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 .
Drawings
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because section 210 of Fig.. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Number indication error of "game state data" in paragraph 60 and 64, number indication error of "interactive computing system" in paragraph 64 and 65, no indication in the drawing of item 300 mentioned in paragraph 74.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1, 12 and 18 each recite the limitation "the second pose vector" in line 17s. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. There fore claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
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 §
2146 et seq. 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 autoprocessed 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, 12 and 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of Application No. 18/622,684. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the limitations of claims 1, 12 and 18 of Application No. 18/620,968 : it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art and/or would have been interpreted equivalent to those limitations recited in the other application claim 1 of Application No. 18/622,684 as seen to one of ordinary skill in the art.
The following is a claim comparison of claim 1 of the instant application 18/620,968 in view of claim 1 of Application No. 18622684:
Application No. 18/620,968 – Claim 1
Application No. 18/622,684 – Claim 1
Claim 1 - A computer-implemented method for generating animation of a virtual entity within a virtual environment, the method comprising: receiving first frame data identifying a first pose of a virtual entity within a three-dimensional virtual environment, wherein the first pose is at a first time step in a first animation sequence of the virtual entity;
Claim 1 - A computer-implemented method for generating animation of a virtual entity within a virtual environment, the method comprising: receiving first frame data identifying a first pose of a virtual entity within a three-dimensional virtual environment, wherein the first pose is at a first time step in a first animation sequence of the virtual entity;
receiving second frame data identifying a second pose of a virtual entity within a three-dimensional virtual environment, wherein the second pose is at a second time step in the first animation sequence of the virtual entity, wherein the first frame data and second frame data are represented by a first pose vector, wherein each pose vector comprises a plurality of features defining a root space representation of the corresponding pose of the virtual entity within the virtual environment;
receiving second frame data identifying a second pose of a virtual entity within a three-dimensional virtual environment, wherein the second pose is at a second time step in the first animation sequence of the virtual entity;
determining a first number of intermediate poses to generate between the first pose and the second pose; generating pose vectors associated with each intermediate pose each of the first number of intermediate poses, wherein each corresponding pose vector is an empty vector;
determining a first number of poses to generate between the first pose and the second pose;
iteratively generating the first number of intermediate poses using a machine learning model based at least in part on first pose vector, the second pose vector, wherein the pose vectors corresponding to the intermediate frames are populated with values for the plurality of features; and
iteratively generating the first number of poses using a machine learning model, wherein generating the first number of poses comprises: generating a first end pose subsequent to the first pose; generating a second end pose prior to the second pose; and alternately generating first end poses and second end poses based on previously generated poses until the first number of poses is generated; and
outputting the generated first number of intermediate poses.
outputting the generated first number of poses.
Claims 1, 12 and 18 of the instant application 18/620,968 is anticipated by claim 1 of application No. 18/622,684 in that claim 1 of Application No. 18622684 contains all of the limitations of claim 1 of the instant application. Further, claim 1 of application 18/622,684 is broader in every aspect than claims 1, 12 and 18 of the Application No. 18/620,968 claim, and is therefore an obvious variant thereof. Claims 1, 12 and 18 of the instant application 18/620,968 therefore are not patentably distinct from claim 1 of the earlier Application No. 18/622,684, and as such is unpatentable for obvious-type double patenting.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAK FUNG A LAM whose telephone number is (571)272-9823. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Said Broome can be reached at 5712722931. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHAK FUNG ANTHONY LAM/Examiner, Art Unit 2612
/Said Broome/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2612