DETAILED ACTION
The action is in response to the original filing on August 13, 2024 and the Remarks and Amendments filed on June 17, 2026. Claims 1-6 & 8-18 are pending and have been considered below. Claims 1-6 & 8-15 are amended accordingly.
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Japan on 08/15/2023. It is noted, however, that Applicant has not filed a certified copy of the 2023-132208 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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, 6-8, & 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akihiko Shirai (Pat. Pub. U.S.-20220414962-A1, herein after “Shirai”) in view of Luis Gutierrez et. al. (How to Tame a Wolf https://www.ign.com/wikis/minecraft/How_to_Tame_a_Wolf#How_to_Tame_a_Wolf, herein after “Minecraft”).
Regarding claim 1, Shirai teaches [a] method of displaying an object in a virtual space performed by an information processing device “processing circuitry 300 further includes a display controller 308” (Shirai, ¶ [0264]), additionally, “The functions and features described herein may also be executed by various distributed components of a system. For example, one or more processors may execute these system functions, wherein the processors are distributed across multiple components communicating in a network” (Shirai, ¶ [0268]),
the method comprising: determining that an avatar is within a reference range of the object in the virtual space;
determining at least one predetermined condition related to the avatar determined to be within the reference range of the object in the virtual space:
selecting an appearance variation from a plurality of appearance variations corresponding to respective display forms “rendering process” (Shirai, ¶ [0078]) of the object “predetermined object” (Shirai, ¶ [0084]) in the virtual space “Predetermined objects are any objects of various objects that can be placed in a virtual space and are typically one or some of the various objects that can be placed in the virtual space. Alternatively, predetermined objects may be all the various objects that can be placed in a virtual space” (Shirai, ¶ [0084]) based on the at least one predetermined condition “ … a rendering process implements an animation rendering function of rendering an animation of a combination of a predetermined object with a user object when the distance between the predetermined object and the user object is shorter than or equal to a first predetermined distance” (Shirai, ¶ [0078]) where a rendering process is triggered on an object once the user avatar comes within the predetermined distance;
and causing the object to be displayed, by a terminal device, in a display form corresponding to the appearance variation.
Shirai fails to efficiently teach the method comprising: determining that an avatar is within a reference range of the object in the virtual space;
determining at least one predetermined condition related to the avatar determined to be within the reference range of the object in the virtual space:
selecting an appearance variation from a plurality of appearance variations corresponding to respective display forms in the virtual space based on the at least one predetermined condition;
and causing the object to be displayed, by a terminal device, in a display form corresponding to the appearance variation.
Minecraft teaches the method comprising: determining that an avatar is within a reference range of the object in the virtual space “approach a wolf” (Minecraft) where the player character must be within a reference range in order to interact with the wolf, the reference range being the distance it takes for the wolf to detect the user. The Examiner would like to note that the reference cited is from Minecraft’s 1.18 version, released on November 30th, 2021 and can be accessed online;
determining at least one predetermined condition related to the avatar determined to be within the reference range of the object in the virtual space “approach a wolf with the bones in hand” (Minecraft) where the predetermined condition to tame a wolf would be to hold bones by selecting them in the player’s hotbar. The condition must be met while within a threshold distance of the wolf in order to interact with the mob:
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Minecraft screenshot, depicting a player’s view, who has tamed a wolf by approaching it and giving the wolf a bone.
selecting an appearance variation from a plurality of appearance variations corresponding to respective display forms in the virtual space based on the at least one predetermined condition “you'll know it's tamed when a red collar will appear around the wolf's neck” (Minecraft), in addition, “simply change the color of the wolf's collar by right-clicking or by pressing the left trigger while holding dye” (Minecraft) where the appearance variation is read as the collar, which is applied after taming the wolf, the collar color may be changed by interacting with the tamed wolf while holding dye;
and causing the object to be displayed, by a terminal device, in a display form corresponding to the appearance variation “a red collar will appear around the wolf's neck” (Minecraft) where the collar and tamed wolf appearance are displayed to the user.
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Minecraft screenshot, depicting a tamed wolf that has been interacted with while holding dye, thus changing the tamed wolf’s appearance.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of displaying a virtual object once the avatar is close taught by Shirai with the method of virtual objects that may be interacted with in a virtual space based on proximity and a predetermined condition taught by Minecraft to produce a virtual object display that is based on a predetermined condition such as when the user possesses a certain object within the virtual space and is within an interactable range. The motivation to do so would be to provide an immersive experience where objects interact with the user based on realistic criteria.
Regarding claim 2, Shirai in view of Minecraft teaches [t]he method according to claim 1,
wherein the predetermined condition comprises the avatar possessing another object that corresponds to the object “approach a wolf with the bones in hand” (Minecraft) where the predetermined condition to tame a wolf would be to hold bones by selecting them in the player’s hotbar. The condition is met when the avatar is possessing bones.
Regarding claim 6, Shirai in view of Minecraft teaches [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein:
the predetermined condition corresponds to at least one of: an appearance “In the example shown in FIG. 8, rendering information 800 of the user avatar M1 associates face part ID, hairstyle part ID, costume part ID, and the like with each avatar ID. Part information concerned with an appearance, such as face part ID, hairstyle part ID, and costume part ID, includes parameters for featuring the user avatar M1 and may be selected by an associated user” (Shirai, ¶ [0111]), an attribute “As described above, when the position/orientation information of one user avatar M1 includes information indicating the position and orientation of each of a plurality of parts of the user avatar M1, the avatar rendering section 2581 may express the position and orientation of each of the plurality of parts of the user avatar M1 in accordance with those pieces of information” (Shirai, ¶ [0128]), or a possessed object of the avatar “… the hand of a user or the hand of a user object refers to a part corresponding to a palm, fingers, and a thumb beyond the wrist of the user or user object” (Shirai, ¶ [0087]).
Minecraft additionally teaches where the predetermined condition corresponds to a possessed object of the avatar “approach a wolf with the bones in hand” (Minecraft) where the predetermined condition to tame a wolf would be to hold bones by selecting them in the player’s hotbar (the list of items at the bottom of the player’s screen). The condition is met when the avatar is possessing bones.
Regarding claim 8, Shirai in view of Minecraft teaches [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition corresponds to a location of the object in the virtual space “An animation may also express a change in the movement, deformation, or the like of a predetermined object. This is because, depending on the type of a predetermined object, giving the movement of a predetermined object by hand1ing the predetermined object with hand can be higher in consistency with reality” (Shirai, ¶ [0094]) where in order to interact with an object it must be at a location within the user’s reach.
Minecraft additionally teaches wherein the predetermined condition corresponds to a location of the object in the virtual space “Wolves are most commonly found in packs of fours, and will usually spawn in Biomes such as the Forest and Wooded Hills” (Minecraft) where the location of the wolves is set in biomes, additionally to tame wolves, the avatar must be within an interactable range of the wolf.
Regarding claim 11, Shirai in view of Minecraft teaches [t]he method according to claim 1, further comprising returning the object to a default state (Fig. 6, item ST600 “Default”) when a predetermined restoration condition “release condition” is satisfied “In step S2518, the server apparatus 10 determines whether the release condition (see the object information 1800 in FIG. 18) concerned with the k-th predetermined object is satisfied. When the release condition concerned with an exclusively used state and the release condition concerned with a shared state are associated with the k-th predetermined object (see, for example, predetermined object ID “B01” in FIG. 18) ... When the determination result is “YES”, the predetermined cancellation condition is satisfied, and the process proceeds to step S2520; otherwise, the process in the current cycle ends …” (Shirai, ¶ [0239]). Additionally, “In step S2522, the server apparatus 10 transmits an animation stop command to the terminal apparatus 20 rendering an animation for the k-th predetermined object. In this case, the associated terminal apparatus 20 stops the animation mode and renders various objects (including the user avatar M1) in the normal mode.” (Shirai, ¶ [0241]) where if a cancellation condition is met, the cycle ends and the object is released, or returned to a normal mode.
Regarding claim 13, Shirai teaches [a]n information processing system comprising:
an information processing device including a first communication circuit “FIG. 27 is a block diagram of processing circuitry that performs computer-based operations in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 27 illustrates processing circuitry 300 of server apparatus 10 and/or terminal apparatus 20” (Shirai, ¶ [0255]) the server additionally contains a communication section (Fig. 1, item 11), a first memory comprising first instructions, “The process data and instructions may be stored in memory 302” (Shirai, ¶ [0257]), and at least one first processor configured to execute the first instructions “A processing circuit includes a particularly programmed processor, for example, processor (CPU) 301, as shown in FIG. 27. A processing circuit also includes devices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and conventional circuit components arranged to perform the recited functions” (Shirai, ¶ [0259]) where the first processor executes instructions stored on the first memory; and
a terminal device including a display “As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal apparatus 20 includes an object information storage section 240, the animation data storage section 244, a server data acquisition section 250, a user input acquisition section 252, an avatar movement processing section 254, and a rendering section 258” (Shirai, ¶ [0108]) where the rendering section includes a method of displaying, a second communication circuit “The configuration of the terminal apparatus 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal apparatus 20 includes the terminal communication section 21 …” (Shirai, ¶ [0064]), a second memory comprising second instructions “… the terminal storage section 22 …” (Shirai, ¶ [0064]) where terminal storage is read as a second memory, and comprises instructions, and at least one second processor configured to execute the second instructions “… and the terminal control section 25” (Shirai, ¶ [0064]) where the terminal control section is read as a second processor executing its provided instructions, wherein the first instructions are configured to cause the first processor to transmit information on a virtual space in which an object is placed to the terminal device by the first communication circuit “As shown in FIG. 16, the server apparatus 10 includes an object information storage section 140, the distance state storage section 144, the animation information storage section 146, a positional relationship calculation section 150 (an example of an information generating section), an interference detecting section 154, an object management section 156, an animation control section 157, and a prohibiting section 158” (Shirai, ¶ [0145]) all of which is communicated to the terminal device by the network
wherein the second instructions are configured to cause the second processor to display the virtual space on the display “the server apparatus 10 transmits a rendering command including a data ID concerned with associated first animation data to the associated terminal apparatus 20 in order to render an animation” (Shirai, ¶ [0214]) where the rendered space is displayed based on the information received from the information processing device via the second communication circuit “… the associated terminal apparatus 20 renders an animation in accordance with the first animation data associated with the data ID included in the rendering command” (Shirai, ¶ [0214]),
wherein the first instructions are configured to cause the first processor to:
determine that an avatar is within a reference range of the object in the virtual space;
determine at least one predetermined condition related to the avatar determined to be within the reference range of the object in the virtual space;
select an appearance variation from a plurality of appearance variations corresponding to respective display forms of the object in the virtual space based on the at least one predetermined condition; and
transmit information regarding a display form of the object corresponding to the appearance variation to the terminal device “ the server apparatus 10 transmits a rendering command including a data ID concerned with associated first animation data to the associated terminal apparatus 20 in order to render an animation concerned with a combination of the k-th predetermined object with the user avatar M1 that has established the exclusively used state of the k-th predetermined object” (Shirai, ¶ [0199]) where the rendering information is sent to the terminal device to display the correct animation based on the object state via the first communication circuit “FIG. 27 is a block diagram of processing circuitry that performs computer-based operations in accordance with the present disclosure” (Shirai, ¶ [0255]) where circuitry is included to provide instructions to and from the processor, and
wherein the second instructions are configured to cause the second processor to display the object “The terminal control section 25 launches a virtual reality application in response to user's operation. The terminal control section 25 cooperates with the server apparatus 10 to execute various processes concerned with virtual reality. For example, the terminal control section 25 causes the display section 23 to display a virtual space image” (Shirai, ¶ [0075]) where the terminal processor executes instructions such as display, according to the display form of the object corresponding to the appearance variation “server apparatus 10 executes an adjustment process on the predetermined object in the exclusively used state by one user avatar M1 (hereinafter, also referred to as “second adjustment process”)” (Shirai, ¶ [0206]) it is also to be noted that the server apparatus and terminal apparatus may have interchangeable capabilities.
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Shirai, Fig. 1, with server apparatus (item 10), which communicates to a network (item 3), and communicates from the network to the terminal apparatus (item 20) to display to the viewer (item 23)
Shirai fails to explicitly teach first instructions are configured to cause the first processor to:
determine that an avatar is within a reference range of the object in the virtual space;
determine at least one predetermined condition related to the avatar determined to be within the reference range of the object in the virtual space;
select an appearance variation from a plurality of appearance variations corresponding to respective display forms of the object in the virtual space based on the at least one predetermined condition.
Minecraft teaches determine that an avatar is within a reference range of the object in the virtual space “approach a wolf” (Minecraft) where the player character must be within a reference range in order to interact with the wolf, the reference range being the distance it takes for the wolf to detect the user;
determine at least one predetermined condition related to the avatar determined to be within the reference range of the object in the virtual space “approach a wolf with the bones in hand” (Minecraft) where the predetermined condition to tame a wolf would be to hold bones by selecting them in the player’s hotbar. The condition must be met while within a threshold distance of the wolf in order to interact with the mob;
select an appearance variation from a plurality of appearance variations corresponding to respective display forms of the object in the virtual space based on the at least one predetermined condition “you'll know it's tamed when a red collar will appear around the wolf's neck” (Minecraft), in addition, “simply change the color of the wolf's collar by right-clicking or by pressing the left trigger while holding dye” (Minecraft) where the appearance variation is read as the collar, which is applied after taming the wolf, the collar color may be changed by interacting with the tamed wolf while holding dye.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the use of a first set of processor and memory in combination with a second set of processor and memory in order to communicate instructions relating to the display of an object taught by Shirai with the method of virtual objects that may be interacted with in a virtual space based on proximity and a predetermined condition taught by Minecraft to produce a virtual object display that is based on a predetermined condition such as when the user possesses a certain object within the virtual space and is within an interactable range, and where the display information is transmitted between two sets of communication circuitries. The motivation to do so would be to allow the display to be updated based on the predetermined condition and appearance variation while having multiple processors to reduce strain or to allow for communication between devices.
Regarding claims 14 & 15, Shirai teaches [a]n information processing device comprising a processing unit “FIG. 27 is a block diagram of processing circuitry that performs computer-based operations in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 27 illustrates processing circuitry 300 of server apparatus 10 and/or terminal apparatus 20 …” (Shirai, ¶ [0255]), configured to:
determine that an avatar is within a reference range of an object in a virtual space:
determine at least one predetermined condition related to the avatar determined to be within the reference range of the object in the virtual space:
select an appearance variation from a plurality of appearance variations corresponding respective display forms of the object in the virtual space based on the at least one predetermined condition; and
cause the object to be displayed in a display form corresponding to the appearance variation.
Shirai fails to explicitly teach determine that an avatar is within a reference range of an object in a virtual space:
determine at least one predetermined condition related to the avatar determined to be within the reference range of the object in the virtual space:
select an appearance variation from a plurality of appearance variations corresponding respective display forms of the object in the virtual space based on the at least one predetermined condition; and
cause the object to be displayed in a display form corresponding to the appearance variation.
Minecraft teaches determine that an avatar is within a reference range of an object in a virtual space “approach a wolf” (Minecraft) where the player character must be within a reference range in order to interact with the wolf, the reference range being the distance it takes for the wolf to detect the user:
determine at least one predetermined condition related to the avatar determined to be within the reference range of the object in the virtual space “approach a wolf with the bones in hand” (Minecraft) where the predetermined condition to tame a wolf would be to hold bones by selecting them in the player’s hotbar. The condition must be met while within a threshold distance of the wolf in order to interact with the mob:
select an appearance variation from a plurality of appearance variations corresponding respective display forms of the object in the virtual space based on the at least one predetermined condition “you'll know it's tamed when a red collar will appear around the wolf's neck” (Minecraft), in addition, “simply change the color of the wolf's collar by right-clicking or by pressing the left trigger while holding dye” (Minecraft) where the appearance variation is read as the collar, which is applied after taming the wolf, the collar color may be changed by interacting with the tamed wolf while holding dye; and
cause the object to be displayed in a display form corresponding to the appearance variation “a red collar will appear around the wolf's neck” (Minecraft) where the collar and tamed wolf appearance are displayed to the user.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of displaying a virtual object once the avatar is close taught by Shirai with the method of virtual objects that may be interacted with in a virtual space based on proximity and a predetermined condition taught by Minecraft to produce a virtual object display that is based on a predetermined condition such as when the user possesses a certain object within the virtual space and is within an interactable range. The motivation to do so would be to provide an immersive experience where objects interact with the user based on realistic criteria.
Regarding claim 15, claim 14 is substantially similar to claim 15, hence the rejection analysis for claim 14 is also applied to claim 15. Shirai in view of Minecraft teaches the additional limitations of [a] non-transitory computer-readable storage medium “the instructions may be stored on CDs, DVDs, in FLASH memory, RAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, hard disk or any other non-transitory computer readable medium of an information processing device” (Shirai, ¶ [0257]) comprising instructions for causing a processor to
determine that an avatar is within a reference range of an object in a virtual space (Minecraft);
determine at least one predetermined condition related to the avatar determined to be within the reference range of the object in the virtual space (Minecraft);
select an appearance variation from a plurality of appearance variations corresponding to respective display forms of the object in the virtual space based on the at least one predetermined condition (Minecraft); and
cause the object to be displayed in a display form corresponding to the appearance variation (Minecraft).
Regarding claim 16, Shirai in view of Minecraft teach [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition comprises an angular range of the avatar relative to the object “A tamed wolf can be commanded to follow you and stay. If you command it to stay, as long as it's in a safe area, it won't die or despawn. However, should the wolf be following you, it'll attack any mobs that you attack” (Minecraft) where the wolf is considered an object that follows the player after being tamed and while the wolf is not commanded to sit (stay). The following act is read as following the user based on a distance and direction, or angular range. It is additionally noted that mobs in Minecraft may look at the player once the player is in range, which may also be interpreted as a predetermined condition comprising a direction and distance of the avatar relative to the object.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirai in view of Minecraft and Akihiko Shirai (Pat. Pub. US-20230162433-A1, herein after “Shirai 2”).
Regarding claim 3, Shirai in view of Minecraft teaches [t]he method according to claim 1,
Shirai in view of Minecraft does not explicitly teach wherein the predetermined condition comprises the avatar performing a shooting operation to capture the virtual space.
Shirai 2 teaches wherein the predetermined condition comprises the avatar performing a shooting operation to capture the virtual space “the predetermined event is the image acquisition event, and the preparation processing includes processing for activating the operation button B602 (see FIG. 6) (making the operation button B602 operable), which is the shutter button, as an interface for generating an image acquisition event. Preparation processing is performed on the terminal image for the user for which it is determined that the first predetermined condition is satisfied” (Shirai 2, ¶ [0160]) where the user is acquiring an image causing the predetermined event to be satisfied and unlocking the corresponding operation.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of displaying a virtual object once the avatar is close taught by Shirai with the use of displaying the object when the user is taking a photo taught by Shirai 2 to produce a virtual object display that is based on a predetermined condition such as when taking a photo. The motivation to do so would be to allow for easier image capturing in the virtual space, where the desired object to photograph will be present.
Claims 4 & 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirai in view of Minecraft and 渡邊 匡志 (Masashi Watanabe) (Pat. Pub. JP-7324470-B2, herein after “Watanabe”).
Regarding claim 4, Shirai in view of Minecraft teaches [t]he method according to claim 1, further comprising adjusting an orientation of the object within the virtual space “an animation relates to a combination of the predetermined object with the hand part M2 of the user avatar M1. In this case, the animation rendering section 2584 may perform rendering such that the animation of the hand part M2 is naturally coupled to the wrist joint of the user avatar M1 in accordance with the position and orientation of the wrist of the user avatar M1” (Shirai, ¶ [0139]),
Shirai does not explicitly teach where a predetermined region of the object faces the avatar.
Watanabe teaches that a predetermined region of the object faces the avatar “the local coordinate system may be set with the orientation indicated by the position/orientation information relating to the representative point of the user avatar M1 as the front direction. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 14, when the dialogue partner user avatar M1 (in FIG. 14, the user avatar M1 with the username “user B”) is identified, the local coordinate system faces the dialogue partner user avatar M1. The direction may be set as the front direction” (Watanabe, Page 19) where a dialogue partner is an object, and the two avatars face each other.
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Watanabe, Fig. 14, user avatars (item M1) facing each other.
Minecraft additionally teaches adjusting an orientation of the object within the virtual space that a predetermined region of the object faces the avatar.
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Minecraft screenshot, depicting a tamed wolf with a dyed collar. Once a wolf is tamed, it can follow the user, and may also turn to look at the player once they approach the wolf. Adjusting the orientation of the mob’s head is also done with hostile mobs which may attack the player once the player is within the detection range. For clarity on the record Minecraft’s 1.18 version, released on November 30th, 2021 as well as its release notes can be accessed online in addition to the reference cited herein.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of displaying a virtual object once the avatar is close taught by Shirai with the use of objects facing the user avatar taught by Watanabe to produce a virtual object display that presents a predetermined region to the user once a predetermined condition such as proximity is satisfied. The motivation to do so would be to allow form multiple users to view a presenting face of the virtual object.
Regarding claim 5, Shirai in view of Minecraft teaches [t]he method according to claim 1, further comprising adjusting an orientation of the object within the virtual space “an animation relates to a combination of the predetermined object with the hand part M2 of the user avatar M1. In this case, the animation rendering section 2584 may perform rendering such that the animation of the hand part M2 is naturally coupled to the wrist joint of the user avatar M1 in accordance with the position and orientation of the wrist of the user avatar M1” (Shirai, ¶ [0139])
Shirai does not explicitly teach that a predetermined region of the object faces a representative point of a plurality of avatars satisfy the predetermined condition and are located within the reference range.
Watanabe teaches that a predetermined region of the object faces a representative point of a plurality of avatars satisfy the predetermined condition and are located within the reference range “… the user avatar M1 has one or more specific parts whose orientation can be changed, the position/orientation information of the user avatar M1 may include information representing the orientation of the one or more specific parts … for example, the face, upper body, eyes, and the like” (Watanabe, Page 10), “Each value of various camera parameters of the camera 60 may be calculated. That is, the sitting parameter calculation unit 1701 calculates various camera parameters of the virtual camera 60 associated with the one user avatar M1 based on the part orientation operation input (particularly, face part orientation operation input) associated with the one user avatar M1. can be calculated. Thereby, for example, the user can interact with a plurality of friend avatars based on a terminal image that can selectively display a plurality of friend avatars in front of the user avatar M1 when the user avatar M1 is seated” (Watanabe, Page 19) where multiple characters within the same specific space may be seated and face each other.
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Watanabe, Fig. 13, user avatar (item M1) facing forward once sat.
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Watanabe, Fig. 14, multiple user avatars (item M1) facing each other.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of displaying a virtual object once the avatar is close taught by Shirai with the use of multiple avatars taught by Watanabe to produce a virtual object display that can face multiple users once a predetermined condition such as proximity is satisfied. The motivation to do so would be to allow form multiple users to view a presenting face of the virtual object.
Claims 9 & 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirai in view of Minecraft and Chao Shen (Pat. Pub. WO-2019095360-A1, herein after “Shen”).
Regarding claim 9, Shirai in view of Minecraft teaches [t]he method according to claim 1.
Shirai in view of Minecraft does not explicitly teach wherein the object is a watch.
Shen teaches wherein the object is a watch “The virtual watch 1003 is a complete object entity in the virtual space, while the menu 1004 is also a complete object entity in the virtual space. The virtual watch 1003 is used to implement the time display logic of the watch, the display rendering of the watch, and the menu 1004 is used to implement the display and hiding logic of the menu and the logic for interacting with the menu” (Shen, Page 14).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of displaying a virtual object once the avatar is close taught by Shirai with the watch object taught by Shen to produce a virtual watch object display that can face multiple users once a predetermined condition such as proximity is satisfied. The motivation to do so would be to allow for multiple users to view a presenting face of the virtual watch object.
Regarding claim 10, Shirai in view of Minecraft and Shen teaches [t]he method according to claim 9, wherein:
the predetermined condition corresponds to a distance between the reference range and a reference distance “approach a wolf with the bones in hand and, when close enough, feed them the bones” (Minecraft) where the user must be within a distance, or range to give the wolf bones.
Minecraft fails to teach the appearance variation comprises displaying an analog time
Shen teaches the appearance variation comprises displaying an analog time “The virtual watch can be either digital or pointer-style. The time is displayed on the virtual watch so that the character associated with the client 101 can know the real world time without taking off the helmet” (Shen, Page 13) where pointer style is read as analog.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the use of a reference range which the object may detect an avatar once they are within a reference distance taught by Minecraft with the appearance variation of the watch being analog taught by Shen to produce a virtual watch display that can be analog once a user crosses a reference distance. The motivation to do so would be to allow for the watch face to change based on its observation.
Claim 12 & 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirai in view of Minecraft and Honda Yasuaki (Pat. Pub. JP-H10105541-A, herein after “Yasuaki”).
Regarding claim 12, Shirai in view of Minecraft teaches [t]he information processing method according to claim 1,
Shirai in view of Minecraft does not teach wherein the predetermined condition comprises the avatar interacting with a switching object provided in the virtual space; and
the appearance variation corresponds to a local display mode.
Yasuaki teaches wherein the predetermined condition comprises the avatar interacting with a switching object provided in the virtual space “When the switch button 201 is clicked, the browser (the client terminal 13) connects to a predetermined bureau (the shared server terminal 11). When a browser is connected to a bureau, the bureau sends updates about the … browser, and connects updates about the already connected browser... Thereby, as described above, the same world is shared between a plurality of users (browser).” (Yasuaki, Page 28) where interacting with the switch button can be read as a predetermined condition of interacting with a switching object; and
the appearance variation corresponds to a local display mode “if it is determined that the switching button 201 has been clicked, the process proceeds to step S202, and the operation mode is set to the non-shared mode. That is, the display of the switching button 201 is changed as shown in FIG. 30, and the multi-user window is closed” (Yasuaki, Page 29) where the non-shared mode is considered local, and the shared mode is considered global or public.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of displaying a virtual object once the avatar is close taught by Shirai and various predetermined conditions taught by Minecraft with the use of multiple avatars whom can toggle a global or local display taught by Yasuaki to produce a virtual object display that can be viewed individually or by a group. The motivation to do so would be to allow for a user to experience the display on their own or with other users “… so that a plurality of users can share the same virtual reality space” (Yasuaki, Page 2).
Regarding claim 17, Shirai in view of Minecraft and Yasuaki teaches [t]he method according to claim 12, further comprising, prior to selecting the appearance variation from the plurality of appearance variations, causing the object to be displayed in a global display form “The shared server terminal 11 is arranged in the virtual reality space, and serves as an update object that constitutes the virtual reality space. For example, an avatar representing each user is managed, so that a plurality of users can share the same virtual reality space” (Yasuaki, Page 2) where multiple users sharing the virtual space is considered a global display.
Regarding claim 18, Shirai in view of Minecraft and Yasuaki teaches [t]he method according to claim 17, wherein the global display form corresponds to a group of avatars that includes the avatar “More specifically, the host A may, for example, read … a three-dimensional virtual reality space in another predetermined area (hereinafter referred to as appropriate). 3D image data for providing a virtual reality space). Note that this three-dimensional image data includes only basic objects whose basic state does not change (even if it changes, it changes autonomously, such as a ferris wheel, a neon sign, etc.). There is no static data. For example, objects commonly used by a plurality of users, such as buildings and roads, are basic objects” (Yasuaki, Page 2) where objects are established to build a 3D virtual environment. Additionally, “When the switch button 201 is clicked, the browser (the client terminal 13) connects to a predetermined bureau (the shared server terminal 11). When a browser is connected to a bureau, the bureau sends updates about the … browser, and connects updates about the already connected browser... Thereby, as described above, the same world is shared between a plurality of users (browser).” (Yasuaki, Page 28) where the sharing of the world among several users is read as a global display form that corresponds to a group of avatars, including the user.
Response to Arguments
The Examiner would like to thank the Applicant for their patience and cooperation during the application’s prosecution. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 6-8, 11 & 13-15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, pages 7-9, filed June 17th, 2026, with respect to the rejections of claims 1, 6-8, 11, & 13-15 under § 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of Luis Gutierrez et. al. (https://www.ign.com/wikis/minecraft/How_to_Tame_a_Wolf#How_to_Tame_a_Wolf, herein after “Minecraft”).
Applicant argues reference Shirai does not disclose determining that an avatar is within a reference range of the object in the virtual space; and determining at least one predetermined condition related to the avatar. The applicant further argues that Shirai does not additionally teach of appearance variations corresponding to respective display forms of the object in the virtual space based on the predetermined condition. After further consideration the Examiner is persuaded and the previous rejection is withdrawn, however a new rejection is made in view of Minecraft. Minecraft teaches of interactions with mobs, specifically a wolf in the cited reference, which is read as a virtual object. Minecraft additionally teaches of a reference range which is utilized in tandem with a predetermined condition in order to interact in various ways with the object “approach a wolf with the bones in hand” where the distance that the wolf can detect the user is the reference range, and the user’s possession of bones is read as a predetermined condition. Minecraft additionally teaches or appearance variations that correspond to the display forms based on the predetermined condition “you'll know it's tamed when a red collar will appear around the wolf's neck”, in addition, “simply change the color of the wolf's collar by right-clicking or by pressing the left trigger while holding dye” where the collar and its various colors are read as appearance variations, and correspond to the display forms based on the predetermined condition of the user giving the wolf bones or dye. The Examiner notes that the currently cited art may not necessarily utilize features disclosed in figure 11 of the application and is invited to contact the Examiner for discussion. Claims 13, 14, and 15 are rejected for substantially similar reasons. Claims 6, 8, and 11 incorporate the new rejection from the Minecraft reference.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, pages 9-10, filed June 17th, 2026, with respect to the rejections of claims 2-5, 9, 10, & 12 under § 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of Luis Gutierrez et. al. (https://www.ign.com/wikis/minecraft/How_to_Tame_a_Wolf#How_to_Tame_a_Wolf, herein after “Minecraft”).
Applicant argues the dependent claims 2-5, 9, 10, and 12 are not obvious over the cited references based on the amended limitations in claim 1 as they incorporate the elements of claim 1. After further consideration the Examiner is persuaded and the previous rejection is withdrawn, however a new rejection is made in view of Minecraft for the same reasons as mentioned above for claim 1.
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.
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/C.A.U./Examiner, Art Unit 2611
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