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 .
Status of Application
This present rejection replaces the previous rejection that was mailed on 01/20/2026 to add in a rejection based upon 35 USC 101 noted below.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute: a process for deciding one item of content from a plurality of kinds of content; a process for playing back the decided content; a process for deciding a display pattern of an object associated with the content that is played back; and a process for displaying the object in the decided display pattern at least one of during playback of the content and in a state in which the content that is played back is decided. The underlined portions above are categorized as a mental process that one could be done in the human mind. The other portions of the claim are viewed as insignificant extra solution This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because it is presently claimed as an abstract idea embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium and thus is merely applying the abstract idea to a technological area. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because as discussed above the only elements in the claim that are not an abstract idea are considered to be insignificant extra solution activity. Even though the claim limitations are embodied upon a non-transitory computer readable medium, this is merely adding in a generic computing part which the Supreme Court determined in Alice to not be significantly more than the abstract idea.
The dependent claims have been considered but they merely add additional abstract ideas to the claims and thus do not cure the deficiencies of the independent claims.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipate by US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0207537 to Kishimoto.
With regard to claim 1, Kishimoto discloses a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute: a process for deciding one item of content from a plurality of kinds of content (0042-0044; 0063; 0065; 0075; 0221-0223); a process for playing back the decided content (0053-0057); a process for deciding a display pattern of an object associated with the content that is played back (00420044; 0063; 0065; 0075; 0129 wherein pattern is so broad that it can apply to different characters shown/different abilities shown); and a process for displaying the object in the decided display pattern at least one of during playback of the content and in a state in which the content that is played back is decided (0043-0055; 0067).
With regard to claim 2, Kishimoto discloses that the process for deciding one item of content includes a process for deciding the one item of content by lottery regardless of an operation input made by a player (0043-0044).
With regard to claim 3, Kishimoto discloses that the object is a character, and a display mode of the character differs depending on the decided display pattern (0053-0055; 0067).
With regard to claim 4, Kishimoto discloses a process for enabling a player to evaluate the content that is played back (0071; 0156).
Claims 5 and 6 are mirrored claims to claim 1 and are rejected in like manner.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jay Liddle whose telephone number is (571)270-1226. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/Jay Trent Liddle/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715