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 .
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 – 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Step 1:
I. The claims are drawn to apparatus, process and CRM categories.
II. Thus, initially, under Step 1 of the analysis, it is noted that the claims are directed towards eligible categories of subject matter.
Step 2a:
III. Prong 1: Does the claim recite an abstract idea, law of nature, or natural phenomenon?
Representative claim 1 is analyzed below, with italicized limitations indicating recitations of an abstract idea.
A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for a computer incorporated in a game system connected to a display device that displays a game screen including an offense character and a defense character which play roles of offense and defense respectively, and an input device that inputs a plurality of operations executed by a user as operations for operating the defense character in the game screen, and providing a game in which the defense character is automatically caused to execute a predetermined defense action according to a predetermined rule when a specific operation out of the plurality of operations is executed, wherein the computer program causes the computer to function as: a result acquisition unit that acquires, when an input of an operation out of the plurality of operations is executed through the input device after a special condition related to a position between the defense character and the offense character is satisfied during the defense action, a result of the input; and an action control unit that causes the defense character to execute an additional action so that the additional operation is reflected in an action of the defense character when the operation is determined to be an additional operation associated with the additional action that can be added to the defense action based on the result of the input.
The underlined limitations fall within at least three of the groupings of abstract ideas enumerated in the 2019 PEG:
Commercial or legal interactions
Managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people
The claims are directed towards incentivizing the behavior of users playing a game via group agreements or contract. This is viewed by the Examiner as a commercial interaction and managing personal behavior or relationships between people, which are all considered to be abstract ideas according to the 2019 guidelines.
Prong 2: Does the Claim recite additional elements that integrate the exception in to a practical application of the exception?
iii. Although the claims recite additional limitations, such as one or more processors and at least one server, the said additional limitations do not integrate the exception into a practical application of the exception. For example, the claims require
additional limitations such as an interface and processor components.
iv. These additional limitations do not represent an improvement to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field, (MPEP 2106.05(a)). Nor do they apply the exception using a particular machine, (MPEP 2106.05(b)). Furthermore, they do not effect a transformation. (MPEP 2106.05(c)). Rather, these additional limitations amount to an instruction to “apply” the judicial exception using a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea.
Step 2b:
Under Step 2B, the claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because they amount to conventional and routine computer implementation and mere instructions for implementing the abstract idea on generic computing devices.
For example, the claim language does recite additional elements such as a medium storing a program and a display device, however, these viewed as a whole, are indistinguishable from conventional computing elements known in the art. Therefore, the additional elements fail to supply additional elements that yield significantly more than the underlying abstract idea. Viewing the limitations as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when looking at the elements taken individually. There is no indication that the combination of elements improves the functioning of a computer or improves any other technology.
For these reasons, it appears that the claims are not patent-eligible under 35 USC §101.
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.
Claims 1 – 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) as being anticipated by the video game NBA 2K19 (released September 2018).
Regarding claim 1, NBA 2K19, hereafter 2K, discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for a computer incorporated in a game system connected to a display device that displays a game screen, (0:00 – 11:26 of NPL), including an offense and defense character which play roles of offense and defense, (7:37 – 9:39 of NPL), and an input device that inputs a plurality of operations for operating the defense character in the game screen, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL), and providing a game in which the defense character is automatically caused to execute a predetermined defense action according to a predetermined rule when a specific operation out of the plurality of operations is executed, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL, NPCs playing defense), a result acquisition unit that acquires, when an input of an operation out of the plurality of operations is executed through the input device after a special condition related to a position between the defense character and the offense character is satisfied during the defense action, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL), and an action control unit that causes the defense character to execute an additional action so that the additional operation is reflected in an action of the defense character when the operation is determined to be an additional operation associated with the additional action that can be added to the defense action based on the result of the input, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL, NPCs playing defense).
Regarding claim 2, 2K discloses wherein the action control unit causes the defense character to execute a moving action for moving the offense character in a predetermined direction as the additional action, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL).
Regarding claim 3, 2K discloses wherein the action control unit causes the defense character to execute an action of changing a relative distance between the offense character and the defense character as the moving action, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL, NPCs playing defense).
Regarding claim 4, 2K discloses wherein the additional operation includes two or more additional operations corresponding to different directions, the moving action includes two or more moving actions associated with the two or more additional operations, and the action control unit causes the defense character to execute a moving action corresponding to the additional operation so as to move the offense character in a direction corresponding to the additional operation according to executed additional operation out of the two or more additional operations, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL, NPCs playing defense).
Regarding claim 5, 2K discloses wherein the plurality of operations includes a plurality of direction indication operations for indicating a plurality of directions, respectively, the plurality of direction indication operations are used as the two or more additional operations, and the action control unit causes the defense character to execute a moving operation corresponding to the direction indication operation so as to move the offense character in a direction corresponding to executed direction indication operation out of the plurality of direction indication operations, (7:37 – 9:39 of NPL).
Regarding claims 6 - 8, 2K discloses wherein a human-shaped character is used as each of the defense character and the offense character, the defense action includes an action in which the defense character extends a hand toward the offense character within a certain distance between the defense character and the offense character, the special condition is satisfied when the hand of the defense character reaches the offense character along with the action of extending the hand, and the action control unit causes the defense character to execute an action of moving the offense character using the hand of the defense character as the moving action, (7:37 – 9:39 of NPL).
Regarding claim 9, 2K discloses a game system comprising a computer connected to display device that displays a game screen, (0:00 – 11:26 of NPL), including an offense and defense character which play roles of offense and defense, (7:37 – 9:39 of NPL), and an input device that inputs a plurality of operations for operating the defense character in the game screen, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL), and providing a game in which the defense character is automatically caused to execute a predetermined defense action according to a predetermined rule when a specific operation out of the plurality of operations is executed, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL, NPCs playing defense), a result acquisition unit that acquires, when an input of an operation out of the plurality of operations is executed through the input device after a special condition related to a position between the defense character and the offense character is satisfied during the defense action, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL), and an action control unit that causes the defense character to execute an additional action so that the additional operation is reflected in an action of the defense character when the operation is determined to be an additional operation associated with the additional action that can be added to the defense action based on the result of the input, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL, NPCs playing defense).
Regarding claim 10, 2K discloses a control method executed by a computer incorporated in a game system connected to a display device that displays a game screen, (0:00 – 11:26 of NPL), including an offense and defense character which play roles of offense and defense, (7:37 – 9:39 of NPL), and an input device that inputs a plurality of operations for operating the defense character in the game screen, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL), and providing a game in which the defense character is automatically caused to execute a predetermined defense action according to a predetermined rule when a specific operation out of the plurality of operations is executed, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL, NPCs playing defense), a result acquisition unit that acquires, when an input of an operation out of the plurality of operations is executed through the input device after a special condition related to a position between the defense character and the offense character is satisfied during the defense action, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL), and an action control unit that causes the defense character to execute an additional action so that the additional operation is reflected in an action of the defense character when the operation is determined to be an additional operation associated with the additional action that can be added to the defense action based on the result of the input, (8:19 – 8:23 of NPL, NPCs playing defense).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC M THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-1699. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am - 5:00pm.
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/E.M.T/Examiner, Art Unit 3715 /DAVID L LEWIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3715