DETAILED ACTION
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 1-3, 6, 11-16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caputo et al., US 2019/0197820, in view of Lyons et al., US 2017/0316639 (Hereinafter Lyons ‘639), and Lyons et al., US 2024/0362968 (Hereinafter Lyons ‘968).
In Reference to Claim 1
Caputo et al. teaches a system comprising a processor circuit; and a memory coupled to the processor circuit, the memory comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor circuit (Fig. 1-2 and Par. 15 and 31), cause the processor circuit to provide, by the processor circuit, a virtual environment in a metaverse, wherein the virtual environment comprises a virtual electronic gaming machine (EGM) (Abstract, Par. 4, 15, 27 “shared virtual environment (SVE) that includes virtual electronic wagering game machines (vEGMs)”); receive an identification of a first instance of the virtual environment that comprises fantasy gameplay content that is not available in the physical world (Fig. 3 and Par. 50-51 which teaches a shared virtual environment in VR where players embodied by avatar can play virtual gaming machines. See also Fig. 4 and Par. 14, 29, 61 which teaches players are represented by fantasy avatars such as a dwarf or a dragon which may or may not have different abilities for gameplay. See also Par. 54 which teach that vEGM can be a virtual game not based on real-world game titles); and generate, via the processor circuit, the first instance of the virtual environment that comprises the fantasy gameplay content (Fig. 3 and Par. 50-51. See also Fig. 1 and Par. 37-39 which teaches a VR Controller which coordinated the generation and display of the virtual gaming environment).
Further, Caputo et al. teaches various other real-world gaming devices that are involved in various wagering game functionality in connection with the VR Controller and VR Devices (Fig. 1 and Par. 31, 33, 42 “Central Controller,” “Player Tracking Server,” “Back Bet Server.”) and where the virtual EGMs are games in the virtual environment which may “be wholly fictitious in that there are no real-world versions of the particular vEGM” (Par. 68. See also Par. 54), however, Caputo et al. does not explicitly teach identification of gameplay content from a gaming device that is in a physical world in connection with the VR gaming, nor explicitly where the fantasy gameplay content comprises reels of a virtual slot game; receiving user input corresponding to a user interacting with the reels of the virtual slot game; and updating the first instance of the game based on the user input, wherein the user input influences a spin associated with the reels of the virtual slot game.
Lyons ‘639 teaches a gaming system which includes identification of gameplay content from a gaming device that is in a physical world in connection with the VR gaming (Fig. 1 and Par. 28-29 which teaches that VR headsets can receive data for conducting wagering games in VR from a Wagering Game Server or directly from particular physical wagering game machines).
It would be desirable to modify the system of Caputo et al. to receive identification of gameplay content from a gaming device that is in a physical world in connection with the VR gaming as taught by Lyons ‘639 in order to improve the regulation and accounting of the vEGM wagering games by integrating them in with existing casino wagering game management and accounting systems based on physical casino devices to help ensure fairness of wagering outcomes and dispute resolution.
Lyons ‘968 teaches an electronic game which includes where the fantasy gameplay content comprises reels of a virtual slot game (Fig. 4 and 7 Par. 23 which teaches generating brand new custom game content for a slot machine game, and that “game content” includes reels and game symbols. Par. 40 which teaches various data for prompting generation including “game theme”, Par. 57 which teaches generating new fantasy content, Par. 76 which teaches generating the original game content such as “original imagery” and “original reel/wheel profiles” and Par. 82 which teaches “In one embodiment, the processor dynamically generates reel symbols 755, which are used to indicate an outcome of the game as specified in a dynamically generated pay table 752”); receiving user input corresponding to a user interacting with the reels of the virtual slot game; and updating the first instance of the game based on the user input, wherein the user input influences a spin associated with the reels of the virtual slot game (Fig. 4, 7 and Par. 47, 54, 76, 82, and Par. 95 which teaches where a player provide input to initiate play at the electronic gaming machine and based on that input and additional input for a generation prompt generates and presents a slot machine game with generated original gameplay content. See also Par. 49 and 76 which teach that the game can include reel spinning and Fig. 7 which depicts a 3x5 symbol array grid for a slot machine as is well known in the art).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to include fantasy content which includes reels of the slot machine game and player input, wagers, and spinning reels at the virtual slot machine game as taught by Lyons ‘968, in order to allow the player to customize the appearance or presentation of the vEGMs in the computer generated VR environment according to their liking and preferences. Including new original and fantasy appearances for the vEGMs that do not exist in any real-world EGM.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to modify the system of Caputo et al. to receive identification of gameplay content from a gaming device that is in a physical world in connection with the VR gaming as taught by Lyons ‘639, and to include fantasy content which includes reels of the slot machine game and player input, wagers, and spinning reels at the virtual slot machine game as taught by Lyons ‘968.
In Reference to Claim 20
See Caputo et al., Lyons ‘639, and Lyons ‘968 as above in reference to Claim 1. Further, Caputo et al. also teaches a providing, via the processor circuit, a second instance of the virtual environment that is different from the first instance (Par. 8, 28, 52 “the VR controller 70 may transport the player 300 into a bonus SVE that is different than the SVE 320”); and triggering a new instance of the virtual environment in response to an event in a different instance the virtual environment (Par. 51-52, and 86-87 which teach triggering the Bonus SVE based on wagering gameplay).
In Reference to Claim 2
Caputo et al. teaches where the processor circuit is further caused to provide a
second instance of the virtual environment that is different from the first instance (Par. 8, 28, 52 “the VR controller 70 may transport the player 300 into a bonus SVE that is different than the SVE 320”).
In Reference to Claim 3
Caputo et al. teaches where the first instance corresponds to a first user in the
virtual environment and the second instance corresponds to a second user in the virtual
environment (Fig. 3 and Par. 50 and 86 which teaches a shared virtual environment and Par. 8 and 28 that teaches when a player triggers a bonus round on a vEGM they can trigger transporting players to the bonus SVE. Par. 7 “which other ones of the players are included in the bonus round is determined based on at least one of an amount of wagering during a given time period before the bonus is triggered, a random selection, and a player tracking score corresponding to wagering activity of the respective one of the players.”, and 28 which teaches that “some or all of the other players may be transported into the bonus SVE”. Thus, a first instance, the initial shared SVE which includes the various virtual gaming machines could correspond to a first player who is not selected for the bonus game and is not transported to the bonus SVE. And the second instance, the Bonus SVE, could correspond to a different player who is transported, such as the one who triggered the bonus. See also Par. 72).
In Reference to Claim 6
Caputo et al., Lyons ‘639, and Lyons ‘968 teaches where the fantasy gameplay content comprises personal game adjustments that correspond to user preferences in the virtual environment and that are not achievable in the physical world (Caputo et al. Par. 54 and 68 which teach that the vEGMs are “wholly fictitious” and do not exist in the real world. See also Par. 61 and 64 which teaches that players may choose fantasy elements of the VR environment of the EGMs avatar such as “Dragon.” See also Par. 64 which teaches that players can customize the maze for their triggered bonus SVE including themes like “Outer Space” and “Zombie Warehouse.” See also Lyons ‘968 which teaches customizing any type of “game content” including imagery and reels as described above.).
In Reference to Claim 11
Caputo et al., Lyons ‘639, and Lyons ‘968 teaches where the first instance of the virtual environment comprises first fantasy gameplay content that corresponds to first historical gaming content that is associated with a first time in history, and wherein a second instance of the virtual environment comprises second fantasy gameplay content that corresponds to second historical gaming content associated with a second time in history that is different from the first time in history (Par. 51 and 86 which teaches that players in the first SVE can play wagering games in virtual EGMs. Examiner considers this initial play period to constitute first historical gaming content associated with a first time in history. Par. 52 and 87 which teaches that at some point in player the players can trigger a bonus round which then initiates the Bonus SVE. Examiner considers this Bonus SVE gameplay to constitute second fantasy gameplay corresponding to second historical gaming content associated with a second time in history since it occurs as a different time from the previous game content. See also Caputo ‘968 Par. 51 which teaches that the generates gameplay content can utilize a players gameplay history in generation of the fantasy gameplay content).
In Reference to Claim 12
Caputo et al. teaches where the processor circuit is caused to trigger a new
instance of the virtual environment in response to an event in a different instance of the virtual environment (Par. 51-52, and 86-87 which teach triggering the Bonus SVE).
In Reference to Claim 13
Caputo et al. teaches wherein ones of a plurality of instances of the virtual
environment are generated responsive to an associated user comprising a wagering outcome (Par. 51-52, and 86-87 which teaches triggering the bonus round and Bonus SVE in the course of playing the vEGM in the initial SVE. See also Par. 7 and 72 which teaches where inclusion in the bonus SVE can be based on prior wagering activity).
In Reference to Claim 14
Caputo et al. teaches wherein a plurality of users is associated with a single one
of a plurality of instances of the virtual environment, and wherein the plurality of users participate in a celebration together (Par. 51-52, 72-73 and 86-87 which teach players playing in a shared virtual environment and Fig. 4 and Par. 56, and Par. 63 where multiple players join together into the bonus SVE to receive a reward. Examiner considers the bonus SVE shared between players to constitute a “celebration”).
In Reference to Claim 15
Caputo et al., Lyons ‘639, and Lyons ‘968 teach a system as described above in reference to Clam 1 including fantasy gameplay content. Including content that provides likeness of real players and events that are playable in the first instance (Lyons ‘968 Par. 78 which teaches the game system can use a picture of a player’s face to generated game content. See also Par. 78 and 55-56 which teach using events and player actions for generating the fantasy game content).
In Reference to Claim 16
Caputo et al. teaches where the fantasy gameplay content comprises game content corresponding to a live event game show, and wherein other users may join the first instance of the live event game show (Fig. 4-5, Par. 51-52, 56, 63 72-73 and 86-87 which teach players playing a bonus game in a shared virtual environment where this shared bonus game event constitutes a “live event game show.”).
Claims 4-5, 7-10, and 19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caputo et al., US 2019/0197820, Lyons et al., US 2017/0316639 (Lyons ‘639), Lyons et al., US 2024/0362968 (Hereinafter Lyons ‘968), further in view of Colvin et al., US 2015/0221183.
In Reference to Claim 4
Caputo et al., Lyons ‘639, and Lyons ‘968 teaches a system as described above in reference to Claim 3 including where a virtual environment provided in VR is a fantasy VR environment (See for example Par. 14, 29, 61 which teach avatars for characters and where avatars can be fantasy characters). However, Caputo et al. does not teach where the virtual environment comprises content corresponding to a live event feed, wherein the first instance of the virtual environment comprises first content that is caused to be in the first instance of the virtual environment, and wherein the second instance of the virtual environment comprises second game content that is caused to be in the second instance of the virtual environment.
Lyons ‘639 teaches a virtual environment provided in VR where the virtual environment comprises content corresponding to a live event feed (Par. 28 “For example, VR data may incorporate a live feed from an actual sporting event.” And Par. 37 “the VR casino 30 may comprise computer-generated imagery, video imagery from a live feed in an actual casino, and a combination of computer-generated and live video imagery.”).
It would be desirable to modify the system of Caputo et al. to include content corresponding to a live feed in the virtual environment as taught by Lyons ‘639 in order to allow the VR Casino environment to offer games related to live sporting events and let player view related real-world outcomes live, or to entertain players with ambiance from a live feed of a sporting event or a live feed of a real world casino environment.
Colvin et al. teaches a VR gaming system which teaches the first instance of the virtual environment comprises first content that is caused to be in the first instance of the virtual environment, and wherein the second instance of the virtual environment comprises second game content that is caused to be in the second instance of the virtual environment (Fig. 14 and Par. 232-238 which teaches that a VR casino environment can be divided into different virtual environment “rooms” which can have different virtual games and gaming machines and different virtual themes.).
It would be desirable to modify the system of Caputo et al., Lyons ‘639, and Lyons ‘968, to include multiple instance of game rooms each offering a suite of gaming opportunities as taught by Colvin et al. and include multiple SVEs each with their own gaming machines and each with their own live event feed in order to allow players to move between the different SVEs according to their own preferences. For example, on SVE could be themed around horse racing and offer horse racing games and a live feed of horse racing, and player could have horse themes fantasy content, and other SVE could be football themed and offer a live feed of football and players could have football themed fantasy content.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to include content corresponding to a live feed in the virtual environment as taught by Lyons ‘639 and to modify the system of Caputo et al. and Lyons ‘639 to include multiple instance of game rooms each offering a suite of gaming opportunities as taught by Colvin et al.
In Reference to Claim 5
Caputo et al. as modified by Lyons ‘639, Lyons ‘968, and Colvin et al. teach wherein the live event feed is modified via the first fantasy content in the first instance of the virtual environment, wherein the live event feed is modified via the second fantasy content in the second instance of the virtual environment, and wherein the first fantasy content is different from the second fantasy content (Caputo et al. as modified by Lyons ‘639 and Colvin et al. as described above where the live feed is embodied within the virtual environment as described in Lyons ‘639 (see Fig. 2 and Par. 34) and where Caputo et al. and Lyons ‘968 teaches fantasy game content for the VR game and environment as described above, and Colvin et al. which teach different VR gaming rooms can have different content themes. Examiner considers a live feed that is embedded and displayed within fantasy environments with different themes to constitute the live event feed being “modified” be the fantasy content).
In Reference to Claim 7
Caputo et al. teaches a system as described above in reference to Claim 1. Further Caputo et al. teaches where the system provides a plurality of instances to players (Par. 8, 28, 52 “the VR controller 70 may transport the player 300 into a bonus SVE that is different than the SVE 320”). However, Caputo et al. does not explicitly teach where the processor circuit is further caused to provide, in the virtual environment, a plurality of shared parallel instances that are associated with respective ones of a plurality of users.
Colvin et al. teaches a VR gaming system which teaches a plurality of shared parallel instances that are associated with respective ones of a plurality of users (Fig. 14 and Par. 232-238 which teaches that a VR casino environment can be divided into different virtual environment “rooms” which can have different virtual games and gaming machines and different virtual themes, and players can move between the different VR rooms. Examiner considers at least a VR room occupied by player to be “associated” with that player).
It would be desirable to modify the system of Caputo et al., Lyons ‘639, and Lyons ‘968 to include multiple instance of game rooms each offering a suite of VR gaming opportunities as taught by Colvin et al. in order to allow players in the gaming SVE of Caputo et al. to move to different gaming rooms as desired in or to go to rooms offering different gaming opportunities or rooms displaying different visual or aesthetic themes according to the player’s preferences.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to modify the system of Caputo et al., Lyons ‘639, and Lyons ‘968, to include multiple instance of game rooms each offering a suite of VR gaming opportunities as taught by Colvin et al.
In Reference to Claim 8
Caputo et al. as modified by Lyons ‘639, Lyons ‘968, and Colvin et al. teach where the plurality of shared parallel instances comprises a first shared parallel instance corresponding to a first user and a second shared parallel instance corresponding to a second user (See above in regard to Claim 7 which teaches a plurality of rooms which players can move between. Where examiner considers at least a VR room occupied by player to be “corresponding” to that player).
In Reference to Claim 9
Caputo et al. as modified by Lyons ‘639, Lyons ‘968, and Colvin et al. teach where the plurality of shared parallel VR instances as described above. However, they do not explicitly teach where one of the plurality of shared instances are exclusively shared with another one of the shared instances.
Caputo et al. teaches where particular game instances may be exclusively shared with another one of the shared instances (Par. 7-8 and 28 which teaches that only particular qualifying players are transported to the bonus gaming room).
It would be desirable to modify the parallel gaming rooms of Caputo et al. Lyons ‘639, Lyons ‘968, and Colvin et al. to include parallel gaming rooms that are exclusively shared with only players in a particular other room who qualify as taught by Caputo et al. in order to offer “exclusive” or “members only” gaming rooms that players must earn the ability to go into where gaming activity in a first gaming room. Thus, increasing the enjoyment of the players by providing them with the opportunity to game in what feels like a more special VR environment.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to include parallel gaming rooms that are exclusively shared with only players in a particular other room who qualify as taught by Caputo et al.
In Reference to Claim 10
Caputo et al. as modified by Lyons ‘639, Lyons ‘968, and Colvin et al. teach a system as described above in reference to Claim 7. However, as described above they do not explicitly teach where the plurality of users comprises a group of users that are associated with one another exclusive of the ones of the plurality of users.
Colvin et al. teaches a VR gaming environment (Par. 232) which teaches where the plurality of users comprises a group of users that are associated with one another exclusive of the ones of the plurality of users (Par. 122-123, 185, and 189 which teaches a “Friends List” for players where players are associated with a particular subset of other players designated a friends and where the player can use their list for communication or to invite the other player to join them at their particular game).
It would be desirable to modify the system of Caputo et al., Lyons ‘639, Lyons ‘968, and Colvin et al. to include a friends list as taught by Colvin et al. in order to allow players to find and communicate with their friends or buddies in game in order to better interact and player with them in the VR gaming environment when it includes a plurality of available rooms and gaming tables.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to modify the system of Caputo et al., Lyons ‘639, Lyons ‘968, and Colvin et al. to include a friends list as taught by Colvin et al.
In Reference to Claim 19
Caputo et al. teaches a method comprising providing, by the processor circuit, a virtual environment in a metaverse, wherein the virtual environment comprises a virtual electronic gaming machine (EGM) (Abstract, Par. 4, 15, 27 “shared virtual environment (SVE) that includes virtual electronic wagering game machines (vEGMs)”); receive an identification of a first instance of the virtual environment that comprises fantasy gameplay content that is not available in the physical world (Fig. 3 and Par. 50-51 which teaches a shared virtual environment in VR where players embodied by avatar can play virtual gaming machines. See also Fig. 4 and Par. 14, 29, 61 which teaches players are represented by fantasy avatars such as a dwarf or a dragon which may or may not have different abilities for gameplay. See also Par. 54 which teach that vEGM can be a virtual game not based on real-world game titles); and generate, via the processor circuit, the first instance of the virtual environment that comprises the fantasy gameplay content (Fig. 3 and Par. 50-51. See also Fig. 1 and Par. 37-39 which teaches a VR Controller which coordinated the generation and display of the virtual gaming environment) provide, via the processor circuit, a second instance of the virtual environment that is different from the first instance (Par. 8, 28, 52 “the VR controller 70 may transport the player 300 into a bonus SVE that is different than the SVE 320”).
Further, Caputo et al. teaches various other real-world gaming devices that are involved in various wagering game functionality in connection with the VR Controller and VR Devices (Fig. 1 and Par. 31, 33, 42 “Central Controller,” “Player Tracking Server,” “Back Bet Server.”) and where the virtual EGMs are games in the virtual environment which may “be wholly fictitious in that there are no real-world versions of the particular vEGM” (Par. 68. See also Par. 54). However, Caputo et al. does not explicitly teach identification of gameplay content from a gaming device that is in a physical world in connection with the VR gaming, providing, in the virtual environment, a plurality of shared parallel instances that are associated with the respective ones of a plurality of users, nor explicitly where the fantasy gameplay content comprises reels of a virtual slot game; receiving user input corresponding to a user interacting with the reels of the virtual slot game; and updating the first instance of the game based on the user input, wherein the user input influences a spin associated with the reels of the virtual slot game.
Lyons ‘639 teaches a gaming system which includes identification of gameplay content from a gaming device that is in a physical world in connection with the VR gaming (Fig. 1 and Par. 28-29 which teaches that VR headsets can receive data for conduction wagering games in VR from a Wagering Game Server or directly from particular physical wagering game machines).
It would be desirable to modify the system of Caputo et al. to receive identification of gameplay content from a gaming device that is in a physical world in connection with the VR gaming as taught by Lyons ‘639 in order to improve the regulation and accounting of the vEGM wagering games by integrating them in with existing casino wagering game management and accounting systems based on physical casino devices to help ensure fairness of wagering outcomes and dispute resolution.
Colvin et al. teaches a VR gaming system which teaches a plurality of shared parallel instances that are associated with respective ones of a plurality of users (Fig. 14 and Par. 232-238 which teaches that a VR casino environment can be divided into different virtual environment “rooms” which can have different virtual games and gaming machines and different virtual themes, and players can move between the different VR rooms. Examiner considers at least a VR room occupied by player to be “associated” with that player).
It would be desirable to modify the system of Caputo et al. and Lyons ‘639 to include multiple instance of game rooms each offering a suite of VR gaming opportunities as taught by Colvin et al. in order to allow players in the gaming SVE of Caputo et al. to move to different gaming rooms as desired in or to go to rooms offering different gaming opportunities or rooms displaying different visual or aesthetic themes according to the player’s preferences.
Lyons ‘968 teaches an electronic game which includes where the fantasy gameplay content comprises reels of a virtual slot game (Fig. 4 and 7 Par. 23 which teaches generating brand new custom game content for a slot machine game, and that “game content” includes reels and game symbols. Par. 40 which teaches various data for prompting generation including “game theme”, Par. 57 which teaches generating new fantasy content, Par. 76 which teaches generating the original game content such as “original imagery” and “original reel/wheel profiles” and Par. 82 which teaches “In one embodiment, the processor dynamically generates reel symbols 755, which are used to indicate an outcome of the game as specified in a dynamically generated pay table 752”); receiving user input corresponding to a user interacting with the reels of the virtual slot game; and updating the first instance of the game based on the user input, wherein the user input influences a spin associated with the reels of the virtual slot game (Fig. 4, 7 and Par. 47, 54, 76, 82, and Par. 95 which teaches where a player provide input to initiate play at the electronic gaming machine and based on that input and additional input for a generation prompt generates and presents a slot machine game with generated original gameplay content. See also Par. 49 and 76 which teach that the game can include reel spinning and Fig. 7 which depicts a 3x5 symbol array grid for a slot machine as is well known in the art).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to include fantasy content which includes reels of the slot machine game and player input, wagers, and spinning reels at the virtual slot machine game as taught by Lyons ‘968, in order to allow the player to customize the appearance or presentation of the vEGMs in the computer generated VR environment according to their liking and preferences. Including new original and fantasy appearances for the vEGMs that do not exist in any real-world EGM.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to modify the system of Caputo et al. to receive identification of gameplay content from a gaming device that is in a physical world in connection with the VR gaming as taught by Lyons ‘639, to modify the system of Caputo et al. to include multiple instance of game rooms each offering a suite of VR gaming opportunities as taught by Colvin et al., and to include fantasy content which includes the reels of the slot machine game and player input, wagers, and spinning reels at the virtual slot machine game as taught by Lyons ‘968.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/09/2026 have been fully considered. In light of applicant’s amendments to claims 15-16 the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112 have been withdrawn. Regarding applications arguments directed towards rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103, new grounds of rejection have been provided to better address the new scope of the amended claims. However, applicant’s amendments to the claims, the prior rejections of Claims 17-18 on the basis of non-functional descriptive material no longer apply to Claims 17 and 18 based on the additional limitations more specifically claiming the fantasy gameplay content as reels of a virtual slot game and the user’s interaction with the virtual slot game. As such these claims have been objected to, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARL V LARSEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3219. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday; 10:00 am - 6:30 pm.
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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.
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/CARL V LARSEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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