under 35 USC 112(a) also as noted above.
Regarding arguments with respect to rejections under 35 USC 101, it is argued that limitations directed to those involving interaction between people have been removed and therefore the claims are now no longer directed to a judicial exception. In response, it is pointed out that the steps of “distributing a quantity of cards…, selecting a player to initiate a game…, executing a card play…, trading a card with another player…, continuing the executing step for each player…, reviewing cards in each players possession…determining if a replicated complete team lineup has been obtained…declaring a winner…” all require interaction of players in the normal course of game play. Therefore, the rejections under 35 USC 101 are maintained as noted above.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/DMITRY SUHOL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3715