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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
This is in response to applicant’s amendment/response filed on 07/27/2026, which has been entered and made of record. Claims 1, 6, 8, 10-15, 20 have been amended. Claims 2, 9, 16 has been cancelled. No claim has been added. Claims 1, 3-8, 10-15, 17-20 are pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments on 07/27/2026 have been fully considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1, 3-4, 7-8, 10-11, 14-15, 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Golden et al. (US Pub 2020/0054939 A1) in view of Gordon et al. (US Pub 2023/0081658 A1) and Holme et al. (US Patent 9,669,291 B1).
As to claim 1, Golden discloses a method of virtual (Golden, abstract), comprising:
obtaining a geographic location and state information of a terminal device associated a first scene (Golden, ¶0023, “the positions of players can be monitored or tracked using, for instance, a positioning system (e.g. a GPS system) associated with a player's mobile computing device (e.g. cell phone, smartphone, gaming device, or other device). As players move about in the real world, player position information can be provided to the game server hosting the parallel reality game over a network. The game server can update player positions in the parallel virtual world to correspond with the player positions in the real world.” ¶0027, “users of mobile devices, such as smart phones, can optionally provide position information, in terms of geographic location in the real world, in order to enhance certain location-based features or other functionality. This data can be used to determine the placement of virtual elements in the parallel virtual world.” ¶0031, “the game server can locate virtual objects based on local data providing locations of cultural, recreational, or commercial value, rod map data providing the locations of roads and highways, waterways, private property, and other unsafe locations, hazard data, weather data, event calendar data, and other suitable data. As an example, the game server can locate virtual elements at locations in the virtual world based on data associated with real world conditions corresponding to locations of public, educational, commercial, or recreational value, such as locations of public artwork, tourist attractions, scenic vistas, libraries, or hiking trails.” ¶0047, “(2) data associated with players of the location-based game (e.g. player information, player experience level, player currency, current player positions in the virtual world/real world, player energy level, player preferences, team information, faction information, etc.);” “(5) data associated with real world objects, landmarks, positions linked to virtual world elements (e.g. location of real world objects/landmarks, description of real world objects/landmarks, relevance of virtual elements linked to real world objects, etc.); “ “(7) data associated with player actions/input (e.g. current player positions, past player positions, player moves, player input, player queries, player communications, etc.); and (8) any other data used, related to, or obtained during implementation of the location-based game.” ¶0072, “a user may optionally provide current position information associated with the user's mobile device, to enhance location enabled features or other features on the user's mobile device.”);
the state information including current environment information of a current environment in which the terminal device is located and user characteristic information of a user associated with the terminal device (¶0032, “(3) avoiding placement of virtual elements in locations corresponding to hazardous areas in the virtual world; (4) avoiding placement of virtual elements in locations corresponding to low pedestrian traffic at night; (5) placement of virtual elements in locations corresponding to sheltered locations in the real world during bad weather; (6) placement of virtual elements in locations corresponding to outdoor locations in the real world during good weather” ¶0065, “current and past locations of individual players; hazard data; weather data; event calendar data” ¶0089, “determine to provide more placements of virtual objects in sheltered locations during bad weather and to provide more placements of virtual objects outdoors during good weather.” Hazardous area and weather can be environment information. ¶0060, “access and analyze personal information about users, or make use of personal information, such as location information, the users may be provided with an opportunity to control whether programs or features collect the information and control whether and/or how to receive content from the system or other application.” Personal information about user is user characteristic information. ¶0061, “the user interface can display player information 315, such as player name, experience level and other information.”)
transmitting the geographic location and the state information to a server device, the server device being configured to (ii) determine a first virtual (¶0023, “the positions of players can be monitored or tracked using, for instance, a positioning system (e.g. a GPS system) associated with a player's mobile computing device (e.g. cell phone, smartphone, gaming device, or other device). As players move about in the real world, player position information can be provided to the game server hosting the parallel reality game over a network. The game server can update player positions in the parallel virtual world to correspond with the player positions in the real world.” ¶0031, “the game server can locate virtual objects based on local data providing locations of cultural, recreational, or commercial value, rod map data providing the locations of roads and highways, waterways, private property, and other unsafe locations, hazard data, weather data, event calendar data, and other suitable data. As an example, the game server can locate virtual elements at locations in the virtual world based on data associated with real world conditions corresponding to locations of public, educational, commercial, or recreational value, such as locations of public artwork, tourist attractions, scenic vistas, libraries, or hiking trails.” ¶0049, “The game server 110 can be configured to receive requests for game data from one or more clients 120 (for instance, via remote procedure calls (RPCs)) and to respond to those requests via the network 130. For instance, the game server 110 can encode game data in one or more data files and provide the data files to the client 120. In addition, the game server 110 can be configured to receive game data (e.g. player positions, player actions, player input, etc.) from one or more clients 120 via the network 130. For instance, the client device 120 can be configured to periodically send player input, player location, and other updates to the game server 110, which the game server 110 uses to update game data in the game database 115 to reflect any and all changed conditions for the game.” ¶0050, “The universal game module 112 receives game data from clients 120 (e.g. player input, player position, player actions, player status, landmark information, etc.) and incorporates the game data received into the overall location-based game for all players of the location-based game.”);
receiving the geographic location information indicating the geographic location of the first virtual ¶0027, “This data can be used to determine the placement of virtual elements in the parallel virtual world.” ¶0031, “The game server can locate virtual objects in the parallel virtual world based on other data associated with real world conditions. For instance, the game server can locate virtual objects based on local data providing locations of cultural, recreational, or commercial value, rod map data providing the locations of roads and highways, waterways, private property, and other unsafe locations, hazard data, weather data, event calendar data, and other suitable data. As an example, the game server can locate virtual elements at locations in the virtual world based on data associated with real world conditions corresponding to locations of public, educational, commercial, or recreational value, such as locations of public artwork, tourist attractions, scenic vistas, libraries, or hiking trails.” ¶0074, “The locator module 114 can determine to locate virtual elements at locations in the virtual world corresponding to real world locations with high individual traffic. Real world locations with high individual traffic are typically public and readily accessible. As a result, placement of virtual elements at locations corresponding to areas of higher individual traffic allows players to more easily interact with virtual elements as part of the parallel reality game.” ¶0084, “the locator module 114 can analyze current player position and direction, past player position and direction, the locations of traversable paths proximate the players and predict a future path for the player. At (608), the method can include locating a virtual element along the predicted player path.” ¶0085, “The locator module 114 can analyze the data associated with real world conditions, such as past and current player position and data associated with traversable paths proximate the player to predict travel path 656 for the player. The locator module 114 can then locate a virtual element, such as virtual energy 670, along the predicted player path 656.”); and
obtaining, by processing circuitry of the terminal device, the first virtual (¶0008, “presenting on a user interface of a display device a representation of the virtual world. The representation of the virtual world includes the virtual element located at the location determined based on the data associated with the one or more real world conditions.” ¶0039, “referring to FIG. 2, a game objective can require players to capture or claim ownership of virtual elements 230 located at various virtual locations in the virtual world 210. These virtual elements 230 can be linked to landmarks, geographic locations, or objects 240 in the real world 200. The real world landmarks or objects 240 can be works of art, monuments, buildings, businesses, libraries, museums, or other suitable real world landmarks or objects. To capture these virtual elements 230, a player must travel to the landmark or geographic location 240 linked to the virtual elements 230 in the real world and must perform any necessary interactions with the virtual elements 230 in the virtual world 210. For example, player A of FIG. 2 will have to travel to a landmark 240 in the real world 200 in order to interact with or capture a virtual element 230 linked with that particular landmark 240. The interaction with the virtual element 230 can require action in the real world, such as taking a photograph and/or verifying, obtaining, or capturing other information about the landmark or object 240 associated with the virtual element 230.” ¶0074, “The locator module 114 can determine to locate virtual elements at locations in the virtual world corresponding to real world locations with high individual traffic.” ¶0086, “The locator module 114 can analyze the data and determine a location for placement of a virtual element at a location in the virtual world corresponding to the locations of cultural, recreation, or commercial value in the real world.”).
Golden teaches virtual elements and virtual energy (Golden, ¶0085, “The locator module 114 can then locate a virtual element, such as virtual energy 670, along the predicted player path 656.”). Golden does not explicitly disclose a “prop” However, a virtual prop is obvious a virtual element in the art of virtual reality because Golden teaches virtual items (Golden, ¶0040, “the players may have to travel the virtual world seeking virtual items (e.g. weapons or other items) that can be useful for completing game objectives.”).
Gordon teaches a virtual prop (Gordon, Fig. 4A to Fig. 4I, ¶0044, “determine a position within the display at which the additional content pertaining to the lion 310 may be superimposed/overlaid.” ¶0046, “the sponsor items such as, for example, meat 410b and tree 415b, may be superimposed at appropriate positions determined via the position determination algorithm.” ¶0056, “the virtual object 440 may be a two-dimensional or three-dimensional rendering or animated character of the real-world object 310. The virtual object 440 added to the second environment 400 may be mobile within the captured environment 400 and may perform certain movements or expressions to the entertainment of the user 305. Further, the user 305 may be able to select the virtual object 440 to view additional information such as, for example, sponsor items and amount that have been donated, general information about the virtual object 440 (i.e., object 310), the location at which the virtual object 440 (i.e., object 310) was collected, remaining usage time, related objects that the user 305 may be interested, etc.”).
Golden and Gordon are considered to be analogous art because all pertain to virtual object. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Golden with the features of “virtual prop” as taught by Gordon. The suggestion/motivation would have been in order to enabling electronic transactions and presenting virtual objects across disparate augmented reality environments (Gordon, ¶0001) and the claim would have been obvious because the substitution of one known element for another would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Golden does not exilically disclose (i) determine an allocation weight corresponding to the terminal device according to the user characteristic information; determine a first virtual prop to be released in the first scene for the terminal device based the allocation weight.
Holme teaches (i) determine an allocation weight corresponding to the terminal device according to the user characteristic information; determine a first virtual prop to be released in the first scene for the terminal device based the allocation weight (Holme, Col 13, lines 51-66, Col 14, lines 1-10. “The gameplay system 205 includes a game asset distribution module 400 that is configured to distribute game assets in a social game. The game asset distribution module 400, in turn, includes various modules 404-416. A random generator module 404 is configured to generate random distributions of game assets to a user.” “A weighting module 406 is configured to weight and adjust the weighting of assets to be distributed to a user. The weighting module 406 assigns to each game asset a respective “weight” or “distribution weight” affecting a corresponding distribution of each game asset. The weighting module 406 may receive input from an analysis module 408, a game promotion module 410, a game asset allocation module 414, and a rules module 416 (each discussed below). For example, the weighting module 406 may receive input from the game asset allocation module 414 when a determination has been made that certain game assets (e.g., letters) should be weighted with an adjusted distribution weights that cause certain assets to be allocated to a user more frequently than would be the case with the assets having prior distribution weights. Based on the input from the game asset allocation module 414 the weighting module 406 may adjust distribution weights of certain of the alphabet letters being allocated to all or certain ones of the players in a game. The rules module 416 may provide input in a similar way according to portrayal of particular sets of rules.”).
Golden, Gordon and Holme are considered to be analogous art because all pertain to virtual object. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Golden with the features of “(i) determine an allocation weight corresponding to the terminal device according to the user characteristic information; determine a first virtual prop to be released in the first scene for the terminal device based the allocation weight” as taught by Holme. The suggestion/motivation would have been in order to enhance an overall user experience, even amongst players with significantly different skill levels (Holme, abstract) and All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
As to claim 3, claim 1 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Holme discloses:
collecting first ambient environment information through a camera associated with the terminal device (Gordon, ¶0034, “Using a camera of the user device 130, the AR application 234 may receive a visual input that represents the real physical environment, and may identify objects in the captured environment.” ¶0037, “the AR application 234 may receive additional contextual data from other sensors of the user device 130, such as, e.g., the GPS sensor, accelerometer, and gyroscope, in order to determine the location, distance, angle, and/or motion of the identified objects relative to the camera of the user device 130, or the location, distance, angle, and/or motion of the camera of the user device 130 relative to the identified objects. Data comprising the determined location, distance, angle, and/or motion may be referred to as location and orientation data in the present disclosure. The AR application 234 may then use the location and orientation data to adjust the size, orientation, and/or placement of virtual contents over the real-world environment displayed in the user device 130. The AR application 234 may then overlay or superimpose the virtual contents over the displayed environment based on the adjusted parameters.”); and
correcting the geographic location based on an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the terminal device (Golden, ¶0056, “based on IP address, by using triangulation and/or proximity to cellular towers or WiFi hotspots”) and the first ambient environment information (Gordon, ¶0045, “The position of the option 405 may be adjusted in real-time based on the contextual data being received iteratively as the user device 130 and/or the detected object 310 moves. In other words, by continuously receiving, processing, and analyzing the visual input and contextual data, the AR application 234 can keep the superimposed/overlaid content adequately aligned with the lion 310. Such real-time adjustment may be applicable to any type of content that is superimposed over a real-world environment (i.e., not limited to the option 405).”).
As to claim 4, claim 1 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Holme discloses:
obtaining a plurality of historical geographic locations (Golden, ¶0065, “Exemplary data associated with one or more real world conditions accessed by the game server 110 can include the aggregate locations of individuals (e.g. players) in the real world; local time data; local data providing locations of cultural value, recreational value, historical value, commercial value, or other value”. ¶0086, “the data associated with real world conditions can include locations, in the real world, of public artwork, historical markers, tourist attractions, scenic vistas, libraries, hiking trails, museums, universities, arenas, parks, and/or other locations.”);
collecting second ambient environment information through a camera associated with the terminal device (Gordon, ¶0055, “In FIG. 4G, the AR application 234 may receive a visual input from the camera of the user device 130, the visual input representing a second environment 400. The second environment 400 may be the same or different from the first environment 300. In FIG. 4G, the second environment 400 is shown to be different from the first environment 300. For example, the second environment 400 may be an interior of a home while the first environment was an enclosure at a zoo.”); and
correcting the geographic location based on the plurality of historical geographic locations and the second ambient environment information (Gorden, ¶0056, “The virtual object 440 added to the second environment 400 may be mobile within the captured environment 400 and may perform certain movements or expressions to the entertainment of the user 305. Further, the user 305 may be able to select the virtual object 440 to view additional information such as, for example, sponsor items and amount that have been donated, general information about the virtual object 440 (i.e., object 310)” ¶0069, “The user selection may comprise the user dragging the icon corresponding the virtual object to a desired location within the second environment, and dropping the icon onto the desired location, as discussed above in reference to FIG. 4I. Responsive to this user selection, at step 556, the AR application 234 may add the virtual object to the second environment. In other words, the virtual object may be overlaid or superimposed over the displayed second environment, as discussed above in reference to FIG. 4J.”)
As to claim 7, claim 1 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Holme discloses obtaining a switching instruction in the first scene (Golden, ¶0023, “As players move about in the real world, player position information can be provided to the game server hosting the parallel reality game over a network. The game server can update player positions in the parallel virtual world to correspond with the player positions in the real world.” ¶0035, “A player can move about in the virtual world by moving to various geographic locations in the real world.” ¶0037, “As the players move about in a range of geographic coordinates in the real world, the players also move about in the range of coordinates defining the virtual space in the virtual world 210.” ¶0040, “the players may have to travel the virtual world seeking virtual items (e.g. weapons or other items) that can be useful for completing game objectives.”); and
transmitting the switching instruction to the server device, wherein the server device switches the first scene to a second scene for the terminal device to participate in according to the switching instruction, the second scene has a second virtual prop associated with the second scene (Golden, ¶0023, “As players move about in the real world, player position information can be provided to the game server hosting the parallel reality game over a network. The game server can update player positions in the parallel virtual world to correspond with the player positions in the real world.” ¶0035, “A player can move about in the virtual world by moving to various geographic locations in the real world.” ¶0037, “As the players move about in a range of geographic coordinates in the real world, the players also move about in the range of coordinates defining the virtual space in the virtual world 210.” ¶0040, “the players may have to travel the virtual world seeking virtual items (e.g. weapons or other items) that can be useful for completing game objectives.”
Gordon, ¶0006, “displaying, at a second time, a second environment; determining that the user is associated with the user identifier; receiving user selection to add the virtual object to the second environment; and superimposing the virtual object over the second environment.” ¶0056, “Once the icon 430a is dropped onto the second environment 400, the icon 430a may turn into a virtual object 440 with or without transition animations, as shown in FIG. 4J. As described above, the virtual object 440 may be a two-dimensional or three-dimensional rendering or animated character of the real-world object 310. The virtual object 440 added to the second environment 400 may be mobile within the captured environment 400 and may perform certain movements or expressions to the entertainment of the user 305.”).
As to claim 8, the combination of Golden, Gordon and Holme discloses a terminal device, comprising: processing circuitry configured to: obtain a geographic location and state information of the terminal device associated with a first scene, the state information including current environment information of a current environment in which the terminal device is located and user characteristic information of a user associated with the terminal device; transmit the geographic location and the state information to a server device, the server device being configured to (i) determine an allocation weight corresponding to the terminal device according to the user characteristic information, (ii) determine a first virtual prop to be released in the first scene for the terminal device based on the geographic location, the current environment information, and the allocation weight, and (iii) determine geographic location information indicating a geographic location of the first virtual prop; receive the geographic location information indicating the geographic location of the first virtual prop transmitted by the server device; and obtain the first virtual prop according to the geographic location information indicating the geographic location of the first virtual prop. (See claim 1 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 10, claim 8 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Holme discloses the processing circuitry is configured to: collect first ambient environment information through a camera associated with the terminal device; and correct the geographic location based on an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the terminal device and the first ambient environment information (See claim 3 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 11, claim 8 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Holme discloses the processing circuitry is configured to: obtain a plurality of historical geographic locations; collect second ambient environment information through a camera associated with the terminal device; and correct the geographic location based on the plurality of historical geographic locations and the second ambient environment information (See claim 4 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 14, claim 8 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Holme discloses the processing circuitry is configured to: obtain a switching instruction in the first scene; and transmit the switching instruction to the server device, wherein the server device switches the first scene to a second scene for the terminal device to participate in according to the switching instruction, the second scene has a second virtual prop associated with the second scene (See claim 7 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 15, the combination of Golden, Gordon and Holme discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform: obtaining a geographic location and state information of a terminal device associated with a first scene, the state information including current environment information of a current environment in which the terminal device is located and user characteristic information of a user associated with the terminal device; transmitting the geographic location and the state information to a server device, the server device being configured to (i) determine an allocation weight corresponding to the terminal device according to the user characteristic information, (ii) determine a first virtual prop to be released in the first scene for the terminal device based on the geographic location, the current environment information, and the allocation weight, and (iii) determine geographic location information indicating a geographic location of the first virtual prop; receiving the geographic location information indicating the geographic location of the first virtual prop transmitted by the server device; and obtaining the first virtual prop according to the geographic location information indicating the geographic location of the first virtual prop (See claim 1 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 17, claim 15 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Holme discloses collecting first ambient environment information through a camera associated with the terminal device; and correcting the geographic location based on an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the terminal device and the first ambient environment information (See claim 3 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 18, claim 15 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Holme discloses wherein the instructions when executed by the processor further cause the processor to perform: obtaining a plurality of historical geographic locations; collecting second ambient environment information through a camera associated with the terminal device; and correcting the geographic location based on the plurality of historical geographic locations and the second ambient environment information (See claim 4 for detailed analysis.).
Claims 5, 12, 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Golden et al. (US Pub 2020/0054939 A1) in view of Gordon et al. (US Pub 2023/0081658 A1), Holme et al. (US Patent 9,669,291 B1) and Ekkati et al. (US Pub 2021/0187391 A1).
As to claim 5, claim 4 is incorporated and the combination of Golden and Gordon discloses the correcting the geographic location further comprises:
classifying the plurality of historical geographic locations into one or more categories of historical geographic locations (Golden, ¶0086, “the data associated with real world conditions can include local data providing locations of cultural, recreational, or commercial value in the real world. For instance, the data associated with real world conditions can include locations, in the real world, of public artwork, historical markers, tourist attractions, scenic vistas, libraries, hiking trails, museums, universities, arenas, parks, and/or other locations. The locator module 114 can analyze the data and determine a location for placement of a virtual element at a location in the virtual world corresponding to the locations of cultural, recreation, or commercial value in the real world. In this way, virtual elements can be determined to be located in the virtual world in a manner to encourage players to travel to the locations of cultural, recreational, or commercial value in the real world in order to interact with the virtual element.” ¶0087, “The locator module 114 can analyze the data and determine a location for placement of a virtual element at a location in the virtual world based on the map data. For instance, the locator module 114 can determine a location that avoids placement of virtual object at locations corresponding to locations on or very close to roadways, highways, or waterways, on private property, or in other unsafe locations in the real world.”); and
The combination of Golden and Gordon does not disclose correcting the geographic location based on a category of the one or more categories of the historical geographic locations that matches the second ambient environment information.
Ekkati discloses correcting the geographic location based on a category of the one or more categories of the historical geographic locations that matches the second ambient environment information (Ekkati, abstract, “The client device has sensors including a camera configured to capture image data of an environment. The augmented reality system generates a first 3D map of the environment around the client device based on captured image data.” ¶0037, “The map data can include local maps of 3D point clouds stored in association with images and other sensor data collected by client devices 102 at a location. The map data may also include mapping information indicating the geographic relationship between different local maps and a singular 3D map representing the real world or particular environments within the real world.” ¶0057, “The SLAM functions include a mapping system that builds up point cloud and tracking to find the location of the camera in space on the initialized map.” ¶0062, “a range of coordinates defining a geographic area or space in the real world 400 is mapped to a corresponding range of coordinates defining a virtual space in the virtual world 410. The range of coordinates in the real world 400 can be associated with a town, neighborhood, city, campus, locale, a country, continent, the entire globe, or other geographic area. Each geographic coordinate in the range of geographic coordinates is mapped to a corresponding coordinate in a virtual space in the virtual world.”. ¶0063, “As the players move about in a range of geographic coordinates in the real world 400, the players also move about in the range of coordinates defining the virtual space in the virtual world 410. In particular, a positioning system associated with the client device 102 carried by a player (e.g. a GPS system or other system used by the localization and mapping module 112) can be used to track the player's position as the player navigates the range of geographic coordinates in the real world. Data associated with the player's position in the real world 400 is used to update the player's position in the corresponding range of coordinates defining the virtual space in the virtual world 410.” ¶0065, “These virtual elements 430 can be linked to landmarks, geographic locations, or objects 440 in the real world 400. The real-world landmarks or objects 440 can be works of art, monuments, buildings, businesses, libraries, museums, or other suitable real-world landmarks or objects. To capture these virtual elements 430, a player must travel to the landmark, geographic location, or object 440 linked to the virtual elements 430 in the real world and must perform any necessary interactions with the virtual elements 430 in the virtual world 410.”)
Golden, Gordon and Ekkati are considered to be analogous art because all pertain to virtual object. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Golden with the features of “correcting the geographic location based on a category of the one or more categories of the historical geographic locations that matches the second ambient environment information” as taught by Ekkati. The suggestion/motivation would have been in order to mapping the real world as captured by cameras of players' mobile devices to aid in determining the location of mobile devices in future is desirable (Ekkati, ¶0001).
As to claim 12, claim 11 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Ekkati discloses the processing circuitry is configured to: classify the plurality of historical geographic locations into one or more categories of historical geographic locations; and correct the geographic location based on a category of the one or more categories of the historical geographic locations that matches the second ambient environment information (See claim 5 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 19, claim 18 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Ekkati discloses classifying the plurality of historical geographic locations into one or more categories of historical geographic locations; and correcting the geographic location based on a category of the one or more categories of the historical geographic locations that matches the second ambient environment information (See claim 5 for detailed analysis.).
Claims 6, 13 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Golden et al. (US Pub 2020/0054939 A1) in view of Gordon et al. (US Pub 2023/0081658 A1), Holme et al. (US Patent 9,669,291 B1) and Yin et al. (US Pub 2018/0144396 A1).
As to claim 6, claim 1 is incorporated and the combination of Golden and Gordon discloses
the geographic location information indicating the geographic location of the first virtual prop is (Golden, ¶0033,” place virtual elements along a predicted path of a player determined, for instance, based on real world data associated with current player location and direction, past location history of the player, aggregate movement of other players, map data providing traversable paths that may be traversed by the player, and other data. Placement of virtual objects along a predicted path for a particular player encourages continued game play by the player by making sure the player continues to have something to interact with nearby in the parallel virtual world.” ¶0062, “the game interface can provide audible notifications to the player when the player is approaching a virtual element or object in the game or when an important event happens in the location-based game. A player can control these audible notifications with audio control 340. Different types of audible notifications can be provided to the user depending on the type of virtual element or event. The audible notification can increase or decrease in frequency or volume depending on a player's proximity to a virtual element or object. Other non-visual notifications and signals can be provided to the user, such as a vibratory notification or other suitable notifications or signals.” ¶0066, “The locator module 114 can determine locations for placement of any type of virtual element used in the parallel reality game, such as a virtual object, virtual item, virtual energy, or other virtual element that forms a part of the parallel reality game. Exemplary analysis techniques for analyzing data associated with real world conditions to determine a location for placement of virtual elements in the virtual world will be discussed in detail below.” ¶0069, “the client 120 can send a request for game data and receive game data encoded in one or more data files from the game server 110.“ Gordon, ¶0044, “If the additional content comprises discrete portions of information which should be superimposed over the displayed environment 300 separately, the position for each portion of information may be determined based on the contextual data and position determination criterion specific to that portion of information. The aforementioned position determination algorithm may also be used to determine positions of any other user interface elements that may be superimposed/overlaid, such as options or instructions provided to the user 305”.).
the combination of Golden and Gordon does not explicitly disclose a voice message or a text message.
Yin teaches receiving a voice message or a text message, wherein the voice message or the text message includes the geographic location information (Yin, ¶0050, “Users in the same interactive channel can send at least one of real time text messages, picture messages, voice messages, video messages, image-text messages, link messages, and geographic location messages to each other to conduct communications.”).
Golden, Gordon and Yin are considered to be analogous art because all pertain to virtual object location. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Golden with the features of “receiving a voice message or a text message, wherein the voice message or the text message includes the geographic location information” as taught by Yin. The claim would have been obvious because the substitution of one known element for another would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
As to claim 13, claim 8 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Yin discloses the geographic location information indicating the geographic location of the first virtual prop is included in a voice message or a text message received from the server device. (See claim 6 for detailed analysis.).
As to claim 20, claim 15 is incorporated and the combination of Golden, Gordon and Yin discloses the geographic location information indicating the geographic location of the first virtual prop is included in a voice message or a text message received from the server device (See claim 6 for detailed analysis.).
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YU CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7951. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 8AM - 5PM, Alternate Friday, EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xiao Wu can be reached on 571-272-7761. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YU CHEN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2613
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