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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments and amendments filed 7/10/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
As stated in the Examiner Interview, the claim limitations of the previously dependent claim 2 only recite placing the virtual sandbox in a second carrying region and the virtual screening room in a first carrying region. Under a broadest reasonable interpretation, Figure 9 of the Long reference teaches a virtual venue 950, which includes a virtual sandbox (the entire area outside of window/carrying region 800) and a virtual screening room 800. In the Interview the Examiner explained that while Figure 8 of the instant application illustrates that the virtual screening includes players in a room playing a game, the claims are broad and do not make this distinction. The Examiner has updated the rejection to include the amended limitations and additional explanation of how the claims still read on the Long prior art reference.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1, 4-10 and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Long et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,573,062).
Referring to claim 1, Long discloses a method for generating an immersive three-dimensional virtual venue performed by a computer device (see Column 12, Lines 4-47).
Long also discloses constructing a three-dimensional virtual venue (see Figure 9), the three-dimensional virtual venue comprising a three-dimensional virtual sandbox (see Column 12, Lines 4-47 and Column 13, Lines 29-55 and Figure 9 for window 950 excluding window 800) and a virtual screening room (see Column 13, Line 56 through Column 14, Line 21 and window 800 in Figure 9).
Long also discloses constructing the three-dimensional sandbox in a second carrying region of the three-dimensional virtual venue (see window 950 excluding window 800 in Figure 9), the three-dimensional virtual sandbox being a three-dimensional virtual environment in which a plurality of virtual objects are located (see Column 12, Lines 4-12 for the 3D virtual sandbox being a 3D world where such as Minecraft, which has multiple objects available to build and store within an inventory).
Long also discloses and constructing the virtual screening room in a first carrying region of the three-dimensional virtual venue, the virtual screening room being configured for hosting a plurality of players (see window 800 in Figure 9 hosting a first person shooter game which consists of a plurality of players) controlling the plurality of virtual object to participate a current competition in the three-dimensional virtual sandbox (see Column 13, Line 56 through Column 14, Line 21).
Long also discloses dynamically updating a location of one of the plurality of virtual objects in the three-dimensional virtual sandbox based on an update to the current competition (see Column 15, Lines 16-22, Column 15, Lines 60-64 and Column 16, Lines 4-10).
Long also discloses generating a first livestreaming video of the virtual objects participating the current competition in the three-dimensional virtual sandbox by capturing a three-dimensional full field-of-view video plurality of virtual object in the three-dimensional virtual venue by using a first virtual camera (see Column 13, Lines 17-28).
Long also discloses playing the first livestreaming video in the virtual screening room and pushing the first livestreaming video to a terminal associated with a virtual viewer in the virtual screening room (see Column 13, Line 56 through Column 14, Line 21), wherein the virtual viewer is different from the plurality of players in the virtual screening room (see Column 6, Lines 24-32).
Referring to claim 4, Long discloses that dynamically updating a location of the virtual object in the three-dimensional virtual sandbox based on the update by the controlling player in the virtual screen room to the current competition comprises:
determining an initial location of the virtual object in the three-dimensional virtual sandbox (see Column 15, Lines 60-64 for monitoring proceeding gameplay, thereby determining multiple locations of a player avatar, including an initial position);
constructing the virtual object at the initial location in the three-dimensional virtual sandbox (see Column 15, Lines 60-64 and Column 16, Lines 4-10 for drawing the initial location the player avatar started from);
obtaining live competition data of the current competition, wherein the live competition data includes an operation on the virtual object by the controlling player in the virtual screen room (see Column 15, Lines 16-23, Column 15, Lines 60-64 and Column 16, Lines 4-10 for capturing actions and movement from a player avatar in a game); and
controlling the virtual object to perform a target action in the three-dimensional virtual sandbox based on the operation on the virtual object by the controlling player in the virtual screening room in the live competition data of the current competition, wherein the target action comprises a movement action (see Column 15, Lines 16-23, Column 15, Lines 60-64 and Column 16, Lines 4-10 for the player controlling actions and movement from a player avatar in a game).
Referring to claim 5, Long also discloses that dynamically updating a location of the virtual object in the three-dimensional virtual sandbox based on the update by the controlling player in the virtual screening room to the current competition comprises:
determining an initial location of the virtual object in the three-dimensional virtual sandbox (see Column 21, Line 29 through Column 12, Line 38 for monitoring proceeding gameplay, and determining multiple locations of multiple players, including an initial position);
displaying an identifier of the virtual object at the initial location in the three-dimensional virtual sandbox (see Column 21, Line 12 through Column 22, Line 38 for displaying multiple objects and players in a game environment, where player and object movements are tracked at an initial location and multiple locations as the game proceeds);
obtaining live competition data of the current competition, wherein the live competition data includes an operation on the virtual object by the controlling player in the virtual screen room (see Column 21, Line 12 through Column 22, Line 38 for capturing multiple virtual camera angles during gameplay that spectators can view); and
controlling the identifier of the virtual object to move in the three-dimensional virtual sandbox according to a target movement path based on the movement instruction on the virtual object by the controlling player in the virtual screen room in the live competition data of the current competition (see Column 21, Line 12 through Column 22, Line 38 for displaying multiple virtual camera angles during gameplay that spectators can view).
Referring to claim 6, Long also discloses that a first player container is arranged in the virtual screening room (see Figures 9-10 for displaying multiple players and containers that the players are hiding behind in the virtual screening room) and the playing the first livestreaming video in the virtual screening room comprises:
displaying the first livestreaming video in the first player container (see Figures 9-10 and Column 21, Lines 40-67).
Referring to claim 7, Long also discloses obtaining a second livestreaming video of the current competition and switching the first livestreaming video displayed in the first player container to the second livestreaming video (see Column 21, Lines 12-67 and Figures 8-10 for displaying multiple virtual camera angles that players can choose to view).
Referring to claim 8, Long also discloses that the three-dimensional full field-of-view video is captured from the three-dimensional virtual venue within a field-of-view range of a first horizontal angle and a first vertical angle (see Figures 8-10 for the virtual venue’s field of view having three axes, therefore having a first horizontal and vertical angle).
Referring to claim 9, Long also discloses that capturing a three-dimensional full field-of-view video of the three-dimensional virtual sandbox by using a second virtual camera, to generate a second livestreaming video (see Column 9, Lines 52-65 for combining or stitching game play recordings with game environment recordings captured by the SILVER server) and pushing the second livestreaming video together with the first livestreaming video to the terminal associated with the virtual viewer in the virtual screening room (see Column 13, Line 56 through Column 14, Line 21 for sending viewing the game play created by the SILVER server).
Referring to claims 10 and 13-18, see the rejection of claims 1 and 4-9, respectively.
Referring to claims 19-20, see the rejection of claims 1 and 9, respectively.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 12 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 actions 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON P SALCE whose telephone number is (571)272-7301. The examiner can normally be reached 5:30am-10:00pm M-F (Flex Schedule).
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, Nathan Flynn can be reached at 571-272-1915. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Jason Salce/Senior Examiner, Art Unit 2421
Jason P Salce
Senior Examiner
Art Unit 2421
September 15, 2026
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