DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claims are directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Claim 22 recites “a non-volatile computer-readable medium”. Using its broadest reasonable interpretation, a non-volatile computer-readable medium (i.e. a software program or computer readable media) would include transitory data signals, which does not fall within a statutory category (see MPEP 2106.03, Section II. ELIGIBILITY STEP 1: WHETHER A CLAIM IS TO A STATUTORY CATEGORY, “For example, the BRI of machine readable media can encompass non-statutory transitory forms of signal transmission, such as a propagating electrical or electromagnetic signal per se. See In re Nuijten, 500 F.3d 1346, 84 USPQ2d 1495 (Fed. Cir. 2007). When the BRI encompasses transitory forms of signal transmission, a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 as failing to claim statutory subject matter would be appropriate. Thus, a claim to a computer readable medium that can be a compact disc or a carrier wave covers a non-statutory embodiment and therefore should be rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter. See, e.g., Mentor Graphics v. EVE-USA, Inc., 851 F.3d at 1294-95, 112 USPQ2d at 1134 (claims to a "machine-readable medium" were non-statutory, because their scope encompassed both statutory random-access memory and non-statutory carrier waves).). As the Specification fails to provide any definitions or embodiments of the non-volatile computer-readable medium, amending the claim to recite “non-transitory” may trigger new matter because a non-transitory embodiment is unsupported by Applicant’s disclosure. To overcome the rejection, Applicant can amend the claim so that it falls within one of the statutory categories of subject matter as defined by 35 USC 101, or alternatively, cancel the claim.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-12 and 14-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rejen (US 2012/0100911 A1) in view of Hanke et al. (US 9,539,498 B1).
Regarding claims 1, 15, and 22, Rejen discloses a computer-implemented method for a mixed-reality race game, the method comprising:
providing, by at least one computer processor, a virtual racing environments comprising a virtual racetrack, the virtual racetrack being a virtual representation of a real-world racetrack (see par. [0067], For example, a user is sitting at home playing a car racing game; however, the opponents in that race (rather than non-player characters) are avatars of real cars, driven by real pilots who, at the very same moment, are racing in a real circuit somewhere in the real world. The system enables the real-time participate in a real-world race, i.e., one that is actually taking place somewhere else in the world);
providing, by the at least one computer processor, a virtual racer car model representing a real-world racer car (see par. [0068], The system generates a virtual representation of the physical event, including a virtual representation of the real-world objects, and allows an end user to participate in the virtual representation through insertion of a virtual object (e.g., computer simulation, computer game, etc.); real-world objects (e.g., car, human, bulldozer, etc.));
providing, by the at least one computer processor, a controllable virtual racer car (see par. [0134], The virtual object can be user-controlled and/or controlled by artificial intelligence. In the racing game, for example, this is the racing car controlled by the player);
receiving, by the at least one computer processor, telemetry data from at least one sensor associated with the real-world racer car moving on the real-world racetrack, the telemetry data comprising at least position data and motion data of the real-world racer car (see par. [0069], The system 100 includes a car equipment 112 (e.g., a GPS receiver) positioned on the real-world car (i.e., dynamic object). For example, the GPS receiver 112 receives signals from multiple GPS satellites 105 and formulates a position of the car periodically throughout a race event 110);
calculating, by the at least one computer processor, virtual coordinates configured to represent a position in the virtual racetrack based at least in part on the telemetry data of the real-world racer car to associate the telemetry data of the real-world racer car with the virtual racer car model (see par. [0081], The real-data location module 332 determines a virtual location of a real-data object in the virtual environment relative to the user location based on a real location of the real-data object in the real environment);
receiving, by the at least one computer processor, from a user device, control data associated with the controllable virtual racer car (see par. [0068], The end user utilizes controls (e.g., keyboard, mouse, joystick, steering wheel, etc.) to manipulate the virtual object within the virtual representation);
obtaining, by the at least one computer processor, a video item associated with the geolocation information and profile of the real-world racer car (see par. [0073], One or more media casters 138 process the database 132 to provide real-time or near real-time data streams for the real-world events to a game server 142, a game engine 148, and/or a client device 150. The game server 142 can process the data streams and provide simulated events to a plurality of users. The client device 150 can process the data stream and provide a simulated event to a user; media casting would include the transmission of video, audio, and the like);
fitting, by the at least one computer processor, the video item on the virtual racer car model representing the real-world racer car to fit the video item on the virtual racer car model for the geographical location of the user device (see par. [0171], In some examples, media casters are servers connected to the Internet and are configured to retrieve event data from storage and to send the data in a continues stream to the end-user game stations, referred to generally as game clients, which are under the control of end-users (i.e., players). The data can include position data, telemetry data when available, and more generally, any data obtained or derived from the physical event);
calculating, by the at least one computer processor, a position and a speed of the virtual racer car model in the virtual coordinates of the virtual racetrack based on the telemetry data (see par. [0081], The real-data location module 332 determines a virtual location of a real-data object in the virtual environment relative to the user location based on a real location of the real-data object in the real environment);
calculating, by the at least one computer processor, a position and a speed of the controllable virtual racer car in the virtual coordinates of the virtual racetrack based on the control data (see par. [0156], In some examples, the interactions between real-world objects and virtual objects are managed utilizing polygon tunnels projected from the virtual car according to a speed and/or a bearing of the virtual car. When an end user positions the virtual car in close proximity to one of the GPS managed cars, one of the polygon tunnels intersects with the GPS managed car, identifying a potential collision between the two vehicles);
generating, by the at least one computer processor, in a display device associated with the user device, a visual representation of the mixed-reality race game comprising the virtual racing environment together with the controllable virtual racer car in the virtual racetrack, wherein the visual representation is generated at least partly based on the position and the speed of the virtual racer car model and the position and the speed of the controllable virtual racer car in the virtual coordinates (see par. [0154], The user-controlled object can be presented in a field of real-data objects while keeping the relative locations of the real-data objects in front and/or behind the user-controlled object, as in the real world).
However, Rejen does not explicitly disclose receiving user data comprising geolocation information of the user device the geolocation information defining geographical location of the user device.
Hanke teaches a location based game including receiving user data comprising geolocation information of the user device the geolocation information defining geographical location of the user device (see col. 3, lines 50-64, The data associated with the location of individuals in the real world can include the locations of mobile device users in the real world. In particular, users of mobile devices, such as smart phones, can optionally provide position information, in terms of geographic location in the real world). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the method of Rejen with the location information of Hanke in order to enhance certain location-based features or other functionality (see Hanke, col. 3, lines 50-64).
Regarding claims 2 and 20, Rejen discloses wherein the virtual racetrack comprises positioning data configured to define positions in the virtual racetrack, the positioning data comprising real-world coordinates configured to associate corresponding positions in the real-world racetrack with the defined positions in the virtual racetrack; or the virtual racetrack comprises positioning data defining positions in the virtual racetrack, the positioning data comprises virtual coordinates configured to represent positions in the virtual racetrack and real-world coordinates configured to represent positions in the real-world racetrack, the positioning data being configured to associate virtual coordinates with corresponding real-world racetrack, the virtual racetrack comprises positioning data comprising spatial mapping data configured to define positions of the virtual racetrack and corresponding real-world positions in the real-world racetrack (see par. [0179], In some examples, a representation of the local environment for the event includes position information of static objects (i.e., track). For example, the position information includes latitude, longitude, and elevation of points along the race track).
Regarding claims 3 and 16, Rejen discloses wherein the real-world racer car comprises one or more sensors configured to detect parameters of the real-world racer and to generate the telemetry data based on the detected parameters, and wherein the detected parameters comprise at least position and motion of the real-world racer car detected by the one or more sensors (see par. [0164], The position locating means can include, for example, one or more position sensors which provide real-time updated positions of the dynamic objects during the course of the event; also see par. [0165], In some examples, the dynamic object can also include additional sensors sensing other information related to the dynamic object (e.g., RPM, speed, throttle position, gear position, inertial measurement units (IMU) detecting the current rate of acceleration and changes in rotational attributes, including pitch, roll and yaw, etc.). In other examples, speed information can be derived from position and not obtained directly from a speed sensor, such as a speedometer on the real world object).
Regarding claim 4, Rejen discloses receiving, by the at least one computer processor, the telemetry data as continuous telemetry data from the real-world racer car; or receiving, by the at least one computer processor, the telemetry data as streaming telemetry data from the real-world racer car; or receiving, by the at least one computer processor, the telemetry data as continuous streaming telemetry data from the real-world racer car (see par. [0164], In other examples, the system includes a position locating means for continuously determining real-world positions of the dynamic objects during the event in relation to static objects within the environment).
Regarding claim 5, Rejen discloses receiving, by the at least one computer processor, the control data as continuous control data (see par. [0178], This capability can include initializing dynamic and virtual objects within the virtual representation, initializing the graphic engine, opening a log file, and/or configuring user controls (e.g., mouse, keyboard, gamepads, steering wheel, etc.). The user controls allow an end user (i.e., player) to control a virtual object injected into the virtual representation of the physical event; steering would be a continuous input to the game).
Regarding claim 6, Rejen discloses wherein the control data comprises at least motion control data, the motion control data defining motion of the controllable virtual racer car in the virtual racing environment (see par. [0178], This capability can include initializing dynamic and virtual objects within the virtual representation, initializing the graphic engine, opening a log file, and/or configuring user controls (e.g., mouse, keyboard, gamepads, steering wheel, etc.). The user controls allow an end user (i.e., player) to control a virtual object injected into the virtual representation of the physical event).
Regarding claim 7, Rejen discloses wherein the telemetry data is received as real-time telemetry data, and the method further comprises calculating continuously real-time position and speed of the virtual racer car model in the virtual racetrack based on the real-time telemetry data (see par. [0164], In other examples, the system includes a position locating means for continuously determining real-world positions of the dynamic objects during the event in relation to static objects within the environment).
Regarding claim 8, Rejen discloses continuously generating, by the at least one computer processor, a visual representation of the virtual environment representing, concurrently, instantaneous position and speed of the virtual racer car model and the controllable virtual racer car in the virtual racetrack based on the position and the speed of the virtual racer car model and the position and the speed of the controllable virtual racer car (see fig. 26 and par. [0137], FIG. 26 is a diagram of another exemplary game system 2600 and illustrates a race game (i.e., virtual world) with two cars (i.e., objects)).
Regarding claims 9 and 18, Rejen discloses receiving, by the at least one computer processor, environmental measurement data from one or more environmental sensors provided in connection with the real-world racetrack; calculating, by the at least one computer processor, racetrack data by utilizing the environmental measurement data; and determining, by the at least one computer processor, virtual racing environment characteristics of the virtual racing environment or virtual racetrack characteristics of the virtual racetrack based on the calculated racetrack data (see par. [0163], The system can also gather state information from the event (e.g., flags, signs, weather, etc.); also see par. [0068], The system can advantageously capture state information from the event to make the virtual representation of the event as realistic as possible; thus real-world weather/environmental data can be used in the game).
Regarding claim 10, Rejen discloses receiving, by the at least one computer processor, an input video-stream of a car race event occurring in the real-world racetrack, the input video-stream comprising the real-world race car, and wherein the virtual racing environment is provided based on, at least partly, the received input video-stream; and receiving, by the at least one computer processor, from the user device, a broadcast request for output video-stream of the car race event, wherein the request comprises the user data (see par. [0073], One or more media casters 138 process the database 132 to provide real-time or near real-time data streams for the real-world events to a game server 142, a game engine 148, and/or a client device 150. The game server 142 can process the data streams and provide simulated events to a plurality of users. The client device 150 can process the data stream and provide a simulated event to a user; media casting would include the transmission of video, audio, and the like).
Regarding claim 11, Rejen discloses identifying, by the at least one computer processor, the real-world racer car in the input video-stream, the identifying comprising defining profile data of the real-world race car; determining, by the at least one computer processor, that the defined profile data corresponds to a profile data representing the real-world race car that is stored in a race-car database; and broadcasting, by the at least one computer processor, as a response to the request, the output video-stream comprising the virtual racer car model with the fitted video item, the virtual racer car model representing the real-world racer car (see par. [0133], In some examples, a real-world object (RWO) is a moving object that (1) exists in the real world, (2) has some associated steering intelligence, and/or (3) is represented by an avatar within a virtual environment (world). Depending on the context, the RWO references both the object in the real world and its avatar in the virtual world. In a racing game, for example, this is any tracked real-world racing car (driver included)).
Regarding claim 12, Rejen discloses detecting, by the at least one computer processor, an orientation of the real-world race car in the input video-stream; calculating, by the at least one computer processor, an orientation for the generated video item based on the orientation of the real-world race car; generating, by the at least one computer processor, an oriented video item by applying the orientation to the video item; and fitting, by the at least one computer processor, the oriented video item in the input video-stream to provide the output video-stream (see par. [0137], The virtual world 2610 includes objects 2612 (e.g., real-world object, user-controlled object, etc.), logics 2613 (e.g., two objects cannot occupy the same space, etc.), rules 2614 (e.g., speed, physics, etc.), states 2615 (e.g., race, flag, etc.), and goals 2616 (e.g., finish line, exit, etc.). For example, one car is controlled by the user (i.e., data source A) and the other car is controlled by telemetry data from a real car received over the internet (i.e., data source B)).
Regarding claims 14 and 21, Rejen discloses further comprising one or more of the following: providing, by at least one computer processor, a plurality of virtual racing environments comprising the virtual racing environment, and comprising a plurality of virtual racetracks, the plurality of virtual racetrack being a plurality of virtual representations of the real-world racetrack; providing, by the at least one computer processor, a plurality of virtual racer car models representing a real-world racer car, the plurality of virtual racer car model comprising the virtual race car model; providing, by the at least one computer processor, a plurality of controllable virtual racer cars associated with a plurality of user devices, the plurality of controllable virtual racer cars comprising the controllable virtual racer car, and the plurality of user devices comprising the user device; fitting, by the at least one computer processor, a plurality of video items on a plurality of instances of the virtual racer car model representing the real-world racer car to fit each video item on each respective instance of the virtual racer car model for each respective geographical location of each respective user device; calculating, by the at least one computer processor, a position and a speed of each controllable virtual racer car in the virtual coordinates of the plurality of virtual racetracks based on the control data of each user device; generating, by the at least one computer processor, in the display device associated with each respective user device, a respective visual representation of the mixed-reality race game comprising each respective controllable virtual racer car in at least of the plurality of virtual racetracks of the plurality of virtual racing environment (see par. [0133], In some examples, a real-world object (RWO) is a moving object that (1) exists in the real world, (2) has some associated steering intelligence, and/or (3) is represented by an avatar within a virtual environment (world). Depending on the context, the RWO references both the object in the real world and its avatar in the virtual world. In a racing game, for example, this is any tracked real-world racing car (driver included); also see par. [0154], The user-controlled object can be presented in a field of real-data objects while keeping the relative locations of the real-data objects in front and/or behind the user-controlled object, as in the real world).
Regarding claim 17, Rejen discloses wherein the user device comprises one or more input devices configured to generate the control data as a response to user input (see par. [0178], This capability can include initializing dynamic and virtual objects within the virtual representation, initializing the graphic engine, opening a log file, and/or configuring user controls (e.g., mouse, keyboard, gamepads, steering wheel, etc.). The user controls allow an end user (i.e., player) to control a virtual object injected into the virtual representation of the physical event).
Regarding claim 19, Rejen discloses further comprising at least one of: a display device configured to present the visual representation of the mixed-reality race game; or the user device comprises a display device configured to present the visual representation of the mixed-reality race game (see fig. 26 and par. [0137], FIG. 26 is a diagram of another exemplary game system 2600 and illustrates a race game (i.e., virtual world) with two cars (i.e., objects)).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rejen (US 2012/0100911 A1) in view of Hanke et al. (US 9,539,498 B1) and further in view of Enzminger et al. (US 2024/0013616 A1).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Rejen and Hanke discloses the method as discussed above. However, the combination of Rejen and Hanke does not explicitly disclose further comprising one or more of the following: providing, by the at least one computer processor, the video item as a unique non-fungible token; or linking, by the at least one computer processor, the video item to a unique non-fungible token; or storing, by the at least one computer processor, the video item with a unique non-fungible token in a blockchain.
Enzminger teaches a gaming system further comprising one or more of the following: providing, by the at least one computer processor, the video item as a unique non-fungible token; or linking, by the at least one computer processor, the video item to a unique non-fungible token; or storing, by the at least one computer processor, the video item with a unique non-fungible token in a blockchain (see par. [0026], Database 102 may also include race replay information such as video clips, or graphical representations of the results of various events; also see par. [0182], Other examples of database models include the “object” model, chained model (such as in the case of a “blockchain” database)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the method of Rejen and Hanke with the blockchain database of Enzminger in order to automatically execute specific actions when predetermined conditions have been met and verified (see Enzminger, par. [0181]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Buxton, II et al. (US 10,953,330 B2)- teaches virtual reality racing incorporating real world objects
Vaden et al. (US 2010/0271367 A1)- teaches combining a real world event and a computer simulation
Pisanich (WO 02/062436 A2)- teaches integration of real time data into a gaming application
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLEN CHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5529. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 11:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST.
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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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/ALLEN CHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715 8/7/2026
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