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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/17/2025 has been entered.
The instant application having Application No. 18/084,894 has claims 1-20 pending filed on 12/20/2022; there are 2 independent claims and 18 dependent claims, all of which are ready for examination by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
This Office Action is in response to applicant’s communication filed on December 17, 2025 and December 9, 2025 in response to PTO Office Action dated September 17, 2025. The Applicant’s remarks and amendments to the claims and/or specification were considered with the results that follow.
Claim Rejections
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
35 USC § 103 Rejection of claims 1-20
Applicant's arguments filed on 12/17/2025 and 12/09/2025 with respect to the claims 1-20 have been fully considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-2, 7-9, 11-12 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schwartz Lawerence (US PGPUB 20150251098) in view of Schuster et al (US PGPUB 20230053055) and in further view of Marat et al (US PGPUB 20150283463).
As per claim 1:
Schwartz teaches:
“A method comprising” (Paragraph [0007] (computer-implemented method includes))
“receiving a request to connect a client device to one of a plurality of virtual world servers” (Paragraph [0051] and Paragraph [0053] (the chat engine may receive requests from the clients to connect or communicate with the server))
“accessing, via the media content source, social network connectivity data of a user account associated with the client device” (Paragraph [0051], Paragraph [0144] and Paragraph [0158] (in connection with the request, using the associated logic to interface with various social media sources, the chat engine may identify a chat level associated with the requesting player based, at least in part, on the user profile, users who register/log in with a social networking account will also allow users to post scores and achievements they earn to a social networking profile))
“identifying a plurality of other user accounts based at least part on the social network connectivity data” (Paragraph [0144] (users who register/log in with a social networking account will have the ability to see which social networking friends (other user accounts) are also players and to invite social networking friends to With Friends (WF) matches))
“wherein the connections are indicated by the social network connectivity data” (Paragraph [0144] (users who register/log in with a social networking account will have the ability to see which social networking friends (other user accounts) are also players)).
Schwartz does not EXPLICITLY teaches: wherein each virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers is a separate server maintained by a media content source; wherein each other user account of the plurality of other user accounts is associated with at least one virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers; ranking the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on connections between the user account associated with the client device and respective devices associated with the plurality of other user accounts; and connecting the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on the ranking.
However, in an analogous art, Schuster teaches:
“wherein each virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers is a separate server maintained by a media content source” (Paragraph [0123] and Paragraph [0130] (one virtual world system may include a central transportation center, or hub, connected to multiple virtual worlds and the worlds server may further be connected to a database (media content source) which may be internal or external to worlds server))
“wherein each other user account of the plurality of other user accounts is associated with at least one virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers” (Paragraph [0323] and Paragraph [0349] (a root server may also provide general services across one or more service providers where types of services may include user login/logout services, user accounting services, and the like and the computing system may be a service provider, a root server, a virtual worlds server, an entry point, an instance host, and/or another server (each other user account of the plurality of other user accounts is associated with at least one virtual world server))).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to take the teachings of Shuster and apply them on teachings of Schwartz for the method “wherein each virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers is a separate server maintained by a media content source; wherein each other user account of the plurality of other user accounts is associated with at least one virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers”. One would be motivated as for the purpose of making the user experience more seamless or other reasons, the computer system of location 2 may provisionally engage the avatar before the computer system of location 1 disengages the avatar (Shuster, Paragraph [0149]).
Schwartz and Schuster do not EXPLICITLY teach: ranking the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on connections between the user account associated with the client device and respective devices associated with the plurality of other user accounts; and connecting the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on the ranking.
However, in an analogous art, Marat teaches:
“ranking the plurality of virtual world servers based on connections with devices associated with the plurality of other user accounts” (Paragraph [0018] and Paragraph [0023] (the contact ranking (CR) engine identifies a plurality of contacts of a player (other user accounts) of a first game on a gaming network environment where the CR engine collects contact attributes for each of the plurality of contacts from one or more contact attribute sources, upon receiving the first configuration table, the CR Engine scores the collected contact attributes of each contact of the player according to one or more updateable rules of the first configuration table, ranks in a (virtual world server) contacts ranking list based on a respective score where the CR Engine identifies a first contact which is a first connection (such as a “friend”) on the first social network and identifies a second contact which is a second connection on the first social network))
“and connecting the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on the ranking” (Paragraph [0023], Paragraph [0026] and Paragraph [0033] (the CR engine receives an indication that the player has given permission for the CR engine to access the player's connections on a first social network system, a first instance of the first configuration table related to the first game includes one or more updateable rules for determining contacts most likely to respond to a promotion related to a game (based at least in part on the ranking) and the components of system (connecting the client device to a virtual world server) can be connected to each other in any suitable configuration, using any suitable type of connection)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to take the teachings of Marat and apply them on teachings of Schwartz and Shuster for the method “ranking the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on connections between the user account associated with the client device and respective devices associated with the plurality of other user accounts; and connecting the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on the ranking”. One would be motivated as the contact ranking (CR) engine accesses the contacts and collects contact attributes for each of the player's contacts, the CR engine receives the configuration table from the game networking system and scores each contact according to the rules of the configuration table for the ranking (Marat, Paragraph [0021]).
As per claim 2:
Schwartz, Schuster and Marat teach the method of claim 1 above.
Schwartz, Schuster and Marat do not EXPLICITLY teach: wherein identifying the plurality of other user accounts based on the social network connectivity data further comprises; receiving metadata from a server; determining, from the metadata, a friendship graph comprising the plurality of other user accountss; and determining, from the metadata, an online friendship graph comprising a subset of the plurality of other user accounts.
Marat further teaches:
“wherein identifying the plurality of other user accounts based at least in part on the social network connectivity data further comprises” (Paragraph [0005] (an electronic social networking system typically operates with one or more social networking servers providing interaction between users such that a user can specify other users of the social networking system as “friends’ further includes))
“receiving metadata from a server” (Paragraph [0018] (the contact ranking (CR) engine recieves contact attributes (metadata) for each of the plurality of contacts from one or more contact attribute sources (servers) )).
“determining, from the metadata, a friendship graph comprising the plurality of other user accounts” (Paragraph [0054] (a player can be associated, connected or linked to various other users, or “friends,” within a social graph of the social network))
“and determining, from the metadata, an online friendship graph comprising a subset of the plurality of other user accounts” (Paragraph [0054] and Paragraph [0055] (the associations, connections or links can track relationships between users within the social network and are commonly referred to as online “friends” or “friendships” within the social network and it is possible for individuals to be connected to other individuals through their first-degree friends)).
As per claim 7:
Schwartz, Schuster and Marat teach the method of claim 1 above.
Schwartz further teaches:
“wherein connecting the client device to the virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on the ranking further comprises” (Paragraph [0040] and Paragraph [0041] (the competition rules can facilitate determining a ranking based on one or more variables associated with and the navigation map may identify each zone and include a graph of nodes that connect different locations in the virtual world)).
“identifying at least one parameter for each of the plurality of virtual world servers” (Paragraph [0050] (in connection with solving identified expressions, the competition engine may determine values for one or more parameters included in the identified expression))
“determining the virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers with the highest ranking” (Paragraph [0040] and Paragraph [0041] (the virtual world can map to the real world and allow users to navigate to real-world geographic locations corresponding to locations/zones in the virtual world and the competition rules can facilitate determining a ranking based on one or more variables associated with)),
Also, Marat further teaches:
“connecting the client device to the virtual world server with the highest ranking if the at least one parameter of the virtual world server with the highest ranking is above a predetermined threshold” (Paragraph [0021], Paragraph [0022], Paragraph [0084] and Paragraph [0085] (the contact ranking (CR) engine accesses the contacts and collects contact attributes for each of the player's contacts, requests a configuration table from the game networking system where the configuration table includes at least one rule for scoring a contact based on the contact's attributes, presents at least a portion of the highest scoring contacts, identifies a particular contact as having a score within a threshold range of the score calculated for the previously-responsive contact and the components of system can be connected to each other in any suitable configuration, using any suitable type of connection))
“and connecting the client device to a virtual world server with a lower ranking if the at least one parameter of the virtual world server with the highest ranking is below the predetermined threshold” (Paragraph [0021], Paragraph [0022], Paragraph [0023] and Paragraph [0085] (the contact ranking (CR) engine accesses the contacts and collects contact attributes for each of the player's contacts, requests a configuration table from the game networking system where the configuration table includes at least one rule for scoring a contact based on the contact's attributes, presents at least a portion of the highest scoring contacts, identifies a second contact which is a second connection on the first social network (if the at least one parameter of the virtual world server with the highest ranking is below the predetermined threshold), identifies additional contact attributes for both the first and second contacts on the contacts listing on the client device and the components of system can be connected to each other in any suitable configuration, using any suitable type of connection)).
As per claim 8:
Schwartz, Schuster and Marat teach the method of claim 7 above.
Marat further teaches:
“wherein the at least one parameter comprises any one of: a security threshold; a proximity threshold; and a bandwidth threshold” (Paragraph [0021], Paragraph [0079] and Paragraph [0084] (the contact ranking (CR) engine receives the configuration table from the game networking system and scores each contact according to the rules of the configuration table, a score may be calculated for the first and second contacts, the CR Engine applies a photo scoring rule, a biographical data scoring rule, a family relationship scoring rule, a geographical data scoring rule and a social network connection proximity scoring rule from the updateable first social network scoring rules and having a score within a threshold range of the score calculated for the previously-responsive contact)).
As per claim 9:
Schwartz, Schuster and Marat teach the method of claim 7 above.
Marat further teaches:
“identifying, based at least in part on the at least one parameter identified for each of the plurality of virtual servers, each of the plurality of virtual world servers where the at least one parameter is above the predetermined threshold” (Paragraph [0020], Paragraph [0021] and Paragraph [0084] (the contact ranking (CR) engine executes on a client device associated with a player of one or more games accessible by the client device on a game networking system (plurality of virtual servers), the CR engine accesses the contacts and collects contact attributes (at least one parameter) for each of the player's contacts, the CR engine receives the configuration table from the game networking system and scores each contact according to the rules of the configuration table and when the CR engine scores a plurality of contacts and identifies a particular contact as having a score within a threshold range))
“presenting for display on the client device each of the plurality of virtual world servers where the at least one parameter is above the predetermined threshold, based at least in part on the ranking of the plurality of virtual world servers” (Paragraph [0018], Paragraph [0022] and Paragraph [0084] (the CR engine ranks in a contacts ranking list each contact based on a respective score, identifies a particular contact as having a score within a threshold range and the CR engine presents at least a portion of the highest scoring contacts on a display of the client device))
“receiving, at the client device, a user input” (Paragraph [0022] (the CR engine receives a selection by the player of one or more of the displayed contacts))
“and connecting, based on the user input, the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers where the at least one parameter is above the predetermined threshold” (Paragraph [0023], and Paragraph [0084] (the CR engine receives an indication(s) that the player has given permission for the CR engine to access the player's connections on a first social network system and identifies a particular contact as having a score within a threshold range)).
As per claim 11:
Schwartz teaches:
“An apparatus comprising” (Paragraph [0008] (computer systems, apparatus includes))
“a memory storing instructions” (Paragraph [0008] (computer programs recorded on one or more computer storage devices))
“communication paths” (Paragraph [0033] (the interface is used by the server to communicate with other systems in a client-server or other distributed environment connected to the network))
“and control circuitry coupled to the communication paths and the memory and configured to execute the instructions to” (Paragraph [0008] (a system of one or more computers can be configured to perform particular operations or actions by virtue of having software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of software, firmware, or hardware installed on the system that in operation causes or causes the system to perform the actions))
“receive a request to connect a client device to one of a plurality of virtual world servers” (Paragraph [0051] and Paragraph [0053] (the chat engine may receive requests from the clients to connect or communicate with the server))
“access via the media content source, social network connectivity data of a user account associated with the client device” (Paragraph [0051], Paragraph [0144] and Paragraph [0158] (in connection with the request, using the associated logic to interface with various social media sources, the chat engine may identify a chat level associated with the requesting player based, at least in part, on the user profile, users who register/log in with a social networking account will also allow users to post scores and achievements they earn to a social networking profile))
“identify a plurality of other user accounts based at least in part on the social network connectivity data” (Paragraph [0144] (users who register/log in with a social networking account will have the ability to see which social networking friends (other user accounts) are also players and to invite social networking friends to With Friends (WF) matches))
“wherein the connections are indicated by the social network connectivity data” (Paragraph [0144] (users who register/log in with a social networking account will have the ability to see which social networking friends (other user accounts) are also players)).
Schwartz does not EXPLICITLY teaches: wherein each virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers is a separate server maintained by a media content source; wherein each other user account of the plurality of other user accounts is associated with at least one virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers; rank the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on connections between the user account associated with the client device and respective devices associated with the plurality of other user accounts; and connect the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on the ranking.
However, in an analogous art, Schuster teaches:
“wherein each virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers is a separate server maintained by a media content source” (Paragraph [0123] and Paragraph [0130] (one virtual world system may include a central transportation center, or hub, connected to multiple virtual worlds and the worlds server may further be connected to a database (media content source) which may be internal or external to worlds server))
“wherein each other user account of the plurality of other user accounts is associated with at least one virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers” (Paragraph [0323] and Paragraph [0349] (a root server may also provide general services across one or more service providers where types of services may include user login/logout services, user accounting services, and the like and the computing system may be a service provider, a root server, a virtual worlds server, an entry point, an instance host, and/or another server (each other user account of the plurality of other user accounts is associated with at least one virtual world server))).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to take the teachings of Shuster and apply them on teachings of Schwartz for the apparatus “wherein each virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers is a separate server maintained by a media content source; wherein each other user account of the plurality of other user accounts is associated with at least one virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers”. One would be motivated as for the purpose of making the user experience more seamless or other reasons, the computer system of location 2 may provisionally engage the avatar before the computer system of location 1 disengages the avatar (Shuster, Paragraph [0149]).
Schwartz and Schuster do not EXPLICITLY teach: rank the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on connections between the user account associated with the client device and respective devices associated with the plurality of other user accounts; and connect the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on the ranking.
However, in an analogous art, Marat teaches:
“rank the plurality of virtual world servers based on connections with devices associated with the plurality of other user accounts” (Paragraph [0018] and Paragraph [0023] (the contact ranking (CR) engine identifies a plurality of contacts of a player (other user accounts) of a first game on a gaming network environment where the CR engine collects contact attributes for each of the plurality of contacts from one or more contact attribute sources, upon receiving the first configuration table, the CR Engine scores the collected contact attributes of each contact of the player according to one or more updateable rules of the first configuration table, ranks in a (virtual world server) contacts ranking list based on a respective score where the CR Engine identifies a first contact which is a first connection (such as a “friend”) on the first social network and identifies a second contact which is a second connection on the first social network))
“and connect the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on the ranking” (Paragraph [0023], Paragraph [0026] and Paragraph [0033] (the CR engine receives an indication that the player has given permission for the CR engine to access the player's connections on a first social network system, a first instance of the first configuration table related to the first game includes one or more updateable rules for determining contacts most likely to respond to a promotion related to a game (based at least in part on the ranking) and the components of system (connecting the client device to a virtual world server) can be connected to each other in any suitable configuration, using any suitable type of connection)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to take the teachings of Marat and apply them on teachings of Schwartz and Shuster for the apparatus “rank the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on connections between the user account associated with the client device and respective devices associated with the plurality of other user accounts; and connect the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on the ranking”. One would be motivated as the contact ranking (CR) engine accesses the contacts and collects contact attributes for each of the player's contacts, the CR engine receives the configuration table from the game networking system and scores each contact according to the rules of the configuration table for the ranking (Marat, Paragraph [0021]).
As per claim 12, the claim is rejected based upon the same rationale given for the parent claim 11 and the claim 2 above.
As per claim 17, the claim is rejected based upon the same rationale given for the parent claim 11 and the claim 7 above.
As per claim 18, the claim is rejected based upon the same rationale given for the parent claim 17 and the claim 8 above.
As per claim 19, the claim is rejected based upon the same rationale given for the parent claim 17 and the claim 9 above.
Claims 3-6 and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schwartz Lawerence (US PGPUB 20150251098) in view of Schuster et al (US PGPUB 20230053055) and in further view of Marat et al (US PGPUB 20150283463) and Wang et al (US PGPUB 20170052973) .
As per claim 3:
Schwartz, Schuster and Marat teach the method of claim 2 above.
Marat further teaches:
“wherein ranking the plurality of virtual world servers based at least in part on the connections between the user account associated with the client device and respective devices associated with the plurality of other user accounts further comprises” (Paragraph [0018] and Paragraph [0023] (the contact ranking (CR) engine identifies a plurality of contacts of a player (other user accounts) of a first game on a gaming network environment where the CR engine collects contact attributes for each of the plurality of contacts from one or more contact attribute sources, upon receiving the first configuration table, the CR Engine scores the collected contact attributes of each contact of the player according to one or more updateable rules of the first configuration table, ranks in a (virtual world server) contacts ranking list based on a respective score where the CR Engine identifies a first contact which is a first connection (such as a “friend”) on the first social network and identifies a second contact which is a second connection on the first social network further includes)).
Schwartz, Schuster and Marat do not EXPLICITLY teach: determining, from the metadata, a static online friendship graph; or determining, from the metadata, a dynamic online friendship graph.
However, in an analogous art, Wang teaches:
“determining, from the metadata, a static online friendship graph” (Paragraph [0024] (users may join the online social network via social-networking system and then add connections or relationships to a number of other users of social-networking system to whom they want to be friends))
“or determining, from the metadata, a dynamic online friendship graph” (Paragraph [0051] (the social-networking system may use a variety of factors which are weighed differently, the weights may change (dynamic) according to the user or the type of relationship etc. and the ratings for the factors may be combined according to their weights to determine an overall coefficient for the user)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to take the teachings of Wang and apply them on teachings of Schwartz, Schuster and Marat for the method “determining, from the metadata, a static online friendship graph; or determining, from the metadata, a dynamic online friendship graph”. One would be motivated as the social-networking system may create an edge connecting the first user's user node to the second user's user node in the social graph as a friend and store edge as social-graph information in one or more of data stores (Wang, Paragraph [0036]).
As per claim 4:
Schwartz, Schuster, Marat and Wang teach the method of claim 3 above.
Marat further teaches:
“wherein: the online friendship graph comprises a plurality of nodes for each of a plurality of users and a plurality of vertices coupling the plurality of nodes to indicate friendships between each of the plurality of users” (Paragraph [0054] and Paragraph [0055] (a player can be associated, connected or linked to various other users, or “friends,” within the social network, each friend or friendship in a particular user's social network within a social graph is commonly referred to as a “node” and In a social graph, it is possible for individuals to be connected to other individuals through their first-degree friends)).
Also, Wang further teaches:
“the static online friendship graph further comprises: a first node for a first user and a second node for a second user coupled by a single vertex representing a one-hop friendship connection between the first user and the second user” (Paragraph [0036] (a pair of nodes in social graph may be connected to each other by one or more edges where an edge connecting a pair of nodes may represent a relationship between the pair of nodes, an edge may include or represent one or more data objects or attributes corresponding to the relationship between a pair of nodes and a first user may indicate that a second user is a “friend” of the first user))
“the first node for the first user and the second node for the second user coupled by two vertices representing a two-hop friendship connection between the first user and the second user” (Paragraph [0049] (social-networking system may determine the social-graph affinity (which may be referred to herein as “affinity”) of various social-graph entities for each other, the affinity may represent the strength of a relationship or level of interest between particular objects associated with the online social network (the first node for the first user and the second node for the second user coupled by two vertices representing a two-hop friendship connection)))
“and the first node for the first user and the second node for the second user coupled by n-vertices representing an n-hop friendship connection between the first user and the second user” (Paragraph [0049] (an overall affinity for a social-graph entity for each user, subject matter, or type of content may be established and the overall affinity may change based on continued monitoring of the actions or relationships associated with the social-graph entity (the first node for the first user and the second node for the second user coupled by n-vertices representing an n-hop friendship connection)))
“wherein a one-hop friendship connection represents a close friendship, and wherein a level of friendship decreases with each hop” (Paragraph [0049] (social-networking system may determine the social-graph affinity (which may be referred to herein as “affinity”) of various social-graph entities for each other and the affinity may represent the strength of a relationship or level of interest (close friendship) between particular objects associated with the online social network))
“and in the dynamic online friendship graph each vertex between two nodes is given a weighting to determine the level of friendship, wherein the weighting is determined based on any one of” (Paragraph [0051] (the social-networking system may use a variety of factors which are weighed differently, the weights may change (dynamic) according to the user or the type of relationship etc. and the ratings for the factors may be combined according to their weights to determine an overall coefficient for the user))
“a time of interaction between two users, frequency of interaction between two users, and/or positivity of interaction between the two users” (Paragraph [0051] (determining weights for various factors used to calculate a coefficient, such as the time since information was accessed, decay factors, frequency of access, relationship to information or relationship to the object about which information was accessed, relationship to social-graph entities connected to the object, other suitable variables, or any combination thereof))
“wherein a higher weighting represents a close friendship and a lower weighting represents a less close friendship” (Paragraph [0053] (user nodes that are connected by a spouse-type edge (representing that the two users are married) may be assigned a higher coefficient than a user nodes that are connected by a friend-type edge, depending upon the weights assigned to the actions and relationships for the particular user and the overall affinity may be determined to be higher for content about the user's spouse than for content about the user's friend)).
As per claim 5:
Schwartz, Schuster, Marat and Wang teach the method of claim 4 above.
Marat further teaches:
“wherein ranking the plurality of virtual world servers based at least part on the connections between the user account associated with the client device and the respective devices associated with the plurality of other user accounts further comprises” (Paragraph [0018] and Paragraph [0023] (the contact ranking (CR) engine identifies a plurality of contacts of a player (other user accounts) of a first game on a gaming network environment where the CR engine collects contact attributes for each of the plurality of contacts from one or more contact attribute sources, upon receiving the first configuration table, the CR Engine scores the collected contact attributes of each contact of the player according to one or more updateable rules of the first configuration table, ranks in a (virtual world server) contacts ranking list based on a respective score where the CR Engine identifies a first contact which is a first connection (such as a “friend”) on the first social network and identifies a second contact which is a second connection on the first social network further includes))
“and ranking each of the plurality of virtual world servers based on the number of close friendships, wherein the virtual world server with the highest number of close friendships is given the highest ranking and the virtual world server with the lowest number of close friendships is given the lowest ranking” (Paragraph [0018], Paragraph [0054], Paragraph [0055], Paragraph [0056] and Paragraph [0056] (the contact ranking (CR) engine scores the collected contact attributes of each contact of the player according to one or more updateable rules of the first configuration table, the CR engine ranks in a contacts ranking list each contact based on a respective score, the associations, connections or links can track relationships between users within the social network and are commonly referred to as online “friends” or “friendships” between users where each friend or friendship in a particular user's social network within a social graph is commonly referred to as a node, it is possible for individuals to be connected to other individuals through their first-degree friends, may take advantage of and utilize the distinction between the various degrees of friendship relative to player and the CR engine has ranked the scores of contacts, then selects contacts with the highest ranked scores)).
Also, Wang further teaches:
“determining, based at least in part on the level of friendship between the user of the client device and each of the plurality of users in the online friendship graph, a level of friendship between the user and each of the plurality of users in each virtual world server of the plurality of world servers” (Paragraph [0049] (social-networking system may determine the social-graph affinity of various social-graph entities for each other where affinity may represent the strength of a relationship or level of interest between particular objects associated with the online social network, such as users, concepts, content, actions, other objects associated with the online social network, or any suitable combination thereof)).
As per claim 6:
Schwartz, Schuster and Marat teach the method of claim 2 above.
Marat further teaches:
“determining, from the metadata, at least one behavioral characteristic of a plurality of users” (Paragraph [0018] (the contact ranking (CR) engine recieves contact attributes (metadata) for each of the plurality of contacts from one or more contact attribute sources (servers))).
Also, Shuster further teaches:
“determining, based at least in part on the at least one behavioral characteristic, that at least one of the plurality of users in the virtual world server is a lurker” (Paragraph [0145] (the computer system of location 2 authenticates the avatar for transfer which may be used to determine whether the avatar is permitted to access the new location and may maintain a whitelist or blacklist of avatars and/or associated users, and/or avatar or user characteristics to keep track of exiled, banned, or otherwise unwanted entities (lurkers)))
“sending a request to disconnect a client device of the lurker from the virtual world server” (Paragraph [0147] (if the destination location has certain rules about required and/or permitted possessions, and the avatar has a possession that is not allowed in the new world, then the avatar's possession may be removed (disconnect a client device of the lurker), or otherwise affected))
“and connecting the client device of the lurker to a different one of the plurality of virtual world servers” (Paragraph [0149] (the computer system of location 1 disengages the avatar and in parallel or serial, the computer system of location 2 engages the avatar for interaction)).
Schwartz, Schuster and Marat do not EXPLICITLY teach: wherein the at least one behavioral characteristic comprises any one of: a period of time spent online, a period of time spent in any one of the plurality of virtual world servers, and/or a level of interaction with other users of the plurality of users; .
However, in an analogous art, Wang teaches:
“wherein the at least one behavioral characteristic comprises any one of: a period of time spent online, a period of time spent in any one of the plurality of virtual world servers, and/or a level of interaction with other users of the plurality of users” (Paragraph [0051] (determining weights for various factors used to calculate a coefficient, such as, the time since information was accessed, decay factors, frequency of access, relationship to information or relationship to the object about which information was accessed, relationship to social-graph entities connected to the object, short- or long-term averages of user actions, other suitable variables, or any combination thereof)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to take the teachings of Wang and apply them on teachings of Schwartz, Schuster and Marat for the method “wherein the at least one behavioral characteristic comprises any one of: a period of time spent online, a period of time spent in any one of the plurality of virtual world servers, and/or a level of interaction with other users of the plurality of users”. One would be motivated as the social-networking system may create an edge connecting the first user's user node to the second user's user node in the social graph as a friend and store edge as social-graph information in one or more of data stores (Wang, Paragraph [0036]).
As per claim 13, the claim is rejected based upon the same rationale given for the parent claim 12 and the claim 3 above.
As per claim 14, the claim is rejected based upon the same rationale given for the parent claim 13 and the claim 4 above.
As per claim 15, the claim is rejected based upon the same rationale given for the parent claim 14 and the claim 5 above.
As per claim 16, the claim is rejected based upon the same rationale given for the parent claim 12 and the claim 6 above.
Claims 10 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schwartz Lawerence (US PGPUB 20150251098) in view of Schuster et al (US PGPUB 20230053055) and in further view of Marat et al (US PGPUB 20150283463) and Vangapalli et al (US PGPUB 20220182278).
As per claim 10:
Schwartz, Schuster and Marat teach the method of claim 1 above.
Schwartz, Schuster and Marat do not EXPLICITLY teach: determining, subsequent to connecting the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers, a loss of connection between the client device and the virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers; connecting the client device to the same virtual world server of the plurality of world servers if the loss of connection was below a predetermined threshold period of time; and connecting the client device to a different virtual world server of the plurality of world servers if the loss of connection was above the predetermined threshold period of time.
However, in an analogous art, Vangapalli teaches:
“determining, subsequent to connecting the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers, a loss of connection between the client device and the virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers” (Paragraph [0023] and Paragraph [0024] (method for determining a cause of a failure of a connection to an application or computing device and determine whether the failure was caused by client side issues or server or hosted device (e.g., virtual server, virtual desktop) issues))
“connecting the client device to the same virtual world server of the plurality of world servers if the loss of connection was below a predetermined threshold period of time” (Paragraph [0033] (to determine a mapping for an event and then determine a cause and/or location of the failure associated with the event, the device can compare time values (e.g., failure time, event time) of the data sets to determine if the events correspond to the same or similar events. and if the time values are within a common time range or a time different between the time values is less than a threshold, the device can determine the events correspond to the same or similar events))
“and connecting the client device to a different virtual world server of the plurality of world servers if the loss of connection was above the predetermined threshold period of time” (Paragraph [0125] (the device can compare the time value from the data from the client application to a time threshold for an event and can compare the time value from the data from the monitoring service to the same time threshold for the event and if one of the time values is outside the time threshold (or greater than), the method can move to different server)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to take the teachings of Vangapalli and apply them on teachings of Schwartz, Schuster and Marat for the method “determining, subsequent to connecting the client device to a virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers, a loss of connection between the client device and the virtual world server of the plurality of virtual world servers; connecting the client device to the same virtual world server of the plurality of world servers if the loss of connection was below a predetermined threshold period of time; and connecting the client device to a different virtual world server of the plurality of world servers if the loss of connection was above the predetermined threshold period of time”. One would be motivated as the association of the time value can include a time range that includes accepted time values for a same event, similar event, same data and/or similar data or a time threshold indicating if data is associated with the same event, similar event, same data and/or similar data (Vangapalli, Paragraph [0123]).
As per claim 20, the claim is rejected based upon the same rationale given for the parent claim 11 and the claim 10 above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Shreyas et al, (US PGPUB 20200314166), a method includes detecting content items stored locally on a client device, each content item including a time stamp and geospatial metadata; identifying one or more sets of content items based on their time stamps being within a first predetermined time range; determining, for each set of content items, a geographic location associated with the content items of the set based on the geospatial metadata of each content item; generating a list of all geographic locations associated with the sets of content items; selecting subsets of content items based on determining that the time stamps associated with each content item of the subset are within a second predetermined time range; determining, from the selected subsets of content items, non-overlapping subsets of content items based on a parent geographic location associated with the selected subset.
Su Yu-Cheng, (US PGPUB 20140201261), a method for providing internet services for socialization purposes sends an identity data and a location data to a server. The method further converts the identity data and the location data into a profile status data. The method further retrieves a social organization and a character profile of the identity data and determines whether the character profile satisfies a predetermined condition. The identity data is given an authority for predetermined privileged operations or given a right of organization selection. In another embodiment, the identity data is belonged to a social organization having a territory. The method calculates a movement distance based on the location data and the territory, as well as a length of movement time based on the movement distance and a character profile of the identity data..
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAMAL K DEWAN whose telephone number is (571)272-2196. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (EST). If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, TONY MAHMOUDI can be reached on 571-272-4078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Kamal K Dewan/
Examiner, Art Unit 2163
/TONY MAHMOUDI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2163