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 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because it is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Under Step 1 of the analysis, it is noted that the claims are directed towards eligible categories of subject matter
3. Step 2A:
4. Under Step 2A, the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea). The claims are directed to a fundamental economic practice, which is an abstract idea under the category of “methods of organizing human activity” (See In re Smith, which states exchanging financial obligations is a fundamental economic practice).
5. The claim language presents a reel based game machine wherein a set of displayed symbols are clustered together to create a larger more visually prominent symbol that will maintain its position for future reel spins. While the claims outline the manner in which the game works, the claims also clearly state “validating a bet and allocating a stake for the bet,” and “applying modifiers, including multipliers, to the enhanced symbols to increase their payout value,” and “awarding final pays when no new enhanced symbols form or grow; and completing the game round.” Thus, a bet is made, and based upon whether or not the bet wins or losses, a payout is made to the player. This is an exchange of financial obligations, which is a fundamental economic practice, and therefore, the claims fall under the category of abstract ideas that are “methods of organizing human behavior.”
The second prong of Step 2A, ask whether the claims recite additional elements that would integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Here, no such practical application exists. As stated above, the claims recite a game that clusters symbols together and follows a set of game rules to produce an outcome. However, the claims do not address a problem longstanding in computer history, and thus lack practical application. Additionally, there is no practical application as there is no particular machine that is used to implement the claim language, but instead and as will be discussed below only generic computers are used to perform the invention. Also, there is no transformation of the machine used in the application into a different state or thing. Lastly, the claims do not attempt to apply the abstract idea in a meaningful way beyond simply using the claimed machine.
7. Step 2B asks whether a claimed invention which fails Step 2A contains an inventive concept, i.e. significantly more. Here the invention does not recite significantly more than a generic computer in the form of “a desktop PC, laptop, betting terminal, tablet device, mobile device, virtual reality device, and augmented reality device,” a display, a payout module, a communications module, and a server, however, Examiner takes Official Notice that all are well-known and understood within the art. The claim is directed to an abstract idea that lacks significantly more and thus is not patent eligible.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REGINALD A RENWICK whose telephone number is (571)270-1913. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11am-7pm.
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REGINALD A. RENWICK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3714
/REGINALD A RENWICK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715