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
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention as recited in amended claim 1, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies are not recited in the rejected claim. See pp. 7-8 of the Remarks of 12/08/2025 where Applicant argues “By further including the above function of changing the progress information … the similarity between the player’s entered information and the progress information is determined, and the story is advanced appropriately … in the invention of Applicant’s claim 1, the story progresses when similar input information is received, and the player, considering the situation up to that point, can estimate what should be done next and input information accordingly”. None of these details are present in claim 1. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
The amended limitation in-question in claim 1 (old claim 5) merely requires that “the functions further comprise changing the progress information stored in the computer apparatus”. As a matter of claim interpretation, changing stored information in a computer apparatus is met by any computer processes or function that in any way alters the configuration of a storage media. Adding new information to a storage media is one such covered activity. As explained in the Non-Final Rejection, see p. 6, what is interpreted as “progress information” in Ko Seiyo is “any data determined from analyzing user input strings for meaning and emotion, which changes as the game progresses and the user makes successive inputs”. Ko Seiyo was also relied on for teaching adding information to a database related to progress made by the system in analyzing user commands for advancing a game from a current to a future scene.
On p. 3 of the Non-Final Rejection, [0122]-[0123] of Ko Seiyo was cited as an example wherein a natural language analysis determination of a topic of “movie” is stored in the conversation database in “conversation range” group and used as input for a sentence completing unit. This example teaches “a function” that comprises “changing [by adding newly] the progress information [analyzed user game commands used as inputs for further analysis] stored in the computer apparatus”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-4 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2004/097614 A to Ko Seiyo et al. (hereinafter Ko Seiyo).
Re claim 1, Ko Seiyo teaches: a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program causing a computer apparatus to implement a function of providing content to a user,
[0006]-[0007] describes that the invention of Ko Seiyo comprises a RPG video game application wherein a story is developed by progressing from a first scene to a second scene of a plurality of possible second scenes based on input from a player.
the program causing the computer apparatus to perform functions comprising: storing progress information in the computer apparatus, the progress information comprising information for the user to progress the content;
Progress information is interpreted as any meaning interpreted from analyzing user input commands that is usable to progress the game from a current scene to a future scene. Ko Seiyo discloses that conversational input strings can be broken down into morphemes and then analyzed to determine how a non-player character should answer.
[0022]-[0027] describes that sentence analysis unit analyzes input character strings for extracting morphemes and phrases.
[0025] describes that morpheme extraction unit looks for nouns, adjectives and verbs.
[0026] describes converting the morphemes into a phrase format. [0041] describes comparing a phrase with definition expression dictionaries and determining a spoken sentence type.
[0103]-[0117] describes breaking inputs into morphemes, looking for phrases and clauses, interpreting sentence structure and utterance types.
[0122]- [0123] describes that morpheme information is “interesting movie” and that “movie” is included in the conversation range group stored in the conversation database 500. This affects the search command signal output to a sentence completing unit 350.
[0224]-0225] also describes that an emotion level can be determined by emotion state determination unit 381 based on morpheme information.
Any determined and stored meaning associated with input strings including grammatical meaning and an emotion level meets the limitation of storing progress information for the user to progress the content since both grammar and emotion level are used to effect progress of an in-game conversation with a non-player character.
storing progress control information in association with the progress information
and a predetermined character string;
Progress control information is interpreted as data and instructions used to format and output answer information that effects the progress of a conversation between a player character and a non-player character. Some examples include:
in [0055]-[0057], information used to format sentence answers such as the answer sentence being a statement sentence or an impression sentence, a conditional sentence or a result, time, place, negative, or affirmative sentence.
in [0067], an instruction to format an answer to be similar to a user’s input.
in [0071], exemplary formatting of an answer regarding the subject, object, and order of action.
in [0094], an answer search command signal for searching a specific answer sentence that answers to the corresponding user. This answer search command signal includes the determined sentence type.
[0113] describes that after analyzing a user input based on grammatical formatting, a search command is caused to search for a specific answer based on an instruction from topic search unit 360.
[0228], [0237], [0330] describes that emotion level can be changed based on determined topic level.
The claims of Ko Seiyo summarize that commands (progress control information) used to progress content include “extracting at least one morpheme,” “ranking the second morpheme, “controlling the development of the story”.
receiving an entry of information by the user; determining whether the received information is similar to the predetermined character string;
[0153]-[0156] describes that conversation database 500 may store groups of morpheme data that enables morpheme extraction unit 410 to “sort out morphemes that are similar to each other” – for use when “some morphemes included in the character string uttered by the user are similar”.
progressing the content based on the progress control information when it is determined that the received information is similar to the predetermined character string;
[0153]-[0156], in an illustrative input scenario, a user inputs a character string comprising the morpheme “present” and morpheme extraction unit interprets that this is similar to “gift”.
and outputting answer data responsive to the received information.
As described in [0006]-[0007], [0336], [0339], [0340], [0342], “the first scene is switched to the selected second scene” when an input character string comprising morpheme(s) is determined to be similar to a predefined morpheme group.
Regarding progressed content comprising outputted answer data responsive to received information, [0054]-[0055] illustrate a scenario wherein user entry information is a character string formatted as a question – “What is a movie name?” and an outputted “answer sentence” is to be answered to the user, and is associated with each topic title.
[0057] provides examples of other answer data responsive to received information, such as affirmative statements, conditional affirmative statements, and repulsive affirmative statements.
[0082]-[0085], [0090], [0097]-[0098] describes that a topic of a user input is determined, for example, a movie, and answers output will relate to this topic.
wherein the functions further comprise changing the progress information stored in the computer apparatus
As a matter of claim interpretation, changing stored information in a computer apparatus is met by any computer process or function that in any way alters the configuration of a storage media. Adding new information to a storage media is one such covered activity. As explained prior, what is interpreted as “progress information” in Ko Seiyo is any data determined from analyzing user input strings for meaning and emotion, which changes as the game progresses and the user makes successive inputs. Ko Seiyo teaches adding, see [0122]-[0123], “movie” for storage in the conversation database in “conversation range” group for use as input for a sentence completing unit. This example teaches “a function” that comprises “changing [by adding newly] the progress information [analyzed user commands made for advancing a game] stored in the computer apparatus”.
Re claims 2, 7, “second answer data” used in outputting first answer data includes topic titles, see at least [0049]-[0057]. And as discussed in the rejection of claim 1, Ko Seiyo language is processed in his system in accordance with standard Japanese grammar.
Re claims 3-4, these claims describe decomposing received information into key points and generating answer data using a natural language generation model in two scenarios, a first where received information is similar to the predetermined character string and a second where the received information is not similar to the predetermined character string.
Regarding the use of a natural language model, [0024]-[0029] describes that a phrase analysis unit adheres to standard Japanese grammar for interpreting the meaning of phrases and sentences and analyzes subjects, objects, actions, etc.
Regarding received information being similar or not similar to predetermined character strings, [0040] describes that utterance type database 460 includes “negative case dictionaries”.
[0055] describes that answer sentences can be in the form of “negative sentence (N; Negation) or affirmative sentence.
[0082]-[0083] describe scenarios wherein a topic, a movie, is, and is not included in the input character string.
Re claims 8-9, refer to the rejection of claim 1, wherein a computer apparatus and method of its use are necessarily discussed in the rejection under the computer readable medium of Ko Seiyo.
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.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko Seiyo in view of US 2018/0001205 A1 to Osman et al.
Re claim 6, although Ko Seiyo discloses outputting answers relevant to player question inputs, Ko Seiyo lacks the answers including hints or clues for game progress.
Osman is an analogous video gaming artificial intelligence system and method that teaches it was known for player queries to be requests for help and for artificial intelligence outputs to be hints or clues for game progress, see [0069], [0089] of Osman.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing data of the instant invention that Ko Seiyo’s outputted information responsive to player queries could have been game progress hint/clue information as taught by Osman without causing any unexpected results. The motivation would be that taught by Osman “facilitating efficient game play and by helping users proceed through harder and/or impossible sections of the game application”.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN J HYLINSKI whose telephone number is (571)270-1995. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10-530.
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/STEVEN J HYLINSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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