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 .
Status of Claims
In response to the Preliminary Amendment filed on February 16th, 2024, claims 4 and 10 have been amended. Claims 1-15 are currently pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Estanislao (US 2020/0406144 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Estanislao discloses a music generation apparatus for generating information indicative of a musical score for a game, the music generation apparatus comprising:
communication circuitry to communicate with an entertainment device, the communication circuitry being configured to receive a request to generate the information indicative of a musical score for a game, and to receive one or more keywords output by the entertainment device during processing of the game, the one or more keywords being indicative of one or more of an action and/or a condition associated with a user playing the game, and some or all of the game's state (see par. [0062], In accordance with some aspects of the present specification, the dynamic music generation module 140 implements a plurality of instructions or programmatic code to enable dynamic and real-time a) generation of music dependent on the player data representative of a virtual interaction and/or situation that the player encounters or engages in during gameplay, wherein the generated music is rendered or played on the client device 110 of the player, and b) augmentation, adaptation, re-mixing or modulation of the generated music on the basis of the responses, inputs, controls or movements of the player during a progression, development or advancement of the virtual interaction and/or situation; also see par. [0072], When any of the beginner, enthusiast or expert players encounters an interaction and/or situation of crucial merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective, or indicative of a frantic mood, for example. When any of the beginner, enthusiast, or expert players encounters an interaction and/or situation of marginal merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of a calm mood, for example. When a beginner player encounters an interaction and/or situation of moderate merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of a frantic mood, for example. On the other hand, when an enthusiast or expert player encounters an interaction and/or situation of moderate merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of an energetic mood, for example; thus the player’s experience and type of situation are keywords used for modifying the music); and
music generation circuitry responsive to the request to begin generating information indicative of the musical score, the music generation circuitry being responsive to receiving each of the one or more keywords to update the generation of the information indicative of the musical score in dependence on that keyword (see par. [0062], In accordance with some aspects of the present specification, the dynamic music generation module 140 implements a plurality of instructions or programmatic code to enable dynamic and real-time a) generation of music dependent on the player data representative of a virtual interaction and/or situation that the player encounters or engages in during gameplay, wherein the generated music is rendered or played on the client device 110 of the player, and b) augmentation, adaptation, re-mixing or modulation of the generated music on the basis of the responses, inputs, controls or movements of the player during a progression, development or advancement of the virtual interaction and/or situation).
Regarding claim 2, Estanislao discloses wherein the communication circuitry is configured to receive an event signal indicative of a sudden event in the game; and the music generation circuitry is responsive to the event signal to: generate a sudden change in the musical score to coincide with the sudden event; or stop generating and/or outputting the information indicative of the musical score (see par. [0069], In some embodiments, at least a subset of the plurality of music elements is manipulated to generate music based on at least two vectors: 1) the importance, value, or merit of a particular game event, interaction or situation and 2) the player's skill and/or experience profile).
Regarding claim 3, Estanislao discloses wherein the communication circuitry is configured to receive one or more seeds values; and the music generation circuitry is responsive to the or each seed to generate the information indicative of the musical score in dependence on the or each seed in conjunction with the or each keyword (see par. [0091], At step 302, each music clip, in a primary dataset of pre-stored ‘seed’ music clips, is encoded in a format suitable for input into the ML model for training).
Regarding claim 4, Estanislao discloses wherein the or each seed is unique to one or more of: i. a developer of the game; ii. the game's title; and iii. one or more aspects of the game's state (see par. [0112], In other words, the module 140 may determine that the ‘seed’ music needs to be calm. Consequently, the module 140 selects a modulation data structure (from the second plurality of modulation data structures) associated with a music clip from the ninth dataset and feeds the modulation data structure as the second input to the at least one trained ML model. This results in the at least one trained ML model modulating the ‘seed’ music clip of the first input to generate or output a perceptibly calmer version of the ‘seed’ music).
Regarding claim 5, Estanislao discloses a machine learning system trained with one or more keywords as input and information indicative of a musical score as a target output (see par. [0110], At step 330, the dynamic music generation module 140 leverages the at least one trained machine learning module to modulate the generated music based on the player's responses or reactions during progression of the player's engagement with the one or more virtual elements during gameplay).
Regarding claim 6, Estanislao discloses in which the machine learning system has been trained with one or more current and preceding keywords as input and information indicative of a transition in musical score as a target output (see par. [0112], For example, the module 140 may determine that the player of ‘beginner’ profile who was engaged in gameplay of moderate merit or value (for example, attacking multiple enemies with sniper rifle) is losing and therefore may need to dynamically modulate the ‘seed’ music to make the experience less intense for the player. In other words, the module 140 may determine that the ‘seed’ music needs to be calm. Consequently, the module 140 selects a modulation data structure (from the second plurality of modulation data structures) associated with a music clip from the ninth dataset and feeds the modulation data structure as the second input to the at least one trained ML model).
Regarding claim 7, Estanislao discloses in which the machine learning system has been trained with one or more seed values as further input, the seed values being uncorrelated with the target output (see par. [0091], At step 302, each music clip, in a primary dataset of pre-stored ‘seed’ music clips, is encoded in a format suitable for input into the ML model for training).
Regarding claim 8, Estanislao discloses wherein the music generation apparatus is provided as one of: a cloud server accessible to the entertainment device via an internet connection; local circuitry accessible to the entertainment device via a wired link or a short-range wireless link; or circuitry integrated with the entertainment device (see par. [0066], In some embodiments, a portion of the programmatic instructions related to the dynamic music generation module 140 is implemented on the one or more game servers 105 while another portion of the programmatic instructions may reside and be implemented on a player's game module 121).
Regarding claim 9, Estanislao discloses wherein the music generation circuitry is configured to generate, as the information indicative of the musical score, a Musical Instrument Digital Interface, MIDI, file or stream (see par. [0092], For example, if the music clips in the primary dataset are MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) files).
Regarding claim 10, Estanislao discloses a system comprising:
a music generation apparatus for generating information indicative of a musical score for a game, the music generation apparatus comprising:
(i) communication circuitry to communicate with an entertainment device, the communication circuitry being configured to receive a request to generate the information indicative of a musical score for a game, and to receive one or more keywords output by the entertainment device during processing of the game, the one or more keywords being indicative of one or more of an action and/or a condition associated with a user playing the game, and some or all of the game's state (see par. [0062], In accordance with some aspects of the present specification, the dynamic music generation module 140 implements a plurality of instructions or programmatic code to enable dynamic and real-time a) generation of music dependent on the player data representative of a virtual interaction and/or situation that the player encounters or engages in during gameplay, wherein the generated music is rendered or played on the client device 110 of the player, and b) augmentation, adaptation, re-mixing or modulation of the generated music on the basis of the responses, inputs, controls or movements of the player during a progression, development or advancement of the virtual interaction and/or situation; also see par. [0072], When any of the beginner, enthusiast or expert players encounters an interaction and/or situation of crucial merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective, or indicative of a frantic mood, for example. When any of the beginner, enthusiast, or expert players encounters an interaction and/or situation of marginal merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of a calm mood, for example. When a beginner player encounters an interaction and/or situation of moderate merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of a frantic mood, for example. On the other hand, when an enthusiast or expert player encounters an interaction and/or situation of moderate merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of an energetic mood, for example; thus the player’s experience and type of situation are keywords used for modifying the music); and
(ii) music generation circuitry responsive to the request to begin generating information indicative of the musical score, the music generation circuitry being responsive to receiving each of the one or more keywords to update the generation of the information indicative of the musical score in dependence on that keyword (see par. [0062], In accordance with some aspects of the present specification, the dynamic music generation module 140 implements a plurality of instructions or programmatic code to enable dynamic and real-time a) generation of music dependent on the player data representative of a virtual interaction and/or situation that the player encounters or engages in during gameplay, wherein the generated music is rendered or played on the client device 110 of the player, and b) augmentation, adaptation, re-mixing or modulation of the generated music on the basis of the responses, inputs, controls or movements of the player during a progression, development or advancement of the virtual interaction and/or situation); and
an entertainment device comprising:
(i) processing circuitry to process a game state of the game in dependence on game data and the action and/or the condition associated with the user playing the game (see par. [0069], In some embodiments, at least a subset of the plurality of music elements is manipulated to generate music based on at least two vectors: 1) the importance, value, or merit of a particular game event, interaction or situation and 2) the player's skill and/or experience profile. In one embodiment, the dynamic music generation module 140 receives, from at least one of the game module 121 or master game module 120, data indicative of a player's movement, interactions, or situation in a game in real-time—that is, data indicative of the merit or value of an interaction and/or situation that the player encounters during gameplay); and
(ii) selection circuitry to select, during processing of the game, in dependence on one or more of the action and/or the condition associated with the user, and the game state, the one or more keywords for use in generating information indicative of a musical score for the game (see par. [0069], In some embodiments, at least a subset of the plurality of music elements is manipulated to generate music based on at least two vectors: 1) the importance, value, or merit of a particular game event, interaction or situation and 2) the player's skill and/or experience profile. In one embodiment, the dynamic music generation module 140 receives, from at least one of the game module 121 or master game module 120, data indicative of a player's movement, interactions, or situation in a game in real-time—that is, data indicative of the merit or value of an interaction and/or situation that the player encounters during gameplay).
Regarding claims 11 and 12, Estanislao discloses a method for generating information indicative of a musical score for a game, the method comprising:
receiving a request to generate information indicative of a musical score for a game (see par. [0062], In accordance with some aspects of the present specification, the dynamic music generation module 140 implements a plurality of instructions or programmatic code to enable dynamic and real-time a) generation of music dependent on the player data representative of a virtual interaction and/or situation that the player encounters or engages in during gameplay);
receiving one or more keywords output by an entertainment device during processing of the game, the one or more keywords being indicative of one or more of an action and/or a condition associated with a user playing the game and the game state (see par. [0072], When any of the beginner, enthusiast or expert players encounters an interaction and/or situation of crucial merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective, or indicative of a frantic mood, for example. When any of the beginner, enthusiast, or expert players encounters an interaction and/or situation of marginal merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of a calm mood, for example. When a beginner player encounters an interaction and/or situation of moderate merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of a frantic mood, for example. On the other hand, when an enthusiast or expert player encounters an interaction and/or situation of moderate merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of an energetic mood, for example; thus the player’s experience and type of situation are keywords used for modifying the music);
in response to the request and the or each keyword (see par. [0072], When any of the beginner, enthusiast or expert players encounters an interaction and/or situation of crucial merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective, or indicative of a frantic mood, for example; thus the music is being generated in response to keywords related to the player’s profile and type of situation); and
generating the information indicative of the musical score for the game in dependence on the or each keyword (see par. [0072], When any of the beginner, enthusiast or expert players encounters an interaction and/or situation of crucial merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective, or indicative of a frantic mood, for example. When any of the beginner, enthusiast, or expert players encounters an interaction and/or situation of marginal merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of a calm mood, for example. When a beginner player encounters an interaction and/or situation of moderate merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of a frantic mood, for example. On the other hand, when an enthusiast or expert player encounters an interaction and/or situation of moderate merit or value the music generated is perceptible, reflective or indicative of an energetic mood, for example; thus the music is being generated in response to keywords related to the player’s profile and type of situation).
Regarding claims 13-15, Estanislao discloses an entertainment device, comprising:
processing circuitry to process a game state of a game in dependence on game data and an action and/or a condition associated with a user playing the game (see par. [0069], In some embodiments, at least a subset of the plurality of music elements is manipulated to generate music based on at least two vectors: 1) the importance, value, or merit of a particular game event, interaction or situation and 2) the player's skill and/or experience profile. In one embodiment, the dynamic music generation module 140 receives, from at least one of the game module 121 or master game module 120, data indicative of a player's movement, interactions, or situation in a game in real-time—that is, data indicative of the merit or value of an interaction and/or situation that the player encounters during gameplay);
selection circuitry to select, during processing of the game, in dependence on one or more of the action and/or the condition associated with the user and the game state, one or more keywords for use in generating information indicative of a musical score for the game (see par. [0069], In some embodiments, at least a subset of the plurality of music elements is manipulated to generate music based on at least two vectors: 1) the importance, value, or merit of a particular game event, interaction or situation and 2) the player's skill and/or experience profile. In one embodiment, the dynamic music generation module 140 receives, from at least one of the game module 121 or master game module 120, data indicative of a player's movement, interactions, or situation in a game in real-time—that is, data indicative of the merit or value of an interaction and/or situation that the player encounters during gameplay).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sharifi et al. (US 12,230,252 B2), Luo et al. (US 9,098,579 B2), Venti et al. (US 12,347,409 B1)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLEN CHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5529. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 11:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dmitry Suhol can be reached at (571) 272-4430. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALLEN CHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715 12/13/2025