Ex Parte Osvald et al

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

May 1, 2018

13196846 - (D) (P.T.A.B. May. 1, 2018)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
13/196,846 08/02/2011
101444 7590 05/02/2018
MPG, LLP and Zynga Inc.
710 Lakeway Drive, Suite 200
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
John Osvald
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
ZYNGP020 4599
EXAMINER
CLARKE JR, ROBERT T
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
3717
MAILDATE DELIVERY MODE
05/02/2018 PAPER
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte JOHN OSV ALD, MICHAEL WAITE,
KYLE SAUGER, LAUREN DUNCAN, and ERIK NILSSON
Appeal2017-004863
Application 13/196,846
Technology Center 3700
Before JENNIFER D. BAHR, KEN B. BARRETT, and
ANTHONY KNIGHT, Administrative Patent Judges.
BAHR, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner's
decision rejecting claims 1, 3-7, 9-13, and 15-21. We have jurisdiction
under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We REVERSE.
Appeal2017-004863
Application 13/196,846
THE CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER
Claim 1, reproduced below, is illustrative of the claimed subject
matter.
1. A method for performing a social project in a video game,
compnsmg:
using a session manager defined by a video game server
computer to initiate a session of the video game for a primary
user, the session of the video game being configured to process
communication received over a communications network from
a first client device that is associated with the primary user;
responsive to receiving a social project request over the
communications network from the first client device, initiating a
social project within the session of the video game;
determining one or more secondary users from a social
graph of the primary user, wherein determining the one or more
secondary users includes accessing, over the communications
network, an Application Programming Interface (API) of a
social network;
using a request generator defined by the video game server
computer to send a message over the communications network
to one or more secondary client devices that are respectively
associated with the one or more secondary users, the message
requesting help from the one or more secondary users to
complete the social project, the message including a low-friction
response mechanism;
receiving over the communications network, upon
activation of the low-friction response mechanism of the
message, a response from one of the secondary client
devices associated with a responsive secondary user indicating
an intent to join a crew defined for the social project and to help
perform an additional task to help complete the social project;
and
using a collaboration module defined by the video game
server computer to, upon receiving the response, the response
itself is configured to trigger automated retrieval of an avatar of
the responsive secondary user and the response itself is
configured to trigger animation of the avatar within the primary
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user's session of the video game, the animation showing the
avatar joining the crew and actively participating in performing
the additional task to help complete at least one aspect of the
social project, wherein activation of the low-friction response
mechanism terminates further participation in the session of
the video game by the responsive secondary user, and wherein
the automated retrieval and animation of the avatar does not
require the responsive secondary user to control the avatar;
wherein the method is executed by a processor.
REJECTIONS
I. Claims 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 19-21 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Holloway et al.
(US 2011/0237335 Al, pub. Sept. 29, 2011, hereinafter
"Holloway"), Norby (US 2011/0307807 Al, pub. Dec. 15, 2011),
and Heroes of Might and Magic 3,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sCy9 l 9E78o (June 22, 2008)
(hereinafter "HoMM3").
II. Claims 3, 9, and 15 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over Holloway, Norby, HoMM3, and Pearce
(US 2009/0075738 Al, pub. Mar. 19, 2009).
III. Claims 5, 11, and 17 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over Holloway, Norby, HoMM3, and Lobb et al.
(US 2011/0313827 Al, pub. Dec. 22, 2011, hereinafter "Lobb").
IV. Claims 6, 12, and 18 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over Holloway, Norby, HoMM3, and Goldman et al.
(US 2011/0244954 Al, pub. Oct. 6, 2011).
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DISCUSSION
Rejection I
Independent claim 1 is directed to "[a] method for performing a social
project in a video game" and recites, in pertinent part, steps of sending a
message over a communications network to one or more secondary client
devices requesting help from one or more secondary users to complete the
social project; receiving over the communications network, via a low-
friction response mechanism, "a response from one of the secondary client
devices associated with a responsive secondary user indicating an intent to
join a crew defined for the social project and to help perform an additional
task to help complete the social project," "the response itself' being
"configured to trigger automated retrieval of an avatar of the responsive
secondary user and ... to trigger animation of the avatar within the primary
user's session of the video game, the animation showing the avatar joining
the crew and actively participating in performing the additional task."
Appeal Br. 21-22 (Claims App.). Independent claim 7 is directed to "[a]
computer program product comprising program instructions ... for
performing a social project in a video game, the program instructions
including," in pertinent part, instructions for performing substantially the
aforementioned steps of claim 1. Id. at 23-24. Independent claim 13 is
directed to "[a] video game server computer for performing a social project
in a video game, comprising," in pertinent part, a request generator and
collaboration module configured for performing substantially the
aforementioned steps of claim 1. Id. at 25-26.
Most notably, each of Appellants' independent claims requires a
response from the secondary user, via a low-friction response mechanism,
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the response itself configured to trigger automated retrieval of an avatar of
the responsive secondary user and configured to trigger animation showing
the avatar joining the crew and actively participating in performing the
additional task to help complete the social project. As described in
Appellants' Specification, a low-friction response mechanism is one that
enables users to respond to provide help in a streamlined fashion, "without
having to log in to a session of the game itself or perform other activities
within the game." Spec. i-fi-131, 32. For example, the request from the
primary user "may include a link, reference[,] or other communication
trigger which activates [a] frictionless response." Id. i141. The secondary
user may indicate a positive response to the request for help by simply
clicking on a graphic or word having an embedded link or communication
trigger, without having to take any additional steps to help the user who sent
the request for help. Id. By providing a response configured, itself, to
trigger the retrieval of the responsive secondary user's avatar and animation
showing the avatar joining the crew and actively participating in performing
the additional task, as recited in claims 1, 7, and 13, Appellants' claimed
invention gives the primary user the illusion that the user's friend is actively
participating in the game helping complete the social project when in fact
the friend is not actively participating. Spec. i1 42.
The Examiner's rejection of claims 1, 7, and 13 combines the
teachings of Holloway, Norby, and HoMM3. Final Act. 4--8. In particular,
the Examiner finds that Holloway discloses the claimed invention, with the
exception that Holloway does not expressly teach that the response from the
friend is configured to trigger the automated retrieval of the avatar and to
trigger animation of the avatar showing the avatar joining the crew and
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actively participating in performing the additional task. Id. 7-8. The
Examiner relies on Norby as teaching that the response itself is configured to
trigger the automated retrieval of the avatar and to trigger animation of the
avatar. Id. at 7 (citing Norby, Fig. 4, i-fi-134, 36-38, 51). According to the
Examiner, Norby teaches "that a secondary user (i.e., CaptainMarvel) may
enter the primary user's (i.e., Cookie) session (i.e., instance of the
Builder Man game) with a single click for the purpose of helping the primary
user to help perform a task (i.e., 'putting up some higher skyscrapers')." Id.
The Examiner relies on HoMM3 as teaching "animation showing the avatar
joining the crew and actively participating in performing the additional task
to help complete at least one aspect of the social project." Id. at 8 (finding
that "HoMM3 provides a game animation of characters joining a crew and
fighting in a battle").
The Examiner explains:
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the
art at the time the invention was made to modify the animation
of the Holloway/Norby combination to include the
characteristics of expressly "showing the avatar joining the
crew and actively participating in performing the additional task
to help complete at least one aspect of the social project" as
disclosed in HoMM3 because: (a) such animated features
improve a video game by adding visual interest to the video
game; and (b) the Holloway/Norby combination already
discloses some animation, namely: (1) the game may display
the player's characters (including the friend's avatar) and the
enemies that are being fought (e.g., see at least [0052] of
Holloway); and (2) the friend may enter the player's game with
a single click. (as discussed above with respect to Norby). The
examiner notes that HoMM3 is merely relied upon because the
animation itself expressly shows the avatar joining the crew and
actively participating.
Ans. 7.
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Appellants point out that (1) Holloway discloses that the primary user
"controls all the inputs for the actions of his/her characters, notwithstanding
that characters may be associated with a friend user"; (2) Norby teaches
"that a secondary user will enter the primary user's session by responding to
an invite," and, thus, "the secondary user's character is controlled by the
secondary user that enters the primary user's session"; and (3) HoMM3
teaches "a primary player selecting available characters and directing them
in fighting against an enemy," and, thus, like Holloway, does not suggest the
response itself "triggering ... an animation showing the avatar performing
the additional task as claimed." Reply Br. 5. Thus, Appellants argue that
Holloway, Norby, and HoMM3 do not suggest a response to a help request,
itself, triggering the animation showing the avatar joining the crew and
actively participating in performing the additional task, as claimed. Id. at
5---6. For the reasons that follow, Appellants' argument apprises us of error
in the rejection.
Holloway discloses that the primary (i.e., "single") "user controls all
the inputs for the actions of the characters during the game." Holloway i-f 11.
Even characters associated with friends of the user in the social network are
"controlled only by the user during play," thereby allowing "for continued
play without input from the connected friend." Id. i-f 22.
Norby teaches the primary user (Cookie) engaged in a game sending
an invite, via a chat window in the game, to a friend (CaptainMarvel),
thereby causing an "Accept" link to appear on CaptainMarvel's window.
Norby i-fi-136-38. "[I]f CaptainMarvel selects the 'Accept' link, he is
directed into the instance of [the game] in which Cookie is currently
engaged." Id. i-f 38. Although Norby does not explicitly so state, we, like
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Appellants, understand Norby's teaching of the friend (CaptainMarvel)
being directed into the instance of the primary user's (Cookie's) game to
mean that the friend (CaptainMarvel) is now engaged in the primary user's
session of the game. In other words, the friend (CaptainMarvel) controls his
character in the user's session of the game.
HoMM3 shows a player of the video game using a popup menu to
select available characters and, with a cursor, retrieving the avatars of the
characters from where they are located, inserting the avatars in the game
where desired, and controlling the actions of the avatars in fighting an
enemy in the game. In other words, the HoMM3 video shows all of the
actions, namely, retrieving the avatar, inserting the avatar into the game with
the rest of the crew, and controlling the actions of the avatars to help
perform the task (fighting the enemy) being effected by the player of the
game using the cursor.
Thus, all of the cited prior art teaches either the primary user
controlling the actions of all characters in the game, including the animation
of avatars of the secondary user added to the game to help with a task, or the
secondary user entering the primary user's session of the game and
controlling the character associated with the secondary user. Although
Norby's teaching of "a need for smoothly and effortlessly engaging, by one
client, other clients to engage in a web page or presentation" (i.e., a video
game) (Norby i-f 8) would have provided reasonable incentive for a person of
ordinary skill in the art to modify Holloway's game by configuring the
response of the friend accepting the invitation to join the Fellowship
(Holloway i-f 43) to trigger automatic retrieval and animation of the avatar
associated with the friend, it is not apparent why, in the absence of the
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teachings in Appellants' Specification, a person of ordinary skill in the art
would have been prompted to have the response itself trigger animation of
the actions of the avatar helping perform the task. We share Appellants'
view, expressed on page 4 of the Reply Brief, that the stated rationale that
"such animated features improve a video game by adding visual interest to
the video game" (Ans. 7) is unduly vague and fails to speak directly to why
it would have been obvious to configure the response itself to trigger the
animation showing the avatar helping perform the task, rather than a player
controlling the actions of the character to trigger animation showing the
avatar helping perform the task.
Thus, the Examiner fails to establish that the subject matter of
independent claims 1, 7, and 13 would have been obvious. Accordingly, we
do not sustain the rejection of claims 1, 7, and 13, or their dependent claims
4, 10, 16, and 19-21, as unpatentable over Holloway, Norby, and HoMM3.
Rejections II-IV
The aforementioned deficiency in the combination of Holloway,
Norby, and HoMM3 also pervades the rejections of claims 3, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12,
15, 17, and 18, each of which depends from one of claims 1, 7, and 13.
Final Act. 9-12. The Examiner's application of Pearce, Lobb, and Goldman
does not make up for this deficiency. See id. Accordingly, we do not
sustain these rejections.
DECISION
The Examiner's decision rejecting claims 1, 3-7, 9-13, and 15-21 is
reversed.
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REVERSED
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