CTNF 18/928,143 CTNF 83518 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-9 and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 110538459 to Liu in view of US 2013/0038601 to Han . Re claim 1, Liu teaches : a control method, performed by a terminal, the method comprising: displaying a game interface, the game interface being configured to carry a virtual environment in which a virtual operation object is located, and the game interface including a virtual prop selection control set; Figs. 12-13 illustrate a graphical user interface presented to a player of a first-person shooter game from the perspective of a player character. The player character depicted as holding a rifle or throwing a grenade is interpreted as the claimed “virtual operation object”. The weapon selection controls 112 are interpreted as a “virtual prop selection control set.” controlling, in response to a first operation on a first target virtual prop selection control in the virtual prop selection control set, the virtual operation object to be equipped with a first target virtual prop corresponding to the first target virtual prop selection control; In Fig. 12, the rifle 112 has been selected using the touch screen UI element depicting the rifle, and the player character is shown as being equipped with it. and controlling, in response to a second operation on a second target virtual prop selection control in the virtual prop selection control set, the virtual operation object to throw a second target virtual prop corresponding to the second target virtual prop selection control; In Fig. 13, a grenade 116 has been selected using the touch screen UI element depicting the grenade, and the player character is shown as throwing it along a depicted trajectory. wherein an equipping operation on the first target virtual prop and a throwing operation on the second target virtual prop are implemented using parts of the virtual operation object. Figs. 12, 13, a user’s hands and arms are depicted as holding a rifle and throwing a grenade. Although Liu teaches substantially the same inventive concept, Liu is silent as to whether the player character (operation object) holds (equips) a firearm with different hand(s) than that used to throw a grenade. Han is an analogous prior art reference that teaches, see table 38 on p. 22, it was known to enable first-person shooter game characters to be customized to hold one or more weapons each in a different hand than a hand used to throw a weapon. Note in particular a “hold_r_rifle” character configuration described as “hold rifle in right hand” or “strike_r_sword” configuration described as “strike with sword in right hand”. Compare these right-handed weapon holding (equipping) configurations with a “throw_l” character configuration described as “throw weapon with left hand”. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art that the first-person shooter game character depicted in Liu could have been customized to hold the rifle of Fig 12. in a different hand than the hand used to throw the grenade in Fig. 13 as taught by Han without causing any unexpected results. The motivation would be to provide realistic gameplay that mimics personal preferences for weapon handedness. Re claims 2, 15 Table 38 of Han teaches it was known to freely configure weapon handedness, wherein a weapon can be held in a left or right hand (hold_l or hold_r) and the same weapon can be thrown with a left or right hand (throw_l or throw_r). Re claims 3, 16, Fig. 13 depicts a throwing parabola 115 of grenade 116 along with a prop identifier (a UI icon of the grenade weapon). Re claims 4, 17, because there are no steps recited to accomplish the intended use of “to reclaim the second target virtual prop”, it is interpreted that any second selection of the grenade UI icon after having selected a different icon (for example, the rifle) meets the limitation of being done to reclaim (use or control of) the grenade. Re claims 5-6, 18-19 Liu describes that virtual objects within an explosion range of a grenade will have their life value (equivalent to the claimed hit point) accordingly reduced up until the life value becomes zero. Refer to the paragraph that begins “virtual explosive refers to virtual objects within the virtual environment…”. Refer also to the paragraph that begins “scene based on often formed by a map”. Re claims 7-8, refer again to Table 38 of Han which teaches that a thrown weapon can be configured to be thrown by either the left or right hand of a player character (virtual object), and various weapons can be configured to be held by the left or right hand. Re claim 9, weapon selection on the UI is made via touch screen taps, see Figs. 12, 13. Re claims 14, 20, refer to the rejection of claim 1, wherein the rejection of the method necessarily involves a discussion of a device and computer program providing the invention of Liu . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 110538459 to Liu in view of US 2013/0038601 to Han and US 2021/0197089 A1 to Wang . Re claim 10, Wang is an analogous prior art action/adventure/battle video game that teaches, see Fig. 2, it was known to provide a second game interface distinct from an in-game interface for enabling players to configure and customize their avatar characters, including weapon customization. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date that Liu in view of Han could have enabled weapon-handedness configurations to be performed using a UI separate from an in-progress game UI without causing any unexpected results. Providing character customization UI’s is notoriously well-known in games such as first-person shooter and RPG games. Re claim 11, refer again to Table 38 of Han which teaches that a thrown weapon can be configured to be thrown by either the left or right hand of a player character (virtual object), and various weapons can be configured to be held by the left or right hand. Re claim 12, Fig. 13 depicts a throwing parabola 115 of grenade 116 along with a prop identifier (a UI icon of the grenade weapon). Re claims 13, Liu describes that virtual objects within an explosion range of a grenade will have their life value (equivalent to the claimed hit point) accordingly reduced up until the life value becomes zero. Refer to the paragraph that begins “virtual explosive refers to virtual objects within the virtual environment…”. Refer also to the paragraph that begins “scene based on often formed by a map” . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN J HYLINSKI whose telephone number is (571)270-1995. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10-530. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. 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. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /STEVEN J HYLINSKI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715 Application/Control Number: 18/928,143 Page 2 Art Unit: 3715 Application/Control Number: 18/928,143 Page 3 Art Unit: 3715 Application/Control Number: 18/928,143 Page 4 Art Unit: 3715 Application/Control Number: 18/928,143 Page 5 Art Unit: 3715 Application/Control Number: 18/928,143 Page 6 Art Unit: 3715 Application/Control Number: 18/928,143 Page 7 Art Unit: 3715
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