DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending in the present application.
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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 5 objected to because of the following informalities: “The wherein” should be “The method of claim 1, wherein”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Claim 1 describes performing a method, comprising: receiving, by a computing device, a 3D placeholder in a development platform of a 3D environment; receiving an asset into the 3D placeholder; and associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof; wherein the method generates a 3D digital object in the development platform of the 3D environment, and wherein the 3D environment is generated by one or more computing devices. However, Using a generic image processing apparatus (computer) to acquire a 3D placeholder data and an asset; and associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. It is hard to see significantly more than an abstract idea comparable to “An Idea of itself”. The limitations that set forth the abstract idea are receiving data, receiving another data, and associating them. These steps can be performed mentally, and are similar to the concepts identified as abstract ideas by the courts (e.g., obtaining and comparing intangible data or comparing new and stored information and using rules to identify options in (SmartGene)). There is no particular technique or technical solution in the claim involved in actually getting the machine to perform in this way. The additional elements seem to be generic to any image process and as such only generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use. Again, everything else just looks like “requiring no more than a generic computer to perform generic computer functions that are well-understood, routine and conventional activities previously known to the industry” and “generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use”, which are not significant. The computer system add no more to the claimed invention than the components that perform basic receive and associate functions routinely provided by a general purpose computer. Limiting performance of these functions to a general purpose computing device is not sufficient to transform the recited judicial exception into a patent-eligible invention. Therefore the claims are not statutory.
The claim is "directed to" a judicial exception. Further, the claim as a whole does not recite any more additional limitations. Therefore, the independent Claim 1, its related dependent claims 2-7 which each dependent claim adds new limitations (includes receive or associate with asset data) that do not amount to have significant effects to transform the exception into a patent-eligible application of that exception, and are directed to an abstract idea and is rejected under 35 USC§ 101.
Claim 8 describes performing a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which when executed by a processing system executes a method, comprising: receiving, by a computing device, a 3D placeholder in a development platform of a 3D environment; receiving an asset into the 3D placeholder; and associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof; wherein the method generates a 3D digital object in the development platform of the 3D environment, and wherein the 3D environment is generated by one or more computing devices. However, Using a generic image processing apparatus (computer) to acquire a 3D placeholder data and an asset; and associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. It is hard to see significantly more than an abstract idea comparable to “An Idea of itself”. The limitations that set forth the abstract idea are receiving data, receiving another data, and associating them. These steps can be performed mentally, and are similar to the concepts identified as abstract ideas by the courts (e.g., obtaining and comparing intangible data or comparing new and stored information and using rules to identify options in (SmartGene)). There is no particular technique or technical solution in the claim involved in actually getting the machine to perform in this way. The additional elements seem to be generic to any image process and as such only generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use. Again, everything else just looks like “requiring no more than a generic computer to perform generic computer functions that are well-understood, routine and conventional activities previously known to the industry” and “generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use”, which are not significant. The computer system add no more to the claimed invention than the components that perform basic receive and associate functions routinely provided by a general purpose computer. Limiting performance of these functions to a general purpose computing device is not sufficient to transform the recited judicial exception into a patent-eligible invention. Therefore the claims are not statutory.
The claim is "directed to" a judicial exception. Further, the claim as a whole does not recite any more additional limitations. Therefore, the independent Claim 8, its related dependent claims 9-14 which each dependent claim adds new limitations (includes receive or associate with asset data) that do not amount to have significant effects to transform the exception into a patent-eligible application of that exception, and are directed to an abstract idea and is rejected under 35 USC§ 101.
Claim 15 describes performing a system comprising: a memory device; a processing system coupled to the memory device, configured to: receiving, by a computing device, a 3D placeholder in a development platform of a 3D environment; receiving an asset into the 3D placeholder; and associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof; wherein the method generates a 3D digital object in the development platform of the 3D environment, and wherein the 3D environment is generated by one or more computing devices. However, Using a generic image processing apparatus (computer) to acquire a 3D placeholder data and an asset; and associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. It is hard to see significantly more than an abstract idea comparable to “An Idea of itself”. The limitations that set forth the abstract idea are receiving data, receiving another data, and associating them. These steps can be performed mentally, and are similar to the concepts identified as abstract ideas by the courts (e.g., obtaining and comparing intangible data or comparing new and stored information and using rules to identify options in (SmartGene)). There is no particular technique or technical solution in the claim involved in actually getting the machine to perform in this way. The additional elements seem to be generic to any image process and as such only generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use. Again, everything else just looks like “requiring no more than a generic computer to perform generic computer functions that are well-understood, routine and conventional activities previously known to the industry” and “generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use”, which are not significant. The computer system add no more to the claimed invention than the components that perform basic receive and associate functions routinely provided by a general purpose computer. Limiting performance of these functions to a general purpose computing device is not sufficient to transform the recited judicial exception into a patent-eligible invention. Therefore the claims are not statutory.
The claim is "directed to" a judicial exception. Further, the claim as a whole does not recite any more additional limitations. Therefore, the independent Claim 15, its related dependent claims 16-20 which each dependent claim adds new limitations (includes receive or associate with asset data) that do not amount to have significant effects to transform the exception into a patent-eligible application of that exception, and are directed to an abstract idea and is rejected under 35 USC§ 101.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1, 2, 5-6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, and 19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 7, 5, 6, 10, 16, 14, 15, 19, 25, and 23+24 of U.S. Patent 11880954 in view of U.S. PGPubs 2013/0124311 to Sivanandan et al.. This is a nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
Regarding claim 1:
18539985
US 11880954
1. A method, comprising:
receiving, by a computing device, a 3D placeholder in a development platform of a 3D environment;
receiving an asset into the 3D placeholder; and
associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof;
wherein the method generates a 3D digital object in the development platform of the 3D environment, and wherein the 3D environment is generated by one or more computing devices.
1. A method, comprising:
receiving, by a development platform of a three dimensional (3D) environment, a 3D placeholder, wherein the development platform is configured to receive the 3D placeholder via at least one of an Application Programing Interface (API) or a Software Development Kit (SDK);
receiving, by the development platform, an asset, into the 3D placeholder, wherein the asset is associated with a minimum and maximum polygon count value, and wherein the asset is configured to be replaced with another asset having a polygon count value between the minimum and maximum polygon count value;
wherein the method generates a 3D digital object in the development platform of the 3D environment, and wherein the 3D environment is generated by one or more computing devices.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other except associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof.
In related endeavor, Sivanandan et al. teach associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof (par 0005-0009, “The game or ad server may be configured to dynamically determine an appropriate advertising asset to be integrated into the virtual environment dependent on metadata associated with the placeholder and on metadata associated with available advertising assets. For example, the game or ad server may select an advertising asset for which metadata associated with the advertising asset is compatible with the metadata associated with the placeholder, as described herein. In various embodiments, metadata associated with advertising assets may include values of classification attributes, visual attributes, physical attributes, behavioral attributes, and/or interactivity attributes. Once an appropriate advertising asset is selected in response to a request, it may be returned to the requesting application for integration into the virtual environment when the virtual environment is displayed. The selected advertising asset may in some embodiments include a three-dimensional model of a product or of an advertisement of a product. In some embodiments, in response to an interaction with an advertising asset, additional information may be provided to the application to be integrated into the virtual environment”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing data of the claimed invention to modified claim 1 of US11880954 to include associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof as taught by Sivanandan et al. to use a placeholder which may be associated only a portion of an image or frame of the virtual environment or may be associated with one or more objects in an image or frame of the virtual environment to dynamically determined additional assets in response to the interaction with the advertising asset.
Likewise instant dependent claims 2 and 5-6 are anticipated by dependent claims 7 and 5-6 of the US11880954, and is not patentably distinct from claims 7 and 5-6 of the US11880954.
Regarding claim 8:
18539985
US 11880954
8. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which when executed by a processing system executes a method, comprising:
receiving a 3D placeholder in a development platform of a 3D environment;
receiving an asset into the 3D placeholder; and
associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof;
wherein the method generates a 3D digital object in the development platform of the 3D environment, and wherein the 3D environment is generated by one or more computing devices.
10. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which when executed by a processing device, comprising at least one processing core, executes a method, comprising:
receiving a three dimensional (3D) placeholder in a development platform of a first 3D environment, the development platform configured to receive the 3D placeholder via at least one of an Application Programing Interface (API) or a Software Development Kit (SDK);
receiving an asset into the 3D placeholder, wherein the asset is associated with a minimum and maximum polygon count value, and wherein the asset is configured to be replaced with another asset having a polygon count value between the minimum and maximum polygon count value;
wherein the processing device generates a 3D digital object in the development platform of the 3D environment, and wherein the 3D environment is generated by one or more computing devices.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other except associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof.
In related endeavor, Sivanandan et al. teach associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof (par 0005-0009, “The game or ad server may be configured to dynamically determine an appropriate advertising asset to be integrated into the virtual environment dependent on metadata associated with the placeholder and on metadata associated with available advertising assets. For example, the game or ad server may select an advertising asset for which metadata associated with the advertising asset is compatible with the metadata associated with the placeholder, as described herein. In various embodiments, metadata associated with advertising assets may include values of classification attributes, visual attributes, physical attributes, behavioral attributes, and/or interactivity attributes. Once an appropriate advertising asset is selected in response to a request, it may be returned to the requesting application for integration into the virtual environment when the virtual environment is displayed. The selected advertising asset may in some embodiments include a three-dimensional model of a product or of an advertisement of a product. In some embodiments, in response to an interaction with an advertising asset, additional information may be provided to the application to be integrated into the virtual environment”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing data of the claimed invention to modified claim 10 of US11880954 to include associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof as taught by Sivanandan et al. to use a placeholder which may be associated only a portion of an image or frame of the virtual environment or may be associated with one or more objects in an image or frame of the virtual environment to dynamically determined additional assets in response to the interaction with the advertising asset.
Likewise instant dependent claims 13 and 15-16 are anticipated by dependent claims 16 and 14-15 of the US11880954, and is not patentably distinct from claims 16 and 14-15 of the US11880954.
Regarding claim 15:
18539985
US 11880954
15. A system comprising: a memory device; a processing system coupled to the memory device, configured to:
receive a 3D placeholder in a development platform of a 3D environment;
receive asset into the 3D placeholder; and
associate the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof;
wherein the system generates a 3D digital object in the development platform of the 3D environment, and wherein the 3D environment is generated by one or more computing devices.
19. A system, comprising: a memory device; and a processing system comprising at least one hardware processing core, coupled to the memory device, the processing system configured to:
receive a three dimensional (3D) placeholder in a development platform of a first 3D environment, wherein the development platform is configured to receive the 3D placeholder via at least one of an Application Programing Interface (API) or a Software Development Kit (SDK);
receive an asset into the 3D placeholder, wherein the asset is associated with a minimum and maximum polygon count value, and wherein the asset is configured to be replaced with another asset having a polygon count value between the minimum and maximum polygon count value;
wherein the processing system is configured to generate a 3D digital object in the development platform of the 3D environment, and wherein the 3D environment is generated by one or more computing devices.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other except associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof.
In related endeavor, Sivanandan et al. teach associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof (par 0005-0009, “The game or ad server may be configured to dynamically determine an appropriate advertising asset to be integrated into the virtual environment dependent on metadata associated with the placeholder and on metadata associated with available advertising assets. For example, the game or ad server may select an advertising asset for which metadata associated with the advertising asset is compatible with the metadata associated with the placeholder, as described herein. In various embodiments, metadata associated with advertising assets may include values of classification attributes, visual attributes, physical attributes, behavioral attributes, and/or interactivity attributes. Once an appropriate advertising asset is selected in response to a request, it may be returned to the requesting application for integration into the virtual environment when the virtual environment is displayed. The selected advertising asset may in some embodiments include a three-dimensional model of a product or of an advertisement of a product. In some embodiments, in response to an interaction with an advertising asset, additional information may be provided to the application to be integrated into the virtual environment”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing data of the claimed invention to modified claim 19 of US11880954 to include associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof as taught by Sivanandan et al. to use a placeholder which may be associated only a portion of an image or frame of the virtual environment or may be associated with one or more objects in an image or frame of the virtual environment to dynamically determined additional assets in response to the interaction with the advertising asset.
Likewise instant dependent claims 2 and 5-6 are anticipated by dependent claims 25 and 23+24 of the US11880954, and is not patentably distinct from claims 25 and 23+24 of the US11880954.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. PGPubs 2013/0124311 to Sivanandan et al..
Regarding claim 1, Sivanandan et al. teach a method, comprising (abstract):
receiving, by a computing device, a 3D placeholder in a development platform of a 3D environment (par 0030, “As illustrated in FIG. 1, the virtual environment authoring application may be configured to receive input identifying a placeholder for an advertisement in the virtual environment, as in 130. In some embodiments, placeholders may be added to the virtual environment at the time the virtual environment is being designed (e.g., by a graphic designer) …. a graphic designer and/or application designer may provide input to the virtual environment authoring application identifying placeholders for advertisements through a graphical user interface (as described in more detail below) or using other input means (e.g., by inserting instructions directly into program code representing the virtual environment through a text editing application)”);
receiving an asset into the 3D placeholder (par 0022, “A system and method for dynamic integration of advertisements in virtual environments may in some embodiments provide contextual placement of advertising assets into a 3D virtual world. The methods for selection of appropriate advertising assets to be integrated into a virtual environment during runtime may be dependent on context-sensitive metadata associated with placeholders tagged in the virtual environment (e.g., using a virtual environment authoring application), and corresponding metadata associated with various advertising assets”, par 0028, “The virtual environment may contain placeholders that are similarly tagged so that relevant assets can be placed within the virtual environments. These placeholders may be inserted into a virtual environment using a virtual environment authoring application, in some embodiments. Available advertising assets may also be tagged with information relating to the asset, such as the type of asset, the behaviors exhibited by the asset, the physical properties of the asset, etc.”); and
associating the 3D placeholder with scripts that determine user interaction with the asset or viewability thereof (par 0005-0009, “The game or ad server may be configured to dynamically determine an appropriate advertising asset to be integrated into the virtual environment dependent on metadata associated with the placeholder and on metadata associated with available advertising assets. For example, the game or ad server may select an advertising asset for which metadata associated with the advertising asset is compatible with the metadata associated with the placeholder, as described herein. In various embodiments, metadata associated with advertising assets may include values of classification attributes, visual attributes, physical attributes, behavioral attributes, and/or interactivity attributes. Once an appropriate advertising asset is selected in response to a request, it may be returned to the requesting application for integration into the virtual environment when the virtual environment is displayed. The selected advertising asset may in some embodiments include a three-dimensional model of a product or of an advertisement of a product. In some embodiments, in response to an interaction with an advertising asset, additional information may be provided to the application to be integrated into the virtual environment”, par 0022, “A system and method for dynamic integration of advertisements in virtual environments may in some embodiments provide contextual placement of advertising assets into a 3D virtual world. The methods for selection of appropriate advertising assets to be integrated into a virtual environment during runtime may be dependent on context-sensitive metadata associated with placeholders tagged in the virtual environment (e.g., using a virtual environment authoring application), and corresponding metadata associated with various advertising assets”, par 0043, “each of the placeholders indicated as elements 261 and 262 may be associated with an attribute identifying it as a billboard. In some embodiments, additional attributes may be associated with each of the placeholders, e.g., indicating that they are appropriate for placement of 3D still images, 3D videos, interactive advertisements, or other types of advertising assets”, par 0048, “Placeholders and advertising assets may have associated tags that provide information relating to the size, orientation and/or material of an object (e.g., attributes of a product represented by a 3D model, or constraints on advertising assets that may be placed in a virtual environment), in some embodiments. Information about such attributes may enable an advertising asset to be displayed with the correct form-factor in the context of the virtual environment “, par 0061, “the method may include a metadata matching module comparing metadata associated with the placeholders and/or captured user or session information to metadata associated with various advertising assets to select one or more particular advertising assets to be integrated into the virtual environment, as described herein.”);
wherein the method generates a 3D digital object in the development platform of the 3D environment (par 0023, “Using the techniques described herein, commercial products may be advertised using advertising assets implemented as 3D models within a 3D game played in a web browser “, par 0044, “Advertising campaigns may provide advertising assets relating to products being advertised to a service provider (e.g., one operating an on-line game server or ad server) for integration into relevant virtual environments. In various embodiments, a graphical user interface similar to that illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B may be provided to an advertiser, or an agent thereof, to tag advertising assets with various attributes, such as those described herein “, par 0048, “Placeholders and advertising assets may have associated tags that provide information relating to the size, orientation and/or material of an object (e.g., attributes of a product represented by a 3D model, or constraints on advertising assets that may be placed in a virtual environment), in some embodiments. Information about such attributes may enable an advertising asset to be displayed with the correct form-factor in the context of the virtual environment”), and wherein the 3D environment is generated by one or more computing devices (par 0023, “ Using the techniques described herein, commercial products may be advertised using advertising assets implemented as 3D models within a 3D game played in a web browser. The 3D models may be tagged with information about various physical attributes and/or behavioral attributes associated with the advertising assets so that they play seamlessly along with such a game, with an interactive movie, or with another similar application “, par 0012, par 0089, “Any desired operating system(s) may be run on computer system 700, such as various versions of Unix, Linux, Windows.TM. from Microsoft Corporation, MacOS.TM. from Apple Corporation, or any other operating system that enables the operation of software on a hardware platform”).
Regarding claim 2, Sivanandan et al. teach all the limitation of claim 1, and Sivanandan et al. further teach further comprising: associating the asset with asset data, the asset data including an asset category and an asset type (par 0028, “Available advertising assets may also be tagged with information relating to the asset, such as the type of asset, the behaviors exhibited by the asset, the physical properties of the asset, etc.”, par 0031, “The attributes of the placeholder for which values may be specified may include a classification and/or sub-classification for the target game or application into which the virtual environment may be integrated, a target age group and/or gender of end users (i.e., those who are more likely to view the virtual environment), a classification and/or sub-classification of the image, frame, or scene being tagged, a classification and/or sub-classification of a tagged item in the virtual environment (e.g., an item to which a logo, video, animation, or other advertising asset may be applied and/or with which such assets may be associated), a classification and/or sub-classification of an item to be placed at the location indicated by the placeholder (e.g., a drink, a bottled drink, an adult drink, a candy bar or snack item, a television, a phone, a car, a piece of furniture, a billboard, etc.”, par 0041, “ element 252 is a placeholder at which a logo for a particular television brand or model may be placed at runtime. Element 253 indicates an area within the living room at which a particular item or item type may be placed”).
Regarding claim 3, Sivanandan et al. teach all the limitation of claim 1, and Sivanandan et al. further teach further comprising: receiving an asset positioning information, the asset positioning information including an anchor location and an asset orientation (par 0041, “This placeholder may have been inserted to tag the television screen using the "tag item" tool in tool area 202, and one or more attributes may have been specified for the placeholder using one or more of tagging controls 204. Various types of advertising assets such as 3D still images or videos, may be inserted at the position indicated by this placeholder at runtime, using the methods described herein …. advertising assets having metadata compatible with the metadata for these placeholders may be inserted in the locations indicated as 253 and 254”, par 0048, “Placeholders and advertising assets may have associated tags that provide information relating to the size, orientation and/or material of an object (e.g., attributes of a product represented by a 3D model, or constraints on advertising assets that may be placed in a virtual environment), in some embodiments. Information about such attributes may enable an advertising asset to be displayed with the correct form-factor in the context of the virtual environment. Together, the various attributes described herein may provide for dynamic, contextual placement of advertising assets, based on environmental and product considerations”, par 0059, “the methods described herein may be applied to a treasure hunt game, in which the player visits various rooms and picks up gadgets placed at locations within each room. At runtime, mobile phone 3D advertising assets that are hosted by the game/ad server may be downloaded by the game and placed at pre-defined locations within each room”, par 0066-0068, “placeholder 251 of FIG. 2A has been replaced by an advertisement for a phone, indicated as element 421, and placeholder 252 of FIG. 2A has been replaced by a logo for a television of brand A, indicated as element 422. In addition, placeholder 253 of FIG. 2A has been replaced by an image of a glass of milk (shown as 423), while placeholder 254 of FIG. 2A has been replaced by an image of a phone 424 (which may correspond to the phone being advertised at 421)”).
Regarding claim 4, Sivanandan et al. teach all the limitation of claim 3, and Sivanandan et al. further teach wherein the anchor location being at least one of the X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis, or a combination thereof (par 0041, “This placeholder may have been inserted to tag the television screen using the "tag item" tool in tool area 202, and one or more attributes may have been specified for the placeholder using one or more of tagging controls 204. Various types of advertising assets such as 3D still images or videos, may be inserted at the position indicated by this placeholder at runtime, using the methods described herein …. advertising assets having metadata compatible with the metadata for these placeholders may be inserted in the locations indicated as 253 and 254”, par 0059, “the methods described herein may be applied to a treasure hunt game, in which the player visits various rooms and picks up gadgets placed at locations within each room. At runtime, mobile phone 3D advertising assets that are hosted by the game/ad server may be downloaded by the game and placed at pre-defined locations within each room” ….identify location in 3D to insert asset (has x, y, z coordinate)).
Regarding claim 5, Sivanandan et al. teach all the limitation of claim 1, and Sivanandan et al. further teach wherein the asset is a generic 3D representation of geometric data, wherein the asset within the 3D placeholder presents a visual representation of the 3D digital object (par 0008, “The selected advertising asset may in some embodiments include a three-dimensional model of a product or of an advertisement of a product”, par 0023-0024, “commercial products may be advertised using advertising assets implemented as 3D models within a 3D game played in a web browser. The 3D models may be tagged with information about various physical attributes and/or behavioral attributes associated with the advertising assets so that they play seamlessly along with such a game, with an interactive movie, or with another similar application …. The techniques described herein may be used to dynamically place advertisements inside 3D games, and to change them in response to differences in user characteristics, the user's environment, the status of the game, the currently available products, the currently available advertising assets for those products, the scope of an advertising campaign, or on other conditions “, par 0031, “ a classification and/or sub-classification of a tagged item in the virtual environment (e.g., an item to which a logo, video, animation, or other advertising asset may be applied and/or with which such assets may be associated), a classification and/or sub-classification of an item to be placed at the location indicated by the placeholder (e.g., a drink, a bottled drink, an adult drink, a candy bar or snack item, a television, a phone, a car, a piece of furniture, a billboard, etc.) “, par 0046-0048, “The environment for such a world may be tagged as a bar. A placeholder within the bar may be tagged as an alcoholic beverage, a bottled beverage, etc. In some embodiments, multiple tags may be placed on a single object. These tags may enable a server (e.g., a game server or ad server) to enact a search to provide the best fit for advertisements to place within the bar. Placeholders and advertising assets may have associated tags that provide information relating to the size, orientation and/or material of an object (e.g., attributes of a product represented by a 3D model, or constraints on advertising assets that may be placed in a virtual environment), in some embodiments. Information about such attributes may enable an advertising asset to be displayed with the correct form-factor in the context of the virtual environment. Together, the various attributes described herein may provide for dynamic, contextual placement of advertising assets, based on environmental and product considerations”).
Regarding claim 6, Sivanandan et al. teach all the limitation of claim 5, and Sivanandan et al. further teach wherein the asset can be replaced with a branded object (par 0028, “if metadata indicates that a placeholder is tagged as a bottled drink, and that the virtual environment is appropriate for a child's game, an advertising asset for a juice-based, non-alcoholic drink may be integrated into the virtual environment, rather than one associated with a new brand of beer “, par 0041, “element 252 is a placeholder at which a logo for a particular television brand or model may be placed at runtime “, par 0066-0068, a television of brand A and a television of brand B).
Regarding claim 7, Sivanandan et al. teach all the limitation of claim 1, and Sivanandan et al. further teach wherein the user interaction or viewability of the 3D placeholder is used in predictive advertisement (par 0028, “Available advertising assets may also be tagged with information relating to the asset, such as the type of asset, the behaviors exhibited by the asset, the physical properties of the asset, etc. In order to dynamically place appropriate advertising assets in virtual environments, attributes of placeholders may be compared with attributes of available advertising assets to find a match “, par 0031, “The attributes of the placeholder for which values may be specified may include a classification and/or sub-classification for the target game or application into which the virtual environment may be integrated, a target age group and/or gender of end users (i.e., those who are more likely to view the virtual environment), a classification and/or sub-classification of the image, frame, or scene being tagged, a classification and/or sub-classification of a tagged item in the virtual environment (e.g., an item to which a logo, video, animation, or other advertising asset may be applied and/or with which such assets may be associated), a classification and/or sub-classification of an item to be placed at the location indicated by the placeholder (e.g., a drink, a bottled drink, an adult drink, a candy bar or snack item, a television, a phone, a car, a piece of furniture, a billboard, etc.)”, par 0046-0047, “tagging of virtual environments and of placeholders within virtual environments may provide contextual information about the types of advertisements that could be potentially placed into the virtual environments. As an example, consider the following: In a bar in a virtual world, one would not advertise for milk. The environment for such a world may be tagged as a bar. A placeholder within the bar may be tagged as an alcoholic beverage, a bottled beverage, etc. In some embodiments, multiple tags may be placed on a single object. These tags may enable a server (e.g., a game server or ad server) to enact a search to provide the best fit for advertisements to place within the bar”, par 0057, “The behavior of the placed asset within the virtual world may be dynamically determined by reading the metadata information attached to it. For example, animations and physical attributes may be dynamically attached to an asset and may specify the appearance and/or behavior of the asset within the virtual environment.”, par 0061, “ the method may include a metadata matching module comparing metadata associated with the placeholders and/or captured user or session information to metadata associated with various advertising assets to select one or more particular advertising assets to be integrated into the virtual environment, as described herein “, par 0063, “if a user's in-game character picks up a tagged item in the virtual environment, clicks on a tagged item or area, or hovers over a tagged item or area, the method may include the game/ad server (or an advertising asset selection module thereof) determining additional advertising assets matching metadata associated with or the placeholder for the tagged item or area (e.g., additional information about the item) that should be presented to the user (e.g., based on interactivity attributes associated with the placeholder), and providing them to the game application as instructions and/or data to be displayed. In some embodiments, in response to such an interaction, a client game application may be configured to request new or additional advertising assets from a game/ad server, e.g., based on interactivity attributes associated with the placeholder “, par 0083, “the metadata matching module 665 may in some embodiments be inserted into the game application 660 by virtual environment authoring application 660 in response to tagging one or more virtual environments of game application 660 with placeholders for advertising assets. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, metadata matching module 665 may perform a search of database storage 650 for advertising assets having associated attribute values compatible with values of corresponding attribute values associated with placeholders in a virtual environment in response to requests for advertising assets received from game application 660”).
Regarding claim 8, Sivanandan et al. teach a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which when executed by a processing system executes a method (par 0091). The remaining limitations of the claim are similar in scope to claim 1 and rejected under the same rationale.
Regarding claims 9-14, Sivanandan et al. teach all the limitation of claim 8, the claims 9-14 are similar in scope to claims 2-7 and are rejected under the same rational.
Regarding claim 15, Sivanandan et al. teach a system comprising: a memory device; a processing system coupled to the memory device (par 0089-0090). The remaining limitations of the claim are similar in scope to claim 1 and rejected under the same rationale.
Regarding claims 16-20, Sivanandan et al. teach all the limitation of claim 8, the claims 16-20 are similar in scope to claims 2-4, 5+6, and 7 and are rejected under the same rational.
Conclusion
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JIN . GE
Examiner
Art Unit 2619
/JIN GE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2619