DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
This action is in reply to the remarks/arguments for Application 19/069,422 filed on 4 March 2025.
Claims 1-12 are currently pending and have been examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement filed 4 March 2025 has been considered. An initialed copy of the Form 1449 is enclosed herewith.
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.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. In the instant case, representative claim 1 is directed towards facilitating the distribution of profit from trading an NFT corresponding to digital content to users involved in creating the digital content. Claim 1 is directed to the abstract idea of utilizing rules and/or instructions for performing the existing commercial practice (e.g., sales, trading activity) and/or concept of tracking and compensating creator ownership in an automatic manner, which is grouped under the certain methods of organizing human activity – fundamental economic principles, practices or concepts; sales activity; following set of instructions; commercial interactions; managing interactions between people (including social activities, teachings, following rules or instructions) grouping, in prong one of step 2A.
Claim 1 recites: “obtaining first model data representing a first object model that is virtual;
generating, based on the first model data obtained, a first non-fungible token (NFT) that is an NFT corresponding to the first model data and includes first position information indicating a position of a first region in a metaverse, the first region being a region in which the first object model is placed; and
“
determining, based on the first NFT and the first position information, a first distribution target of a first profit corresponding to a first price, when the first NFT is traded at the first price.”
Based on the underlined elements above, abstract ideas and/or concepts are identified. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under prong two of step 2A, the additional elements of the claim such as a “metaverse”, “distributed ledger”, represent the use of a computer-related devices as a tool (intermediary) to perform an abstract idea and/or does no more than generally apply the abstract idea to a particular field of use. Therefore, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application as they do no more than represent a computer performing functions that correspond to (i.e. automate) implement the acts of utilizing rules and/or instructions for performing the existing commercial practice (e.g., sales, trading activity) and/or concept of tracking and compensating creator ownership in an automatic manner.
When analyzed under step 2B, the claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception itself. Viewed as a whole, the combination of elements recited in the claims merely describe the concept of utilizing rules and/or instructions for performing the existing commercial practice (e.g., sales, trading activity) and/or concept of tracking and compensating creator ownership in an automatic manner using computer computer-related technology and/or devices that merely perform as designed to function. Therefore, the use of these additional elements does no more than employ a computer as a tool to automate and/or implement the abstract idea, which cannot provide significantly more than the abstract idea itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f) & (h)). Hence, claim 1 is not patent eligible.
Independent claim 11 recites substantially the same limitations as claim 1 above and is ineligible for the same reasons. The subject matter of claim 11 corresponds to the subject matter of claim 1 in terms of a control device (e.g., manufacture). Therefore the reasoning provided for claim 1 applies to claim 11 accordingly.
Independent claim 12 recites substantially the same limitations as claim 1 above and is ineligible for the same reasons. The subject matter of claim 12 corresponds to the subject matter of claim 1 in terms of a computer-readable recording medium (e.g., manufacture). Therefore the reasoning provided for claim 1 applies to claim 12 accordingly.
Dependent claims 2-10 add further details and contain limitations that narrow the scope of the invention. However, these details do not result in significantly more than the abstract idea itself. As explained in the December 16, 2014 Interim Eligibility Guidance from the USPTO (in reference to the BuySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc. decision), further narrowing the details of an abstract idea does not change the § 101 analysis since a more narrow abstract idea does not make it any less abstract.
The step(s) recited are a further refinement of methods of organizing human activity – fundamental economic principles, practices or concepts; sales activity; following set of instructions; commercial or legal interactions (agreements in the form of contracts; business relations); managing interactions between people (including social activities, teachings, following rules or instructions), because it merely describes intermediate steps and/or rules/instructions of the process.
Viewed individually and in combination, these additional elements do not provide meaningful limitations to transform the abstract idea such that the claims amount to significantly more than the abstraction itself.
Accordingly, the present pending claims are not patent eligible and are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter.
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 may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lyren, US 2023/0351341 A1 (Lyren”), in view of Jang, Moung-Jun, WO 2022211187 A1 (“Jang”).
Re Claim 1: Lyren discloses a control method for controlling a device, the control method comprising:
obtaining first model data representing a first object model that is virtual; ([0010] “the digital asset can be minted into an NFT on a blockchain and then sold or traded on an electronic marketplace, website, or virtual world”; [0026] “seller … offers this digital asset for sale as an NFT, such as offering the NFT for sale at a … virtual world browser-based platform”)
generating, based on the first model data obtained, a first non-fungible token (NFT) that is an NFT corresponding to the first model data and includes first position information indicating a position of a first region in a metaverse, the first region being a region in which the first object model is placed; ([0010] “the digital asset can be minted into an NFT on a blockchain and then sold or traded on an electronic marketplace, website, or virtual world”; [0044] “artist or person creates a unique virtual store for selling virtual goods and/or services. The store includes a storefront and a unique interior design for selling goods/services to users in a virtual environment or augmented world, such as an augmented reality (AR) world, a virtual reality (VR) world, or the metaverse”)
Regarding the limitation comprising:
determining, based on the first NFT and the first position information, a first distribution target of a first profit corresponding to a first price, when the first NFT is traded at the first price.
Jang, however, makes this teaching in a related endeavor (Abstract: “transmission of revenue information related to creative works corresponding to a user's rights to division of the creative works, and receiving the revenue information related to the creative works from the creative works management server”; Page 2: “determines whether the division right for the user's creation corresponds to any right among copyright and ownership, and transmits different types of revenue information related to the creation according to the determination result”; Page 3: “creation management server 30 may allow the distribution of profits to be distributed to the owners of the divided shares in the future through settlement/calculation of the revenue according to the distribution of the creations”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Jang to the invention of Lyren as described above for the motivation of facilitating the payment/distribution of income to participants engaged in the buying and selling of an NFT.
Re Claim 2: Lyren in view of Jang discloses the control method according to claim 1. Lyren further discloses:
wherein the first NFT further includes first creator information for identifying a first creator who has created the first object model, and the first distribution target includes the first creator and a first owner who owns the first region specified based on the first position information. ([0021] “One example embodiment distributes profit from the sale of an NFT to previous owners of the NFT. Distribution of profit in this manner ensures that profit spreads around to several people or entities, as opposed to all profit going to a single seller or owner of the NFT”; [0039] “Methods described herein are financially beneficial to both the user or seller selling the digital assets ( e.g., original or first owner or creator) and the user or buyers buying the digital assets”; [0028] “seller can be a creator or first owner of the digital asset”)
Re Claim 3: Lyren in view of Jang discloses the control method according to claim 1. Lyren further discloses:
wherein the first NFT further includes owner information for identifying a second owner who owns the first NFT, and the first distribution target includes the second owner and a first owner who owns the first region specified based on the first position information. ([0021] “One example embodiment distributes profit from the sale of an NFT to previous owners of the NFT. Distribution of profit in this manner ensures that profit spreads around to several people or entities, as opposed to all profit going to a single seller or owner of the NFT”)
Re Claim 4: Lyren in view of Jang discloses the control method according to claim 1. Lyren further discloses:
wherein the first object model is created based on a three-dimensional object placed in a physical space, the first NFT further includes second position information indicating a position of a second region in the physical space, the second region being region in which the three-dimensional object is placed, and the first distribution target includes a first owner who owns the first region specified based on the first position information and a third owner who owns the second region specified based on the second position information. ([0010] “the digital asset can be minted into an NFT on a blockchain and then sold or traded on an electronic marketplace, website, or virtual world”; [0026] “seller … offers this digital asset for sale as an NFT, such as offering the NFT for sale at a … virtual world browser-based platform”; [0021] “One example embodiment distributes profit from the sale of an NFT to previous owners of the NFT. Distribution of profit in this manner ensures that profit spreads around to several people or entities, as opposed to all profit going to a single seller or owner of the NFT”)
Re Claim 5: Lyren in view of Jang discloses the control method according to claim 1. Regarding the limitation feature comprising:
wherein the first object model includes a second object model and a third object model, the first NFT further includes first creator information for identifying a first creator who has combined the second object model and the third object model, second creator information for identifying a second creator who has created the second object model, and third creator information for identifying a third creator who has created the third object model, and the first distribution target includes the first creator, the second creator, the third creator, and a first owner who owns the first region specified based on the first position information.
Jang, however, makes this teaching in a related endeavor (Abstract: “transmission of revenue information related to creative works corresponding to a user's rights to division of the creative works, and receiving the revenue information related to the creative works from the creative works management server”; Page 2: “determines whether the division right for the user's creation corresponds to any right among copyright and ownership, and transmits different types of revenue information related to the creation according to the determination result”; Page 3: “creation management server 30 may allow the distribution of profits to be distributed to the owners of the divided shares in the future through settlement/calculation of the revenue according to the distribution of the creations”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Jang to the invention of Lyren as described above for the motivation of facilitating the payment/distribution of income to participants engaged in the buying and selling of an NFT.
Re Claim 6: Lyren in view of Jang discloses the control method according to claim 1. Lyren further discloses:
storing, in a distributed ledger, the first NFT generated. ([0017] “Since NFTs are minted to a blockchain and the ledgers are public, buyers and sellers can readily see historical price and sale information for each NFT, such as when it was bought/sold and for how much. This information forms part of the public record for each NFT and is easily available to buyers and sellers”)
Re Claim 7: Lyren in view of Jang discloses the control method according to claim 1. Lyren further discloses:
accepting purchase information indicating that a purchaser purchases the first NFT at the first price;
changing owner information for identifying a second owner who owns the first NFT from the second owner to the purchaser; and
storing, in the distributed ledger, the first NFT that has been changed.
([0017] “Since NFTs are minted to a blockchain and the ledgers are public, buyers and sellers can readily see historical price and sale information for each NFT, such as when it was bought/sold and for how much. This information forms part of the public record for each NFT and is easily available to buyers and sellers”)
Re Claim 8: Lyren in view of Jang discloses the control method according to claim 1. Lyren further discloses:
obtaining fourth model data created by a fourth creator and representing a fourth object model that is virtual;
obtaining an action history of the fourth creator in the metaverse;
generating, based on the fourth model data obtained, a second NFT that is an NFT corresponding to the fourth model data and includes third position information indicating a position of a third region in the metaverse, the third region being a region in which the fourth object model is placed;
([0010] “the digital asset can be minted into an NFT on a blockchain and then sold or traded on an electronic marketplace, website, or virtual world”; [0044] “artist or person creates a unique virtual store for selling virtual goods and/or services. The store includes a storefront and a unique interior design for selling goods/services to users in a virtual environment or augmented world, such as an augmented reality (AR) world, a virtual reality (VR) world, or the metaverse”)
Regarding the limitation comprising:
determining, based on the second NFT and the third position information, a second distribution target of a second profit corresponding to a second price, when the second NFT is traded at the second price, wherein when the fourth creator is determined, based on the action history, to have viewed the first object model, the second distribution target includes a first owner who owns the first region specified based on the first position information and a fourth owner who owns the third region specified based on the third position information.
Jang, however, makes this teaching in a related endeavor (Abstract: “transmission of revenue information related to creative works corresponding to a user's rights to division of the creative works, and receiving the revenue information related to the creative works from the creative works management server”; Page 2: “determines whether the division right for the user's creation corresponds to any right among copyright and ownership, and transmits different types of revenue information related to the creation according to the determination result”; Page 3: “creation management server 30 may allow the distribution of profits to be distributed to the owners of the divided shares in the future through settlement/calculation of the revenue according to the distribution of the creations”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Jang to the invention of Lyren as described above for the motivation of facilitating the payment/distribution of income to participants engaged in the buying and selling of an NFT.
Re Claim 9: Lyren in view of Jang discloses the control method according to claim 8. Regarding the limitation comprising:
wherein the action history includes a history of movement of the fourth creator in the metaverse, and when the history of movement shows that an amount of time for which the fourth creator has been located in an area within which the fourth creator is separated from the first object model by less than a predetermined distance is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount of time or a total number of times the fourth creator has been located in the area is greater than or equal to a predetermined number of times, the fourth creator is determined to have viewed the first object model.
Jang, however, makes this teaching in a related endeavor (Abstract: “transmission of revenue information related to creative works corresponding to a user's rights to division of the creative works, and receiving the revenue information related to the creative works from the creative works management server”; Page 2: “determines whether the division right for the user's creation corresponds to any right among copyright and ownership, and transmits different types of revenue information related to the creation according to the determination result”; Page 3: “creation management server 30 may allow the distribution of profits to be distributed to the owners of the divided shares in the future through settlement/calculation of the revenue according to the distribution of the creations”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Jang to the invention of Lyren as described above for the motivation of facilitating the payment/distribution of income to participants engaged in the buying and selling of an NFT.
Re Claim 10: Lyren in view of Jang discloses the control method according to claim 1. Lyren further discloses:
obtaining fourth model data created by a fourth creator and representing a fourth object model that is virtual;
generating, based on the fourth model data obtained, a second NFT that is an NFT corresponding to the fourth model data and includes third position information indicating a position of a third region in the metaverse, the third region being a region in which the fourth object model is placed;
([0010] “the digital asset can be minted into an NFT on a blockchain and then sold or traded on an electronic marketplace, website, or virtual world”; [0044] “artist or person creates a unique virtual store for selling virtual goods and/or services. The store includes a storefront and a unique interior design for selling goods/services to users in a virtual environment or augmented world, such as an augmented reality (AR) world, a virtual reality (VR) world, or the metaverse”)
Regarding the limitation comprising:
determining, based on the second NFT and the third position information, a second distribution target of a second profit corresponding to a second price, when the second NFT is traded at the second price, wherein when the fourth object model is similar to the first object model, the second distribution target includes a first owner who owns the first region specified based on the first position information and a fourth owner who owns the third region specified based on the third position information.
Jang, however, makes this teaching in a related endeavor (Abstract: “transmission of revenue information related to creative works corresponding to a user's rights to division of the creative works, and receiving the revenue information related to the creative works from the creative works management server”; Page 2: “determines whether the division right for the user's creation corresponds to any right among copyright and ownership, and transmits different types of revenue information related to the creation according to the determination result”; Page 3: “creation management server 30 may allow the distribution of profits to be distributed to the owners of the divided shares in the future through settlement/calculation of the revenue according to the distribution of the creations”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Jang to the invention of Lyren as described above for the motivation of facilitating the payment/distribution of income to participants engaged in the buying and selling of an NFT.
Re Claim 11: Claim 11, as best understood by the Examiner, encompasses the same or substantially the same scope as claim 1. Accordingly, claim 11 is rejected in the same or substantially the same manner as claim 1.
Re Claim 12: Claim 12, as best understood by the Examiner, encompasses the same or substantially the same scope as claim 1. Accordingly, claim 12 is rejected in the same or substantially the same manner as claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior arts made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Le (US 2023/0419283 A1) discloses systems and methods for forming and operating nft marketplace. Systems, apparatuses, and methods to enable the formation and operation of a marketplace for non-fungible tokens. An NFT offered through the marketplace may be associated with underlying content. The underlying content may be one or more of an image, a photograph, an original work of art, a composition, a literary work, a recording, an item of manufacture, a motion picture, or a television program. The system provides a mechanism for multiple parties involved in the creation, production, ownership, distribution, exhibition, and use of content to have payments automatically routed from the appropriate paying party to the appropriate receiving party because of logic executed by a smart contract. This is particularly useful where underlying content may be the subject of different types of distribution, exhibition, and/or licensing agreements depending upon the nature of the content, the relevant intellectual property rights (such as copyrights), and the business model of the relevant industry.
Mistele (US 2023/0245102 A1) discloses NON FUNGIBLE TOKEN (NFT) BASED LICENSING AND DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (DRM) FOR SOFTWARE AND OTHER DIGITAL ASSETS. NFTs are used to provide software licensing and DRM in a manner that is transferrable, allowing licensees to swap and resell licensed software according to terms specified by the licensor. NFTs are used to prove ownership of software and other digital assets on a blockchain. The blockchain provides a distributed public ledger that enables the tracking of ownership of the assets, without the use of a centralized
server. Since software and other digital content licenses concern digital assets, they can be granted, tracked, and revoked on the blockchain via the use of NFTs. NFTs and the blockchain therefore provide a mechanism which is used to verify and authenticate software licenses, digital content licenses, and other types of licenses for digital assets. Smart contracts may be used to define and enforce the terms of the licenses, at any level of granularity.
Claims 1-12 are rejected.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Clifford Madamba whose telephone number is 571-270-1239. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Thu 7:30-5:00 EST Alternate Fridays.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ryan Donlon, can be reached at 571-272-3602. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CLIFFORD B MADAMBA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3692