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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 02/06/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant Amendments and Remarks filed on 02/06/2026 in response to the Final office action mailed on 11/13/2025 have been fully considered and are addressed as follows:
Regarding the Claim Rejections under 35 USC § 103: With respect to the previous claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103, Applicant has amended the independent claims and these amendments have changed the scope of the original application. Therefore, the Office has supplied new grounds for rejection attached below in the NON-FINAL office action and therefore the prior arguments are considered moot.
NON-FINAL OFFICE ACTION
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-3, 7, 9, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Salmon (US 2012/0015566 A1) in view of Arvidsson (US 2006/0206244 A1) further in view of Chen et al. (US 2006/0116204 A1, hereinafter “Chen”), Oshima (JP 2003204583 A), and NPL-1 (ANGLR Bullseye, https://www.anglr.com/anglr-bullseye-bluetooth-fishing-tracker, which is related to the NPL document “Fishing Intelligence: AnglR” found in the IDS submission on 2/22/2023).
The rejections below are based on the machine translation of Oshima.
Regarding claim 1, Salmon discloses a marine vessel maneuvering apparatus to maneuver a marine vessel by wireless communication (Salmon at para. [0029]: “The wireless remote control device 108 communicates directly with the trolling motor 212, via the wireless interface 206”), the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus comprising:
an operator to move the marine vessel in an operating direction of the operator (Salmon at para. [0030]: “The boat's operation could be controlled as described above via functions of the trolling motor control system 100 initiated by a user having the wireless remote control device 108”; para. [0042]: “the trolling motor control system 100 includes a "Navigate-To" function, which can be initiated via the wireless remote control device 108. This function allows the user to select a stored waypoint, and the trolling motor control system 100 controls the trolling motor 112, 212 thus navigating the boat to the selected waypoint”),
a recorder including a press button (Salmon at para. [0035]: “The wireless remote control device 108 could include buttons ( on the keypad 404, for example) or soft keys to enable the user to remotely control some standard functions on the GPS-equipped mapping device 102. An example would be a "Mark" button. Typically, on the keypad of many GPS-equipped mapping devices 102, there is a "Mark" button. When this is pressed, the GPS-equipped mapping device 102 automatically records and stores a waypoint with the current GPS coordinates”),
a controller connected to at least the recorder (Salmon at para. [0035]: to record and store a series of waypoints, a recorder of the wireless remote control device must be connected to a controller)
However, Salmon does not explicitly state the operator including a first operator and a second operator respectively located on a front side and a back side of the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus, the first operator including a columnar portion having a columnar shape and a flat portion having a flat shape provided at a top of the columnar portion,
the press button having an annulus sector shape having a center point on the first operator and record other information about the fishing that is different from the location information, and
the controller configured or programmed to switch information recorded by the recorder to the location information or the other information about the fishing in response to the number of times of pressing the press button or a length of time per pressing the press button.
In the same field of endeavor, Arvidsson teaches the operator including a first operator and (Arvidsson at FIG. 4 and para. [0030]: “The remote control unit 15 is provided with a steering input manipulator 16, which in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4 takes the form of a joystick. By means of the steering input manipulator 16, the remote control unit 15 is adapted for wireless communication of steering input data to the onboard steering computer 12”; The joystick 16 according to FIG. 4 has a flat shape on the top).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon by adding the columnar portion of Arvidsson with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon in view of Arvidsson is to simplify boat maneuvering and steering (see Arvidsson at para. [0034]).
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson does not explicitly state:
a second operator respectively located on a front side and a back side of the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus,
the press button having an annulus sector shape having a center point on the first operator and record other information about the fishing that is different from the location information, and
the controller configured or programmed to switch information recorded by the recorder to the location information or the other information about the fishing in response to the number of times of pressing the press button or a length of time per pressing the press button.
In the same field of endeavor, Chen teaches:
a second operator respectively located on a front side and a back side of the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus (Chen at para. [0035]: “Referring to FIG. 6, the bottom of the controller 16 includes two trigger assemblies 66 that are controlled by the operator's fore fingers 64”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon in view of Arvidsson by adding the second operator of Chen with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen is to provide a remote controller designed for human-centric usability.
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen does not explicitly state:
the press button having an annulus sector shape having a center point on the first operator and record other information about the fishing that is different from the location information, and
the controller configured or programmed to switch information recorded by the recorder to the location information or the other information about the fishing in response to the number of times of pressing the press button or a length of time per pressing the press button.
In the same field of endeavor, Oshima teaches the press button having an annulus sector shape having a center point on the first operator (Oshima at para. [0013]: “As shown in FIG. 3, a draft angle is formed on the function buttons arranged around the execution key 4. A joystick 4B, which is a cursor key, is arranged around the execution key 4 to constitute an execution button 4. The execution button 4 is a part where the thumb is located in a state where the main body of the remote control 1 is naturally gripped (the main body of the remote control 1). (Slightly forward from the center). The drafts 5D and 5E are formed on the menu key 5A and the return button 5B arranged on the front side (lower side of the drawing) of the execution button 4”; The menu key 5A and return button 5B (i.e., “press button”) having an annulus sector shape are arranged to be centered around the center point of the joystick 4B (i.e., “first operator”)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen by adding the annulus sector shape of Oshima with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen and Oshima is to provide a user friendly design for easy grip and press (see Oshima at para. [0013]).
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen and Oshima does not explicitly state record other information about the fishing that is different from the location information, and
the controller configured or programmed to switch information recorded by the recorder to the location information or the other information about the fishing in response to the number of times of pressing the press button or a length of time per pressing the press button.
In the same field of endeavor, NPL-1 teaches record other information about the fishing that is different from the location information (NPL-1 at pg. 2: “Click Bullseye and automatically record catch locations, editable waypoints, conditions and more”; “This button is included with your ANGLR Pro subscription”), and
the controller configured or programmed to switch information recorded by the recorder to the location information or the other information about the fishing in response to the number of times of pressing the press button or a length of time per pressing the press button (NPL-1 at pg. 3: “Click Bullseye once to record catches with weather, water, and location details”; “Click Bullseye twice to drop editable waypoints in precise locations”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen and Oshima by adding the controller of NPL-1 with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 is to provide the easiest and fastest way to mark waypoints and catches without pulling out phones or tapping around on a graph (see NPL-1 at pg. 2).
Regarding Claim 2, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 teaches the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus according to claim 1.
Salmon further discloses wherein the controller is configured or programmed to communicate with an external information communication network and to transmit the recorded location information to the external information communication network (para. [0020]: “The main controller 104 includes a wireless interface 106 that allows for the bidirectional, wireless transfer of data between the main controller 104 and either the GPS-equipped mapping device 102 or the wireless remote control device 108”).
Regarding Claim 3, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 teaches the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus according to claim 1.
Salmon further discloses wherein the recorder is operable to record the location information in a fish finder (para. [0020]: “a GPS-equipped mapping device 102, such as a fish finder or chart plotter”; para. [0034]: “The wireless remote control device 108 could include buttons (on the keypad 404, for example) or soft keys to enable the user to remotely control some standard functions on the GPS-equipped mapping device 102. An example would be a ‘Mark’ button” and when the Mark button “is pressed, the GPS-equipped mapping device 102 automatically records and stores a waypoint with the current GPS coordinates”).
Regarding Claim 7, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 teaches the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus according to claim 1.
Salmon further discloses wherein the location information is location information obtained from a Global Positioning System (para. [0022]: “the main controller 104 further includes a GPS receiver 110, and electronic memory which allows the user of the trolling motor control system 100 to store the latitudinal and longitudinal information for a waypoint, or for a series of waypoints that, together, make up a path or track. A track is a course that has been followed by the watercraft or boat, and which can be recorded by the main controller 104, or by the GPS-equipped mapping device 102 in some instances”).
Regarding Claim 9, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 teaches the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus according to claim 1.
Salmon further discloses wherein the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus is provided at a location different from a maneuvering seat (para. [0035]: “Doing this through the wireless remote control device 108 would allow the user to record a waypoint without having to go to the keypad of the GPS equipped mapping device 102, which may be on the other end of the boat”).
Regarding Claim 11, Salmon discloses An information processing system (Salmon at para. [0020]: “The trolling motor control system 100 includes a main controller 104 and a wireless remote control device 108”) comprising:
a marine vessel maneuvering apparatus to maneuver a marine vessel (Salmon at para. [0029]: “The wireless remote control device 108 communicates directly with the trolling motor 212, via the wireless interface 206”); and
a communication apparatus communicably connected to an information communication network (Salmon at para. [0020]: “The main controller 104 includes a wireless interface 106 that allows for the bidirectional, wireless transfer of data between the main controller 104 and either the GPS-equipped mapping device 102 or the wireless remote control device 108”); wherein
the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus includes:
an operator to move the marine vessel in an operating direction of the operator (Salmon at para. [0030]: “The boat's operation could be controlled as described above via functions of the trolling motor control system 100 initiated by a user having the wireless remote control device 108”; para. [0042]: “the trolling motor control system 100 includes a "Navigate-To" function, which can be initiated via the wireless remote control device 108. This function allows the user to select a stored waypoint, and the trolling motor control system 100 controls the trolling motor 112, 212 thus navigating the boat to the selected waypoint”),
a recorder including a press button (Salmon at para. [0004]: “Anglers routinely use their fish finders or chart plotters to mark (record) the locations of productive fishing spots. These spots are also referred to as waypoints”; para. [0035]: “It is also envisioned that the wireless remote control device 108 is configured to record and store a series of waypoints, also known as a track”),
a controller connected to at least the recorder (Salmon at para. [0035]: to record and store a series of waypoints, a recorder of the wireless remote control device must be connected to a controller)
the communication apparatus is operable to transmit the recorded location information to the information communication network (Salmon at para. [0020]: “The main controller 104 includes a wireless interface 106 that allows for the bidirectional, wireless transfer of data between the main controller 104 and either the GPS-equipped mapping device 102 or the wireless remote control device 108”); and
the communication apparatus is operable to allow a marine vessel user to perform browsing of or transfer of the location information via the information communication network (Salmon at para. [0033]: “the wireless remote control device 108 may be configured to display a smaller version of the GPS-equipped mapping device's displayed map. As such, the user wouldn't necessarily have to be in front of the GPS-equipped mapping device 102 to identify waypoints and/or tracks that are stored and displayed on the GPS-equipped mapping device 102. This would give the user similar functionality as through the GPS-equipped mapping device 102 for doing things like identifying waypoints and tracks to navigate along”; The wireless remote control device 108 displays the waypoints and/or tracks stored on the GPS-equipped mapping device 102. Therefore, the wireless remote control device 108 allows the user to browse the waypoints and/or tracks that are stored on the GPS-equipped mapping device 102 via wireless network connection).
However, Salmon does not explicitly state the operator including a first operator and a second operator respectively located on a front side and a back side of the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus, the first operator including a columnar portion having a columnar shape and a flat portion having a flat shape provided at a top of the columnar portion,
the press button having an annulus sector shape having a center point on the first operator and record other information about the fishing that is different from the location information, and
the controller configured or programmed to switch information recorded by the recorder to the location information or the other information about the fishing in response to the number of times of pressing the press button or a length of time per pressing the press button.
In the same field of endeavor, Arvidsson teaches the operator including a first operator and (Arvidsson at FIG. 4 and para. [0030]: “The remote control unit 15 is provided with a steering input manipulator 16, which in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4 takes the form of a joystick. By means of the steering input manipulator 16, the remote control unit 15 is adapted for wireless communication of steering input data to the onboard steering computer 12”; The joystick 16 according to FIG. 4 has a flat shape on the top).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Salmon by adding the columnar portion of Arvidsson with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson is to simplify boat maneuvering and steering (see Arvidsson at para. [0034]).
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson does not explicitly state:
a second operator respectively located on a front side and a back side of the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus,
the press button having an annulus sector shape having a center point on the first operator and record other information about the fishing that is different from the location information, and
the controller configured or programmed to switch information recorded by the recorder to the location information or the other information about the fishing in response to the number of times of pressing the press button or a length of time per pressing the press button.
In the same field of endeavor, Chen teaches:
a second operator respectively located on a front side and a back side of the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus (Chen at para. [0035]: “Referring to FIG. 6, the bottom of the controller 16 includes two trigger assemblies 66 that are controlled by the operator's fore fingers 64”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson by adding the second operator of Chen with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen is to provide a remote controller designed for human-centric usability.
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen does not explicitly state:
the press button having an annulus sector shape having a center point on the first operator and record other information about the fishing that is different from the location information, and
the controller configured or programmed to switch information recorded by the recorder to the location information or the other information about the fishing in response to the number of times of pressing the press button or a length of time per pressing the press button.
In the same field of endeavor, Oshima teaches the press button having an annulus sector shape having a center point on the operator (Oshima at para. [0013]: “As shown in FIG. 3, a draft angle is formed on the function buttons arranged around the execution key 4. A joystick 4B, which is a cursor key, is arranged around the execution key 4 to constitute an execution button 4. The execution button 4 is a part where the thumb is located in a state where the main body of the remote control 1 is naturally gripped (the main body of the remote control 1). (Slightly forward from the center). The drafts 5D and 5E are formed on the menu key 5A and the return button 5B arranged on the front side (lower side of the drawing) of the execution button 4”; The menu key 5A and return button 5B (i.e., “press button”) having an annulus sector shape are arranged to be centered around the center point of the joystick 4B (i.e., “operator”)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen by adding the annulus sector shape of Oshima with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen and Oshima is to provide a user friendly design for easy grip and press (see Oshima at para. [0013]).
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen and Oshima does not explicitly state record other information about the fishing that is different from the location information,
the controller configured or programmed to switch information recorded by the recorder to the location information or the other information about the fishing in response to the number of times of pressing the press button or a length of time per pressing the press button.
In the same field of endeavor, NPL-1 teaches record other information about the fishing that is different from the location information (NPL-1 at pg. 2: “Click Bullseye and automatically record catch locations, editable waypoints, conditions and more”; “This button is included with your ANGLR Pro subscription”), and
the controller configured or programmed to switch information recorded by the recorder to the location information or the other information about the fishing in response to the number of times of pressing the press button or a length of time per pressing the press button (NPL-1 at pg. 3: “Click Bullseye once to record catches with weather, water, and location details”; “Click Bullseye twice to drop editable waypoints in precise locations”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen and Oshima by adding the controller of NPL-1 with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 is to provide the easiest and fastest way to mark waypoints and catches without pulling out phones or tapping around on a graph (see NPL-1 at pg. 2).
Office Note: The specification does not provide Applicant’s special definition of the term “browsing.” Therefore, the term “browsing” is interpreted as “to look over casually: SKIM” (“Browse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/browse. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.).
Claims 5 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, and Blackadar et al. (WO 2017/112778 A1).
Regarding Claim 5, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Oshima and NPL-1 teaches the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus according to claim 1.
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 does not explicitly state wherein the other information about the fishing is at least one of location information of a point through which the marine vessel has passed or location information when equipment used for the fishing is changed.
In the same field of endeavor, Blackadar et al. teaches wherein the other information about the fishing is at least one of location information of a point through which the marine vessel has passed or location information when equipment used for the fishing is changed (Blackadar et al. at para. [00146]: “A location-sensing device 7000 and external sensor 2500 may also be associated with the rod 1100”; para. [00149]: “Analytics, as described herein, may then be used to record a casting event, an estimated casting distance, a categorization of the cast (e.g., a successful cast, a failed cast, and so forth), and record metadata associated with the cast event, such as the time the cast occurred, the location, the environmental conditions present at the time of cast, rod type, line type, bait type or some other type of data associated with the cast”; a type of equipment is recorded associated with a particular location).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 by adding the location information of Blackadar et al. with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, and Blackadar et al. is to better inform various data related to fishing activities and enhance the fishing experience (see Blackadar et al. at para. [0004]).
Regarding Claim 13, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 teaches the information processing system according to claim 11.
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 does not explicitly state wherein the recorder is operable to record at least one of a fishing result information, date and time information, or weather information in association with the location information.
In the same field of endeavor, Blackadar et al. teaches wherein the recorder is operable to record at least one of a fishing result information, date and time information, or weather information in association with the location information (Blackadar et al. at para. [00149]: “Analytics, as described herein, may then be used to record a casting event, an estimated casting distance, a categorization of the cast (e.g., a successful cast, a failed cast, and so forth), and record metadata associated with the cast event, such as the time the cast occurred, the location, the environmental conditions present at the time of cast, rod type, line type, bait type or some other type of data associated with the cast”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the information processing system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 by adding the information terminal of Blackadar et al. with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the information processing system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, and Blackadar et al. is to better inform various data related to fishing activities and enhance the fishing experience (see Blackadar et al. at para. [0004]).
Claims 8 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, and Suzuki et al. (US 2016/0096610 A1).
Regarding Claim 8, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 teaches the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus according to claim 1.
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 does not explicitly state wherein the operator is operable to move the marine vessel in a tilting direction of the operator.
In the same field of endeavor, Suzuki et al. teaches wherein the operator is operable to move the marine vessel in a tilting direction of the operator (Suzuki et al. at para. [0106]: “the display device 8 is configured to detect the tilted posture of the display device 8 and accept an operation for maneuvering the boat on the basis of the detection result of the gyro sensor 83”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Oshima and NPL-1 by adding the operator of Suzuki et al. with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the marine vessel maneuvering apparatus of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, and Suzuki et al. is to allow a user to easily maneuver a boat by tilting and operating a display device (see Suzuki et al. at para. [0106]).
Regarding Claim 15, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 teaches the information processing system according to claim 11.
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 does not explicitly state wherein the operator is operable to move the marine vessel in a tilting direction of the operator.
In the same field of endeavor, Suzuki et al. teaches wherein the operator is operable to move the marine vessel in a tilting direction of the operator (Suzuki et al. at para. [0106]: “the display device 8 is configured to detect the tilted posture of the display device 8 and accept an operation for maneuvering the boat on the basis of the detection result of the gyro sensor 83”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the information processing system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 by adding the operator of Suzuki et al. with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the information processing system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, and Suzuki et al. is to allow a user to easily maneuver a boat by tilting and operating a display device (see Suzuki et al. at para. [0106]).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, and NPL-2 (FishAngler - Fishing App, FishAngler, LLC, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fishangler.fishangler&referrer=utm_source%3Dhomepage%26utm_medium%3Dwebsite, released on July 11, 2016, accessed on March 21, 2025).
Regarding claim 16, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 teaches the information processing system according to claim 11.
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 does not explicitly state wherein the browsing of the location information includes paid browsing of the location information.
In the same field of endeavor, NPL-2 teaches wherein the browsing of the location information includes paid browsing of the location information (NPL-2 at pg. 1: “The FishAngler app is always free to download and use. However, users can upgrade to VIP to unlock our most advanced features including: • Premium fishing maps (nautical charts, ocean contours, shaded relief, USGS water direction) • Depth charts & lake contours by Garmin Navionics (Available Regions: USA & Canada, Australia &New Zealand, Mediterranean & Black Sea) • Exact catch locations • Private waypoints” and “In-app purchases $6.00-$49.99 per item”; Upgrade to VIP requires in-app purchases).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the information processing system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 by adding paid browsing of the location information of NPL-2 with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the information processing system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, and NPL-2 is to provide a user with most advanced paid features of a fishing application (see NPL-2 at pg. 1).
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, Blackadar et al., and NPL-3 (Strikelines, StrikeLines Tampa LLC, https://strikelines.com/, captured on August 5, 2018 by Wayback Machine, accessed on March 21, 2025).
Regarding claim 17, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 teaches the information processing system according to claim 11.
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 does not explicitly state wherein the transfer of the location information includes sale of the location information.
In the same field of endeavor, Blackadar et al. teaches wherein the transfer of the location information includes (Blackadar et al. at para. [00294]: “A user may choose to share the details of his trip with a social community, including but not limited to a social media community affiliated with the RMP, or a social media community external to the RMP, such as Instagram ®. For example, the user may take photos of fish caught and post the photos to the a social media outlet, along with data that is associated with each catch, including but not limited to, location, type or lure used, duration of "fight" between fish strike and catch, species of fish, size, and so forth”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the information processing system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, and NPL-1 by adding the transfer of the location information of Blackadar et al. with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the information processing system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, and Blackadar et al. is to better inform various data related to fishing activities and enhance the fishing experience (see Blackadar et al. at para. [0004]).
However, Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, and Blackadar et al. does not explicitly state sale of the location information.
In the same field of endeavor, NPL-3 teaches sale of the location information (NPL-3 at pg. 2: “SHOP CHARTS > A selection of 100+ proven fishing spots in your favorite fishing grounds”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the information processing system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, and Blackadar et al. by adding sale of the location information of NPL-3 with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the information processing system of Salmon in view of Arvidsson further in view of Chen, Oshima, NPL-1, Blackadar et al., and NPL-3 is to provide a platform to sell fishing spots (see NPL-3 at pg. 2).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and can be found in the attached PTO-892 form.
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/JISUN CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/SCOTT A BROWNE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666
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