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 non-statutory subject matter.
Step 1: It must be determined whether the invention falls in one of the four statutory categories of invention. Claims 1 – 1 are directed towards a method, (process), and claims 12 – 20 are directed towards an apparatus and a medium, (machine), which are statutory categories of invention.
Step 2a:
Prong 1: It must be determined whether the invention is directed to judicially recognized exception. Claim 1 is analyzed below with limitations indicating recitations of an abstract idea.
A hot zone adjustment method, comprising: displaying, by processing circuitry of a terminal, a hot zone adjustment interface of an application, the hot zone being a touch control region for executing a control function of a virtual character , and the virtual character being configured to move in a virtual world provided by the application; receiving a user operation for a first hot zone; and customizing, in response to the user operation for the first hot zone, at least one parameter of the first hot zone.
The abstract idea is defined by the underlined portions in at least the following groupings below:
Certain methods of organizing human activity (commercial/legal interactions; marketing/sales; authorization)
Mental processes / data gathering, analysis, and transmission
The claims are directed towards commercial/legal interactions and data gathering and transmission, which are considered to be abstract ideas according to the 2019 guidelines.
Prong 2: Does the Claim recite additional elements that integrate the exception in to a practical application of the exception?
iii. The claims recite a generic terminal and interface along with instructions to display and receive data, which is viewed as no more than instructions to implement a judicial exception.
iv. These additional limitations do not represent an improvement to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field, (MPEP 2106.05(a)). Nor do they apply the exception using a particular machine, (MPEP 2106.05(b)). Furthermore, they do not effect a transformation. (MPEP 2106.05(c)). Rather, these additional limitations amount to an instruction to “apply” the judicial exception using a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea.
Step 2b: It must be determined whether the claimed invention recites additional elements that amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The claim language does recite a processor and interface components, however, viewed as a whole, this additional element is indistinguishable from conventional computing elements known in the art. Therefore, the additional elements fail to supply additional elements that yield significantly more than the underlying abstract idea. Viewing the limitations as an ordered combination adds nothing that is not already present when looking at the elements taken individually. There is no indication that the combination of elements improves the functioning of a computer or improves any other technology.
For these reasons, it appears that the claims are not patent-eligible under 35 USC §101 as the claims do not integrate the exceptions into a practical application or add an “inventive concept” beyond well-understood, routine, and conventional computer components and functions.
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 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) as being anticipated by Wang (U.S. 2013/0288790).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a hot zone adjustment method, (“The interactive game includes a virtual hot zone”, par. 0007), comprising displaying, by processing circuitry of a terminal, a hot zone adjustment interface of an application, (“The interactive game includes a virtual hot zone”, par. 0007), the hot zone being a touch control region for executing a control function of a virtual character, (“players are required to control the character”, par. 0004), and the virtual character being configured to move in virtual world provided by the application, (“When the character controlled by the player encounters an enemy 83, the player, in the hope of aiming the enemy 83 as shown in FIG. 2, could use the visual angle controlling button 82 to change the visual angle until the enemy 83 enters the shooting area 84 in the center of the screen”, par. 0004), receiving user operation for a first hot zone, (“The interactive game includes a virtual hot zone, and an interactive program will be executed in response to a finger tapping on the virtual hot zone”, par. 0007), and customizing, in response to the user operation for the first hot zone, at least one parameter of the first hot zone, (“executing the interactive program to allow the user to interact with the at least one self-acting virtual object when the at least one self-acting virtual object is relocated to the virtual hot zone and the virtual hot zone receives a change in state of touch”, par. 0012).
Regarding claims 2 – 6, 12 – 15, and 17 – 19, Wang discloses customizing, in response to a first user operation for the first hot zone, a function parameter of the first hot zone; customizing, in response to a second user operation for the first hot zone, a location parameter of the first hot zone; and customizing, in response to a third user operation for the first hot zone, a size parameter of the first hot zone, (“executing the interactive program to allow the user to interact with the at least one self-acting virtual object when the at least one self-acting virtual object is relocated to the virtual hot zone and the virtual hot zone receives a change in state of touch”, par. 0012).
Regarding claims 7 - 9, Wang discloses displaying, based on historical touch behavior data of the terminal, a recommended hot zone on the hot zone adjustment interface of the application, (“ the virtual hot zone is executed in response to a finger tapping on the virtual hot zone”, par. 0012).
Regarding claims 10, 11, and 20, Wang discloses obtaining a tilt angle and a tilt direction of the terminal; and displaying, based on the tilt angle and the tilt direction, at least one offset hot zone on the hot zone adjustment interface of the application, (“the virtual display range 12 is moved left-upwardly in an opposite direction of the vector”, par. 0026).
Regarding claim 12, Wang discloses a hot zone adjustment apparatus, (“The interactive game includes a virtual hot zone”, par. 0007), comprising displaying, by processing circuitry of a terminal, a hot zone adjustment interface of an application, (“The interactive game includes a virtual hot zone”, par. 0007), the hot zone being a touch control region for executing a control function of a virtual character, (“players are required to control the character”, par. 0004), and the virtual character being configured to move in virtual world provided by the application, (“When the character controlled by the player encounters an enemy 83, the player, in the hope of aiming the enemy 83 as shown in FIG. 2, could use the visual angle controlling button 82 to change the visual angle until the enemy 83 enters the shooting area 84 in the center of the screen”, par. 0004), receiving user operation for a first hot zone, (“The interactive game includes a virtual hot zone, and an interactive program will be executed in response to a finger tapping on the virtual hot zone”, par. 0007), and customizing, in response to the user operation for the first hot zone, at least one parameter of the first hot zone, (“executing the interactive program to allow the user to interact with the at least one self-acting virtual object when the at least one self-acting virtual object is relocated to the virtual hot zone and the virtual hot zone receives a change in state of touch”, par. 0012).
Regarding claim 16, Wang discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing instructions, (“The invention provides an interactive game controlling method for use in a touch panel device medium comprising a touch panel device provided with a plurality of cells and a processor device”, par. 0012), which when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform: displaying a hot zone adjustment interface of an application , (“The interactive game includes a virtual hot zone”, par. 0007), the hot zone being a touch control region for executing a control function of a virtual character, (“players are required to control the character”, par. 0004), and the virtual character being configured to move in virtual world provided by the application, (“When the character controlled by the player encounters an enemy 83, the player, in the hope of aiming the enemy 83 as shown in FIG. 2, could use the visual angle controlling button 82 to change the visual angle until the enemy 83 enters the shooting area 84 in the center of the screen”, par. 0004), receiving user operation for a first hot zone, (“The interactive game includes a virtual hot zone, and an interactive program will be executed in response to a finger tapping on the virtual hot zone”, par. 0007), and customizing, in response to the user operation for the first hot zone, at least one parameter of the first hot zone, (“executing the interactive program to allow the user to interact with the at least one self-acting virtual object when the at least one self-acting virtual object is relocated to the virtual hot zone and the virtual hot zone receives a change in state of touch”, par. 0012).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC M THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-1699. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am - 5:00pm.
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/E.M.T/Examiner, Art Unit 3715 /DAVID L LEWIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3715