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
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore,
a game watching camera,
a target camera,
a position of the game watching camera,
a position of the target camera,
an orientation of the game watching camera,
an orientation of the target camera,
a sliding operation,
a marking operation on a map area,
a target map area,
a click operation on the map area,
a long press operation,
a first marked point in the map area,
a starting point of a route,
a continuous sliding operation,
an end point of the continuous sliding operation,
a second marked point,
a marked route,
a touch display screen,
an initial orientation,
a click operation,
a direction between a preset point,
a clicking position of the click operation,
a small window display
must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-9 and 11-21 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 and 12 recite, “… in response to that a virtual character corresponding to the terminal device is eliminated; …”
Claim 11 recites, “… in response to that a virtual character corresponding to the electronic device is eliminated; …”
These phrases are not clear because they are grammatically incorrect and confusing by the order in the claims. The word “that” appears to have been added by mistake.
The displaying step is in response to the character being eliminated. It is not wrong to put it at the end of the limitation, but it would be easier to read if the “in response to” phrase came at the beginning of the limitation.
When the claims were amended to replace “after” to “in response to”, the verb “is” should probably be changed to “being”.
The examiner suggests the following possible verbiage for this limitation,
-- in response to a virtual character corresponding to the terminal device being eliminated in the game,
displaying, by a terminal device, in a graphical user interface of the terminal device, a game watching screen identical to a target game screen of a target virtual character being watched; --
The examiner also added “in the game” to the phrase “being eliminated”. This is a minor change, but it emphasizes that the game is being played in a virtual environment as part of the claim language. This is important in regards to 35 USC 101. Merely watching and displaying could be considered to be an abstract idea. Playing a game in a virtual environment cannot reasonably be considered a mental process abstract idea.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-9 and 11-21 are rejected under 35 USC 112 and the drawings have serious claim related objections, but would be allowable if the application was amended to resolve these issues.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Tieger et al. (US PG pub 2020/0197807) teaches controlling camera perspectives and displays of video gameplay. Yang (US PG pub 2021/0268380) teaches adjusting viewing angles with an onscreen sliding feature. The cited prior art does not show or teach that the above features are triggered by a virtual character elimination.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL A CUFF whose telephone number is (571)272-6778. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xuan Thai can be reached at 571 272-7147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL A CUFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715