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 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 rules of a game which is under the abstract idea category of “methods for organizing human activity (See MPEP 2106, which states “The patentee claimed a method of playing a dice game including placing wagers on whether certain die faces will appear face up. 911 F.3d at 1160; 129 USPQ2d at 1011. The Federal Circuit determined that the claims were directed to the abstract idea of “rules for playing games”, which the court characterized as a certain method of organizing human activity”).
5. The claim language presents a reel-based game machine incorporating a set of rules that presents a game wherein a player is issued one or more configurable game symbols, and after a series of virtual reel spins an award is determined from a number of collected configurable game symbols. This is exemplified in the independent claims. Other dependents describe how the game is presented including indicating that configurable symbols are displayed on separate reels or that symbols are displayed on each virtual reel, such is merely describing how to present the game under the guidance of a series of rules. Previously, game administrators would use phyriscal randomizers in the form of die or playing cards to indicate outcomes from a variety of possibilities, for example receiving a one from spinning a six sided die. A game administrator can simply apply said rules to said physical randomizers and apply certain configurable qualities to die or card outcomes and create rules for tabulating an award total. These claims merely use a computerized generic slot machine as a tool for the rules’ implementation. For these reasons, the claims are directed to the abstract idea of 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 using configurable symbols. 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 server and client devices, network interface, memory, game controller, display, and storage. However, Examiner takes Official Notice that all are well-known, routine, and understood within the art. The claim is directed to an abstract idea that lacks significantly more and thus is not patent eligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-4, 9-13, 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kemper (U.S. PGPUB 2014/0335931).
Re claims 1, 10, and 18: Kemper discloses a gaming server, comprising:
a network interface (see paragraph [0066]: a remote system controller contains a network interface comprising of a network interface for communicating with game devices);
a game controller (see paragraph [0066]: system controller); and
a memory storing instructions, which when executed by the game controller, cause the game controller to transmit, via the network interface, one or more signals to a client gaming device that cause the client gaming device (see paragraph [0066]: it is inherent that the system controller contains memory for storing gaming instructions to transmit and communicate information to game devices) to:
spin base game reels to present base game symbols of a base game outcome at display positions of a client display device (see Fig. 3 and paragraph [0051]: “In one embodiment, the gaming controller 16 is configured to rotate, and/or spin each reel 102 to initiate a game play, and stop each reel 102 to display a plurality of symbols associated with the randomly generated outcome.”);
initiate a feature game with an initial quantity of feature game spins in response to the base game outcome including at least a threshold quantity of configurable symbols (see paragraph [0054]: a second game, i.e. a feature game, is begun when a wild symbol, i.e. a configurable symbol, appears, thus starting this second game. Here the threshold quantity of configurable symbols is one.);
for each feature game spin of the feature game, update a feature game outcome by spinning each feature game reel associated with a display position of the client display device without a configurable symbol (see paragraph [0054]: “The gaming controller 16 also spins each reel 102 that does not contain the first special symbol 112, and stops each reel 102 to display the second game outcome 86 including the first special symbol 112 retained in the first predefined symbol position 114”) and holding each feature game reel associated with a display position of the client display device with a configurable symbol so as to retain the configurable symbol at its respective display position (see paragraph [0054]: the reel containing the configurable symbol is nudged before the second game begins, and thus the reel is held during play of the second game); and
present, via the client display device, a feature game award that is based on respective values of the configurable symbols in the feature game outcome (Fig. 3: “providing an enhanced award to the player if the second game outcome includes a winning outcome including the first special symbol, the enhanced award being a function of the first special symbol multiplier function.” See paragraph [0041]: The reference states, “The second display 56 is configured to display game play instructions for performing the game including, but not limited to, playing instructions, paytables, paylines, betting lines and/or any other information to enable the gaming machine 10 to function as described herein.” Here any other information includes credits on the game machine; see paragraphs [0039, 0040]: the game machine also includes a player tracking device with display that displays player credits on the gaming machine).
Re claims 2 and 11. Kemper discloses with respect to the gaming server of claim 1, wherein the one or more signals transmitted by the game controller cause the client gaming device to present base game symbols for multiple display positions of the base game outcome with a single base game reel (see Fig. 3: symbols for the base game are presented on all of the positions on a column located on a single base game reel, wherein multiple reels create the entire base game outcome. With respect to this single column, every position is filled).
Re claim 3 and 12: Kemper discloses with respect to the gaming server of claim 1, wherein the one or more signals transmitted by the game controller cause the client gaming device to present base game symbols for all display positions in a column of the display positions with a single base game reel (see Fig. 3: symbols for the base game are presented on all of the positions on a column located on a single base game reel, wherein multiple reels create the entire base game outcome).
Re claims 4 and 13: Kemper discloses with respect to the gaming server of claim 1, wherein the one or more signals transmitted by the game controller cause the client gaming device to present feature game symbols using a separate feature game reel for each of the display positions (because subsequent spins of the reels are part of a second game, i.e. a feature game, said reels that are part of this game are considered second game reels. Thus, when non-wild symbol containing reals are spun, they are spun on separate second game reels).
Re claim 9: Kemper discloses with respect to the gaming server of claim 1, wherein the one or more signals transmitted by the game controller cause the client gaming device to present each configurable symbol with a common component and a variable component (see paragraph [0029]: the configurable symbol comprises of a constant shape and a varying multiplier).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 5 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kemper in view of (U.S. PGPUB 2003/0069056).
Re claims 5 and 14: Kemper fails to disclose with respect to the gaming server of claim 1, wherein the one or more signals transmitted by the game controller cause the client gaming device to present, via the client display device, a symbol counter that indicates a quantity of configurable symbols in the feature game outcome. However, Cormack discloses a bonus symbol meter for tracking the number bonus symbols in the game (see Fig. 7c, object 68). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to try to implement within the user interface of Kemper, a bonus symbol meter as described by Cormack, as such would have produced the predictable results of using a counter to count the number of bonus symbols within the game.
Claims 6, 15, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kemper in view of Guinn (U.S. PGPUB 2012/0094738).
Re claims 6, 15, 19: Kemper fails to disclose with respect to the gaming server of claim 1, wherein the one or more signals transmitted by the game controller cause the client gaming device to present, via the client display device, a jackpot in response to a quantity of configurable symbols in the feature game outcome having a predetermined relationship to a threshold quantity. However, Guinn teaches wild persistent multiplier symbols, similar to those of Kemper, wherein the values of the multipliers are incorporated in the progressive jackpot, wherein a predetermined threshold of at least one multiplier symbol is necessary for said progressive jackpot to be awarded (see paragraph [0080]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the game of Kemper with symbols that can potentially award a progressive jackpot, for the purpose of attracting more players to the game machine with the hope of winning said progressive jackpot.
Claims 7 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kemper in view of Ching (U.S. Patent No. 7,056,213).
Re claims 7 and 16: Kemper discloses with respect to the gaming server of claim 1, wherein the one or more signals transmitted by the game controller cause the client gaming device to present, via the client display device, a feature game spin counter that indicates a quantity of feature game spins remaining in the feature game. However, Ching, discloses displaying a spin counter on a reel-based game interface (see Fig. 1, object 106). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the game interface of Kemper with a spin counter, for the purpose of informing users how many spins remain in the bonus game for with Kemper has previously associated a number of spins with particular wild symbols.
Claims 8, 17, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kemper in view of Cregan (U.S. PGPUB 2006/0068885).
Re claims 8, 17, and 20: Kemper discloses with respect to the gaming server of claim 1, wherein the one or more signals transmitted by the game controller cause the client gaming device to reset the quantity of feature game spins remaining in the feature game to the initial quantity in response to one of the feature game spins increasing a quantity of configurable symbols in the feature game outcome. However, Cregan like Kemper teaches a bonus game that includes a number of free spins, however Cregan further teaches resetting the number of free spins, back to the original number of free spins when a particular designated outcome is reached (see paragraph [0041, 0161]). When applied to Kemper, the designated outcome can include designated number of wild symbols as demonstrated in Fig. 8. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the game of Kemper with the resetting feature of Cregan, for the purpose of attracting more players to play the game with the hope of playing with a large number of free spins even after the player has won.
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