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 1-20 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 method of operating a gaming machine, the method comprising the operations of: accepting, via a value input device, a physical item associated with a monetary value to establish a monetary balance; conducting, by game-logic circuitry, a game including: presenting, by a presentation assembly, a plurality of symbol-bearing reels, and an array; spinning and stopping the plurality of reels to land symbols from the reels in the array to produce an outcome; and randomly determining whether or not to award a bonus game; and in response to awarding the bonus game: displaying, via the presentation assembly, a first menu comprising choices of a first type associated with a first game parameter and choices of a second type associated with a second game parameter; accepting a first selection from the first menu, designating the first type as selected and the second type as unselected if a selected choice of the first selection is made from the choices of the first type and designating the first type as unselected and the second type as selected if the selected choice of the first selection is made from the choices of the second type; displaying, via the presentation assembly, a second menu comprising choices of the unselected type from the first menu and choices of a third type associated with a third game parameter; accepting a second selection from the second menu, designating the unselected type from the first menu as selected and the third type as unselected if a selected choice of the second selection is made from the choices of the unselected type from the first menu and designating the third type as selected if the selected choice of the second selection is made from the choices of the third type; setting the game parameter associated with the type of the first selection according to the selected choice of the first selection; setting the game parameter associated with the type of the second selection according to the selected choice of the second selection; randomly determining a choice from a weighted set of choices based on the selected choices of the first selection and the second selection, and setting the game parameter associated with the unselected type of choices to the randomly determined choice; presenting the bonus game via the presentation assembly according to the game parameters; and receiving, via at least one of one or more electronic input devices, a cash out input that initiates a payout from the monetary balance via a value output device. The above underlined portions of the claim are directed to rules of managing a wagering game which is deemed to be certain methods of organizing human activity (See 2106.04(a)(2)(II)(A)). This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because it appears to be just applying the abstract idea to a particular technological environment that the MPEP explains is not enough to integrate into a practical application (2106.04(d)). The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the only additional elements to the claim are basic parts to a wagering game machine (See US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0029381 to Vancura at [0038]).
All dependent claims have been analyzed but do not cure the deficiencies of the independent claims.
Prior Art
There are several examples in the prior art that show that a player can affect parameters by making a choice. For example, US Patent No. 10,127,762 to Hughes discloses such (See, e.g., fig. 6 and accompanying disclosure). However, it does not appear that any document, presently of record explicitly discloses in an anticipatory or obvious manner the limitation of “randomly determining a choice from a weighted set of choices based on the selected choices of the first selection and the second selection, and setting the game parameter associated with the unselected type of choices to the randomly determined choice,” as required by the independent claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure can be found on the Notice of References Cited.
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.
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, Dmitry Suhol can be reached at 571-272-4430. 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.
/Jay Trent Liddle/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715