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/Amendments
Regarding rejection of the claims under 35 USC 112(a) and 112(b), the amendments overcome the prior rejections and Applicant’s Remarks filed 06/12/2026 help clarify the interpretation of the claims. However, the amendments introduce new issues under both 112(a) and 112(b) and in claim interpretation for claims 1, 6, and 11. In particular, the amended language of “configuring the character in a form of an electronic wallet” appears to be directed to configuration of the character itself as an electronic wallet. However, it seems that the intended claim interpretation may instead be directed to the character merely being associated with a character CA (e.g. as an owner), with the character CA functioning as the electronic wallet.
Applicant is encouraged to schedule an interview with the Examiner to clarify the intended claim interpretation.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-4, 6-9, 11, and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 6, and 11 recite, “configuring the character in a form of an electronic wallet based on a blockchain upon the generating of the character by creating a character contract account (CA) managed by a smart contract, wherein the character CA functions as the electronic wallet.” Paragraph 0038 of the published specification discloses, “Meanwhile, configuring a character in the form of an electronic wallet based on a blockchain may mean creating a contract account (CA) managed by a smart contract. In this case, when a character is acquired, the character itself is configured in the form of an electronic wallet, making it possible to deposit and withdraw an item, held by the character, as an asset... A CA may function like a wallet on a blockchain, accordingly allowing the assets to be deposit and withdrawn, that is, the character may be the owner of the assets.” However, the specification does not sufficiently disclose how the character itself is “configured in a form of an electronic wallet” through creation of a CA managed by a smart contract. Therefore, the specification lacks sufficient disclosure so as to describe how the claimed functions are performed.
Claims 2-4, 7-9, and 13-15 are also rejected due to their dependence on at least claims 1, 6, and 11.
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 1-4, 6-9, 11, and 13-15 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.
Claims 1, 6, and 11 recite, “configuring the character in a form of an electronic wallet based on a blockchain upon the generating of the character by creating a character contract account (CA) managed by a smart contract, wherein the character CA functions as the electronic wallet.” It is unclear whether the character itself is somehow configured to operate as the electronic wallet/CA or whether the character is merely associated or linked (e.g. as an owner) with the CA in some manner. Therefore, the scope of claims 1, 6, and 11 is unclear.
Claims 2-4, 7-9, and 13-15 are also rejected due to their dependence on at least claims 1, 6, or 11.
Claim Interpretation
In view of the rejections under 112(a) and 112(b) noted above, a proper determination of the claims’ allowability over the prior art cannot be determined. The scope of the claims and the functionality of the claimed structures (e.g. character and character CA) are so unclear as to be impossible to accurately interpret the claims and properly apply prior art until such issues have been remedied.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Takei et al. (US 20250046041) generally discloses methods and systems for creation and management of an avatar NFT (e.g. ERC-721 token) tied to an associated avatar NFT smart contract and various item NFTs (e.g. ERC-998 tokens) tied to their own respective item NFT smart contracts. Item NFTs can also be associated/linked with a specific avatar NFT. See e.g. Figs. 3-6, Fig. 18, 0091-0120, 0154-0166, and 0242-0246.
Matt Lockyer et al. (“"ERC-998: Composable Non-Fungible Token”) generally discloses an extension of the ERC-721 token standard that allows tokens to own other tokens via a parent/child relationship managed by either a top-down or bottom-up composable smart contract. The ownership structure also comprises a root owner that allows transferal of all linked tokens via a single transaction.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 TAYLOR RAK whose telephone number is (571)270-1575. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11:00-7:00 EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John W Hayes can be reached at (571)-272-6708. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/T.R./Examiner, Art Unit 3697
/JOHN W HAYES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3697
Prosecution Insights