DETAILED ACTION
Acknowledgements
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s correspondence filed on 1/28/26.
The Examiner notes that citations to United States Patent Application Publication paragraphs are formatted as [####], #### representing the paragraph number.
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
Claims 10-13, 19 are objected to.
Claims 1-20 are rejected as set forth below.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 101
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 14, 20 have been fully considered but are not persuasive. The rejection (and corresponding rejections to its dependent claims, if applicable) is maintained.
Applicant contends the 35 USC 101 rejection is rendered moot in light of the claim amendments. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Displaying a selection control element for selecting a recommended virtual character in a character selection interface, i.e. displaying a message that provides a link to perform an action, is an example of basic graphical user interface functionality that is performed by generic computers and does not impose a meaningful limit on the judicial exception and in a manner that integrates the exception into a practical application of the exception. Furthermore, the second terminal device and its functionality are not given patentable weight since it is outside the scope of the claimed first terminal device. See the 35 USC 112(b) rejection below.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 112(b)
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 5-6 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection (and corresponding rejections to its dependent claims, if applicable) is withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 8 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection (and corresponding rejections to its dependent claims, if applicable) is withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 103
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Claim Objections
Claims 10-13, 19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims and if any outstanding rejections are addressed.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
As per claims 1-20, the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more because:
Claims 1, 14, 20 recites: A method for processing a virtual character, the method comprising: displaying a first character selection interface of a first account of a multiplayer interactive service, the first character selection interface displaying one or more player accounts and a plurality of candidate virtual characters, the one or more player accounts participating in the multiplayer interactive service through respective virtual characters; in response to receiving in the first character selection interface a character recommendation operation including a selection of a first recommended virtual character from the plurality of candidate virtual characters and a selection of a second account from the one or more player accounts, transmitting, by processing circuitry of a first terminal device, character recommendation information to a second terminal device corresponding to the selected second account, the character recommendation information indicating a virtual character recommendation for the second account, the second terminal device being configured to display a selection control element for selecting the first recommended virtual character in a second character selection interface of the second account based on the character recommendation information, the selection control element including an identifier of the first account and indicating the first recommended virtual character, receiving selection confirmation information indicating that the second account selected the first recommended virtual character; and displaying, in the first character selection interface of the first account, an indication that the first recommended virtual character was selected by the second account based on the selection confirmation information.
Under Step 1 of the Section 101 analysis, the claim(s) is/are directed to a method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which are statutory categories of invention.
Under Step 2A Prong One of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, the claimed invention as drafted includes language (see underlined language above) that recites an abstract idea of determining a virtual character recommendation, communicating the virtual character recommendation to another player, and receiving confirmation that the other player accepted the recommendation (a mental process such as a concept performed in the human mind, e.g. an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion) but for the recitation of additional claim elements. That is, other than reciting the first character selection interface of a first account of a multiplayer interactive service, nothing in the claim precludes the language from being practically performed in the mind. For example, a player can look through a list of candidate virtual characters, suggest a virtual character to recommend to their teammate based off of team composition, and communicate the recommendation to their teammate.
A similar analysis can be applied to dependent claims 2-13, 15-19, which further recite the abstract idea of determining a virtual character recommendation, communicating the virtual character recommendation to another player, and receiving confirmation that the other player accepted the recommendation.
Under Step 2A Prong Two of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, the additional claim element(s), considered individually, do not apply, rely on, or use the judicial exception in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception and in a manner that integrates the exception into a practical application of the exception. The additional claim elements(s) merely add 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. For example, the abstract idea is merely implemented on a generic computer configured to receive/transmit information, display graphical user interfaces, and display a selection control element, i.e. displaying a message that provides a link to perform an action. Furthermore, the additional claim elements(s) generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use. For example, the abstract idea is generally linked to the technological environment of multiplayer interactive services.
A similar analysis can be applied to dependent claims 2-3, 7-13, 15-16, 19, which include additional claim elements that generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use of multiplayer interactive services.
A similar analysis can be applied to dependent claims 4-6, 17-18, which include additional claim elements that merely add 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. For example, the abstract idea is merely implemented on a computer configured for touch gestures.
Under Step 2A Prong Two, the additional claim element(s), considered in combination, do not apply, rely on, or use the judicial exception in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception and in a manner that integrates the exception into a practical application of the exception. The combination of elements is no more than the sum of their parts. Unlike the eligible claims in Diehr and Bascom, in which the elements limiting the exception taken together improve a technical field, the instant claim lacks an improvement to the functioning of a computer or to any other technology or technical field.
Under Step 2B, the additional claim element(s), considered individually and in combination, do not provide meaningful limitation(s) to transform the abstract idea into a patent eligible application of the abstract idea such that the claim(s) amounts to significantly more than the abstract idea itself for similar reasons outlined under Step 2A Prong Two.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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 1-20 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
As per claims 1, 14, 20, the limitation “the second terminal device being configured to display a selection control element for selecting the first recommended virtual character in a second character selection interface of the second account based on the character recommendation information, the selection control element including an identifier of the first account and indicating the first recommended virtual character” renders the scope of the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the scope of the method/first terminal device/non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprises the aforementioned limitation. Specifically, claims 1, 14, 20 are claimed in the perspective of the first terminal device and its functionality. However, the second terminal device and its functionality are outside the scope of the first terminal device. For purposes of examination, limitations outside the scope of the claimed invention are not given proper patentable weight.
By virtue of their dependence, the dependent claims are similarly rejected.
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 1-3, 7-9, 14-16, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication No. 20210038996 to Lin in view of Non-Patent Literature Document Title New Pregame1 and United States Patent Application Publication No. 20210031106 to Alderman.
As per claims 1, 14, 20, Lin teaches:
A method for processing a virtual character, the method comprising: displaying a first character selection interface of a first account of a multiplayer interactive service, the first character selection interface displaying one or more player accounts and a plurality of candidate virtual characters, the one or more player accounts participating in the multiplayer interactive service through respective virtual characters; ([0037], “Turning to FIG. 1a, a large multiuser online game system 100 over a network 1050, such as the Internet, is shown. An example of such a game system 100 known in the art is League of Legends (www.leagueoflegends.com). League of Legends is a session-based, multiplayer online battle-arena game where rival teams compete against one another for victory on highly stylized battlefields and landscapes, also referred to as maps.”; Fig 4d, [0051], “Once the player selects an avatar and skin (FIG. 4c), the player next selects a role and a position for the avatar. The user interface 1500 (FIG. 4d) provides a menu for the player to select a role for the avatar.”)
in response to receiving a character recommendation operation including a selection of a first recommended virtual character role from the plurality of candidate virtual characters roles and a selection of a second account from the one or more player accounts, applying the character recommendation information corresponding to the second account, the character recommendation information indicating a virtual character role recommendation for the second account; ([0071], “Turning to FIG. 10, when the captain selects the Find Solo Players button 9020, the user interface 10000 is provided by the team building server 1100 for the captain to select the desired roles and positions of the missing team members.”; [0077], “When a captain re-queues as a captain, and wants to build another team, the team building server 1100 may default the captain's champion, role, position, rune page, mastery page and summoner spells to the previous selection as saved in the captain's profile. As a result, the captain may immediately start inviting friends to the Team Builder Lobby. The team building server 1100 may also default the invited friends' champions, roles, positions, rune pages, mastery pages and summoner spells to the previous selections as saved in the friends' profiles. However, the friends may select to change any of their default selections. As described above, the captain may now select the Find Solo Players button 9020 (FIG. 9), which locks in the captain's and friends' selections. The team building server 1100 then takes the current participants in the lobby and compare with the captain's previous lobby configuration. For example, if the previous configuration has a mage-middle, marksman-bottom, support-bottom, fighter-top, tank-jungler, and the current configuration of captain+two friends has a mage-middle, marksman-bottom and support-bottom, then the team building server 1100 automatically selects fighter-top and tank-jungler for the remaining slots. If the team building server 1100 cannot match a current champion/position combination with one of the previous configuration's options, then the captain may manually setup the slots again.”)
displaying, in the first character selection interface of the first account, an indication that the virtual character role recommendation was applied to the second account. (Fig 11, [0076], “Once the captain has accepted all players, the captain may select the Play Game button 11030 to start the game with the current team.”)
Lin does not explicitly teach, but New Pregame teaches:
in response to receiving in the first character selection interface a character recommendation operation including a selection of a first recommended virtual character from the plurality of candidate virtual characters, transmitting character recommendation information corresponding to the second account, the character recommendation information indicating a virtual character recommendation for the second account; (Page 3, “Hero Suggestions: ALT-click a portrait to suggest that hero to your team. Teammates will see a chat notice, and the selected hero portrait will be highlighted for their consideration.”)
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of New Pregame to the known invention of Lin would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved invention. It would have been recognized that the application of the technique would have yielded predictable results because the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate such character recommendation features into a similar invention. Further, it would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifying the invention to recommend specific characters instead of character roles and transmit the character recommendation information to the second account results in an improved invention because applying said technique ensures that the player controlling the second account is able to consider the character recommendation and act upon the recommendation with their own volition, thus improving the overall user experience of the invention.
Lin as modified does not explicitly teach, but Alderman teaches:
transmitting, by processing circuitry of a first terminal device, recommendation information to a second terminal device corresponding to the selected second account, the second terminal device being configured to display a selection control element for selecting the first recommended object in a second game interface of the second account based on the recommendation information, the selection control element including an identifier of the first account and indicating the first recommended object, receiving selection confirmation information indicating that the second account selected the first recommended object; and displaying, in the first game interface of the first account, an indication that the first recommended object was selected by the second account based on the selection confirmation information. ([0064], “At block 237, the first player's computing system and/or a server computing system can transmit data to other computing systems to cause the communication action(s) to be communicated to other players.”; [0071]-[0072], [0075], “The game data can indicate one or more visual communication actions 309 for each type of unit 305 that can be communicated about. For example, a marker or icon can be displayed at the location of the unit to be communicated about. In some cases, the icon can be customized to differentiate the type of unit, such as displaying a crosshair icon for an enemy, an explosion icon for an explosive, a trap icon for traps, and other icons to symbolize other units to be communicated about. For some units, such as doors, ladders, and item containers, the visual action can include outlining and/or highlighting the unit. Another example includes showing an icon marking the player or character who made the communication. Another example includes showing a location icon that also includes a team leader if the communication was made by a team leader during certain parts of gameplay.”; [0152], “FIG. 11B shows the effects, as perceived by player 2, of player 1's acknowledgment of player 2's suggested target location 1103. In response to player 1 sending an acknowledgment, the additional details 1105 associated with the target location 1103 can be updated to list “Player 1” as a teammate who acknowledged player 1's suggestion to travel to target location 1103. The diamond icon at target location 1103 can additionally or alternatively animate, change in size, change in color, change in shape, or have other visual effects.”)
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of Alderman to the known invention of Lin as modified would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved invention. It would have been recognized that the application of the technique would have yielded predictable results because the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate such graphical user interface features into a similar invention. Further, it would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifying the invention to transmit, by processing circuitry of a first terminal device, recommendation information, i.e. character recommendation information, to a second terminal device corresponding to the selected second account, the second terminal device being configured to display a selection control element for selecting the first recommended object, i.e. the first recommended virtual character, in a second game interface, i.e. the second character selection interface, of the second account based on the recommendation information, the selection control element including an identifier of the first account and indicating the first recommended object, i.e. the first recommended virtual character, receiving selection confirmation information indicating that the second account selected the first recommended object, i.e. the first recommended virtual character, and displaying, in the first game interface, i.e. the first character selection interface, of the first account, an indication that the first recommended object, i.e. the first recommended virtual character, was selected by the second account based on the selection confirmation information results in an improved invention because applying said technique ensures that the player controlling the first terminal device receives confirmation that the player controlling the second terminal device agreed to the recommended character, thus improving the overall user experience of the invention.
As per claims 2, 15, New Pregame teaches:
wherein the virtual character recommendation for the second account is a recommendation from the first account for the second account to use the first recommended virtual character to participate in the multiplayer interactive service; (Page 3)
As per claims 3, 16, Lin teaches:
wherein the virtual character recommendation for the second account is a recommendation from the first account for the second account not to use the first recommended virtual character to participate in the multiplayer interactive service; ([0075], “When a player is declined, the team building server 1100 may exclude that player's avatar from further suggestion to the same team. For example, if the captain is searching for a marksman-bottom, and if the team building server 1100 suggests a player having Ashe as avatar (champion) and marksman-bottom, but the captain declines that player, the team building server 1100 may not suggest anymore Ashe players to the team.”)
As per claims 7, Lin teaches:
wherein the one or more player accounts displayed in the first character selection interface of the first account include teammate accounts of the first account; ([0068], “Turning to FIG. 8b and FIG. 8c, the user interfaces 8100 and 8200 are provided by the team building server 1100 after the captain selects to invite at least one friend. The captain may type a name in the window 8110. The team building server 1100 will search for the friend and display the found friend in the Available Players list 8020. According to an embodiment, the team building server 1100 retrieves and displays all the friends of the captain in the Available Players list 8020.”)
As per claims 8, Lin teaches:
wherein the plurality of candidate virtual characters displayed in the first character selection interface of the first account satisfy a second condition; and the second condition comprising at least one of:(i) the plurality of candidate virtual characters is associated with to a target virtual character that is selected by the first account for participating in the multiplayer interactive service, (ii) each of the plurality of candidate virtual characters match a character category selected by the second account, or (iii) each of the plurality of candidate virtual characters correspond to a virtual character attribute selected by the second account, or (iii) the plurality of candidate virtual characters includes a virtual character previously used by the second account; ([0077])
As per claims 9, Lin teaches:
indicating recommendation priorities of candidate player accounts after the first recommended virtual character role is selected by the first account, wherein the recommendation priorities are based on a matching degree between the selected first recommended virtual character role and each of the candidate player accounts. ([0077])
New Pregame teaches:
a recommended virtual character; (Page 3)
Claims 4-6, 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication No. 20210038996 to Lin in view of Non-Patent Literature Document Title New Pregame and United States Patent Application Publication No. 20210031106 to Alderman, and further in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 20200398158 to Morishita.
As per claims 4, 17, Lin as modified teaches:
transmitting the character recommendation information to a second account; (see rejection of Claim 1)
Lin as modified does not explicitly teach, but Morishita teaches:
in response to a gesture swipe operation from a display region of a virtual character to a display region of a target character, determining the virtual character corresponding to a start position of the gesture swipe operation as the first virtual character, and determining the target character corresponding to an end position of the gesture swipe operation as the target character. (Fig 11a, [0093]-[0095], “Referring back to FIG. 10, the processor 112 selects a player character to be transferred to the candidate character from one or a plurality of player characters stored in the memory 119 as his or her player characters. Then, by detecting a tap operation input on the player character 15a by the player A with the input interface 120 (for example, the touch panel 121), the player character to be transferred is selected. Then, when a drag operation by the player A is detected with the input interface 120, a candidate character to be the destination of the transferring is selected from the plurality of candidate characters 16-1 to 16-4 displayed as the transfer destinations.”)
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of Morishita to the known invention of Li as modified would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved invention. It would have been recognized that the application of the technique would have yielded predictable results because the level of ordinary skill in the art demonstrated by the references applied shows the ability to incorporate such gesture features into a similar invention. Further, it would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifying the step of transmitting the character recommendation information to, in response to a gesture swipe operation from a display region of a virtual character to a display region of a target character, determining a virtual character corresponding to a start position of the gesture swipe operation as the first virtual character, i.e. a first recommended virtual character, and determining a target character corresponding to an end position of the gesture swipe operation as the target character, results in an improved invention because applying said technique leverages the advantages of using gestures to complete tasks, i.e. increased speed and a more intuitive user experience, thus improving the overall user experience of the invention.
As per claim 5, Lin as modified teaches:
transmitting the character recommendation information to a second account; (see rejection of Claim 1)
Morishita teaches:
prior to the gesture swipe operation, receiving a tap or long press operation on the virtual character and determining the virtual character as the first virtual character. ([0094])
As per claims 6, 18, Lin as modified teaches:
transmitting the character recommendation information to a second account; (see rejection of Claim 1)
Morishita teaches:
in response to a selection operation of the virtual character in the first character selection interface, determining the selected virtual character as the first virtual character, and displaying at least one candidate target character in the one or more target characters at a position corresponding to the selection operation; and in response to the gesture swipe operation from the display region of the virtual character to the display region of the account in the at least one candidate account, determining the target character corresponding to the end position of the gesture swipe operation as the target character. ([0093]-[0095])
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
United States Patent Application Publication No. 20160001186 discloses a system and method that recommends group compositions in multiplayer video games. The system may suggest a composition of a group of players using a matchmaking process. For example, one or more players may wish to form or join a group of players for a given game, but not know what would be an appropriate mix of player styles, player roles, skill levels, and/or other player characteristics that would make an optimal group, given the player's own characteristics. The system may identify optimal groups based on matchmaking related information such as, without limitation, game profile, player profile, prior match scores, prior quality scores, and/or other information. Optimal groups may be those that have performed successfully (e.g., accomplished the most wins, objectives, etc.), are associated with the highest player enjoyment (e.g., based on match and/or quality scores), and/or otherwise are deemed to be desirable.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAY HUANG whose telephone number is (408)918-9799. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00a - 5:30p PT.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anita Coupe can be reached at (571) 270-3614. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JAY HUANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3619
1 Dota 2 version 7.00 was released on 12/12/2016. See https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Version_7.00