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
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/27/24 was acknowledged. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words. It is important that the abstract not exceed 150 words in length since the space provided for the abstract on the computer tape used by the printer is limited. The form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “comprises”, "means" and "said," should be avoided. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, "The disclosure concerns," "The disclosure defined by this invention," "The disclosure describes," etc.
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.
In the instant application, claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Step 1:
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are drawn to at least one of the four statutory categories of invention (i.e. process, machine, manufacture, or composition).
Step 2A:
However, claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
For instance, regarding independent claim(s) 1, 14, 20,
Prong 1 analysis:
The limitations of “provide a captioning model that is configured to receive gameplay telemetry data indicative of one or more in-game properties for a session of a video game, wherein the captioning model trained to output caption data comprising one or more captions in dependence upon a learned mapping between gameplay telemetry data and caption data, wherein one or more of the captions comprise one or more words for providing a visual description for the session of the video game; and present one or more of the captions”, are considered to fall within the mental processes grouping. The recited limitations, as drafted, cover performance of the limitations in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components. That is, other than reciting generic computer elements, nothing in the claim element precludes the step from practically being performed in the mind.
Furthermore, dependent claims 2-13, 15-19 merely include limitations that either further define the abstract idea (and thus don’t make the abstract idea any less abstract) or amount to no more than generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use because they are merely incidental or token additions to the claims that do not alter or affect how the process steps are performed.
Prong 2 analysis:
The above-identified abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application under the 2019 PEG because the additional elements “a computer, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions, an artificial neural network”, are generically recited computer elements that do not improve the functioning of a computer, or any other technology or technical field. Nor do these additional elements serve to apply the above-identified abstract idea with, or by use of, a particular machine, effect a transformation or apply or use the above-identified abstract idea in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use thereof to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception. Furthermore, the above-identified generically recited computer elements do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea because they amount to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer. For at least these reasons, the abstract idea identified above is not integrated into a practical application under the 2019 PEG.
Moreover, the above-identified abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application under the 2019 PEG because the claimed method and system merely implements the above-identified abstract idea using rules (e.g., computer instructions) executed by a computer. The claimed elements are recited at a high level of generality, and amounts to mere data gathering and data transmission, which is a form of insignificant extra-solution activity. Each of the additional limitations are no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. Accordingly, even in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. As such, the claim is directed to the abstract idea.
Step 2B:
As discussed with respect to Step 2A Prong Two, the additional elements in the claim amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. The same analysis applies here in 2B, i.e., mere instructions to apply an exception using generic computer components cannot integrate a judicial exception into a practical application at Step 2A or provide an inventive concept in Step 2B.
Furthermore, in view of Berkheimer, the recited additional elements are considered as conventional activity. For instance, Krishnamurthy et al. (2020/0134316) teaches the recited additional elements (Fig 1, 7, ¶¶0021-0022, 0045-0047).
In addition, with regards to the present claims, the courts have recognized the computer functions as well‐understood, routine, and conventional activities when they are claimed in a merely generic manner (e.g., at a high level of generality) or as insignificant extra-solution activity.
For instance, regarding claims 1-20, each claim describes physical or software elements that provide a generic environment in which to carry out the abstract idea, which is similar to the conventional activity or as insignificant extra-solution activity of selecting information, based on types of information, for collection, analysis and display in EPG, gathering, receiving and transmitting data in Symantec, TLI, OIP Techs., buySAFE.
Therefore, claim(s) 1-20 is/are therefore not drawn to eligible subject matter as they are directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 6-8, 10, 14, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gurumurthy et al. (2020/0269136).
Re Claim 1,
Gurumurthy discloses a data processing apparatus comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions that, upon execution by the one or more processors (Fig 3, ¶¶0033-0037), configure the data processing apparatus to:
provide a captioning model that is configured to receive gameplay telemetry data indicative of one or more in-game properties for a session of a video game (Fig 2A-2F, 4, ¶¶0020-0021, 0043; a virtual coach system receives game data, i.e., gameplay telemetry data, and provides advices that overlay the game display is considered as a captioning model),
wherein the captioning model comprises
an artificial neural network (ANN) trained to output caption data comprising one or more captions in dependence upon a learned mapping between gameplay telemetry data and caption data, wherein one or more of the captions comprise one or more words for providing a visual description for the session of the video game; and present one or more of the captions (Fig 2A-2F, 4, ¶¶0020-0023, 0028-0029, 0032, 0043; a machine learning based virtual coach provides overlay game description to the player based on the received game data).
Re Claim 6,
Gurumurthy discloses receiving recorded gameplay telemetry data for a recorded session of the video game and input at least some of the recorded gameplay telemetry data to the ANN (¶0035).
Re Claim 7,
Gurumurthy discloses receiving streamed gameplay telemetry data for a live session of the video game and input at least some of the streamed gameplay telemetry data to the ANN (¶0035).
Re Claim 8,
Gurumurthy discloses receiving respective streamed gameplay telemetry data for each of a plurality of respective instances of one or more video games and to output respective caption data for each of the plurality of respective instances of the one or more video games (¶0035).
Re Claim 10,
Gurumurthy discloses receiving the gameplay telemetry data and associated metadata indicative of at least one of a video game title, video game series and video game genre for the video game; and the captioning model is configured to input the received gameplay telemetry data to a respective ANN selected from a plurality of ANNs in dependence on the associated metadata (¶0046).
Re Claims 14, 20,
Claims are substantially similar to claim 1. See claim 1 for rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON TAHAI YEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1777. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon - Fri 7am- 3pm PST.
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/JASON T YEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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