Obviousness

Obviousness Analysis of US Patent 10632388 Under 35 U.S.C. § 103

This analysis identifies combinations of prior art references that would render the claims of US Patent 10632388 obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA).

Legal Standard for Obviousness (35 U.S.C. § 103)

Under 35 U.S.C. § 103, a patent claim is obvious 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." The Supreme Court's decision in KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc. emphasized that obviousness can be established by showing that a PHOSITA would have been motivated to combine existing elements in the prior art to achieve the claimed invention, and that thereita would have had a reasonable expectation of success.

The inquiry involves several factors:

1. Scope and content of the prior art: What relevant prior art exists?
2. Differences between the prior art and the claims at issue: What distinctions exist between the claimed invention and the identified prior art?
3. Level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art: What would a typical professional in the field know and be capable of doing?
4. Secondary considerations (e.g., commercial success, long-felt need, failure of others): These are objective indicia that can shed light on obviousness. (Note: The provided information does not contain data for secondary considerations).

For US10632388, the relevant field is video gaming platforms and applications, including those integrated with social networks and supporting multiple device types. A PHOSITA in this field would possess knowledge of game design, network architectures, user interface development, and social media integration prevalent around the priority date of May 7, 2012.

Combination for Obviousness: US 2012/0115569 A1 (Cowan et al.) in view of US 2011/0219324 A1 (Tseng et al.)

This combination presents a strong argument for the obviousness of independent claims 1 and 7 of US10632388. Notably, Carrie Ann Cowan is a co-inventor on both US 2012/0115569 A1 and US10632388, indicating a close relationship in the development of these concepts.

Motivation to Combine

A person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) in video game development, seeking to create a more widely accessible, engaging, and integrated gaming experience, would have been motivated to combine the teachings of Cowan et al. with Tseng et al.

• Cowan et al. (US 2012/0115569 A1) introduces a system for a multi-level gaming experience, where players can participate at different levels, such as "leaders" and "followers," and where social network interactions directly influence gameplay and progression. This reference addresses novel ways to enhance social engagement and depth of play within a gaming context.
• Tseng et al. (US 2011/0219324 A1) describes a cross-platform gaming system that enables users to play games across various devices (e.g., mobile phones, PCs, game consoles) and seamlessly synchronize their game progress and achievements. This addresses expanding a game's reach and player convenience by overcoming platform barriers.

The motivation to combine these two known systems would be to extend the dynamic, socially-driven, multi-status gameplay envisioned by Cowan et al. to a pervasive, platform-agnostic environment as taught by Tseng et al. A PHOSITA would recognize the clear benefit of allowing players with different assigned statuses (e.g., "leaders," "followers," "bystanders") to participate in a single, synchronized game world regardless of their access device, thereby increasing the reach, interactivity, and engagement of the multi-level gaming experience. The "social features" explicitly mentioned in Tseng et al. would naturally be enhanced and formalized by incorporating the specific status-based social interactions and influence mechanisms detailed in Cowan et al. This combination would lead to a system that maximizes player engagement and retention by offering flexible access and richer social interaction across all platforms.

Application to Independent Claim 1 (Method)

Claim 1 describes a computer-implemented method for managing video games. The combination of Cowan et al. and Tseng et al., supplemented by general PHOSITA knowledge and common gaming practices, renders Claim 1 obvious:

1. Receiving a game play request from one or more clients, the one or more clients including a player's device, the player's device selected from a group consisting of a mobile device and a game console: Tseng et al. describes a "cross-platform gaming system that allows users to play games across different devices (e.g., mobile phones, PCs, game consoles)", directly teaching receiving requests from such devices.
2. Identifying a type of the user device: Tseng et al.'s teaching of enabling play across "different devices" implicitly requires identifying the device type to adapt the user experience. US10632388 itself states, "FIG. 33 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for determining graphics based on a user device or platform," including an operation for "determining the type of user device (for example, desktop, mobile device, tablet etc.)" (block 3304). This is a routine step in cross-platform development.
3. Assigning a specific status to the player based on a level of interaction, the specific status selected from a group consisting of a leader, a follower, and a bystander: Directly taught by Cowan et al., which details a system "allowing players to participate at different levels, such as 'leaders' and 'followers'" and where players can influence gameplay through social network interactions. The concept of a "bystander" as a third level of interaction (e.g., viewing and keyword-based influence) is an obvious extension within such a social influence framework.
4. Altering game-play graphics based on the type of user device and one or more user preferences: Tseng et al. describes a "cross-platform gaming system" designed for "different devices," which inherently necessitates adapting graphics for optimal display on each device type. A PHOSITA would understand that different devices (e.g., mobile phones versus game consoles) have varying display capabilities, and user preferences for visual presentation (e.g., 2D for mobile, 3D for console) would naturally lead to adjusting graphics, as explicitly described in US10632388 and illustrated in FIG. 33, block 3308.
5. Initiating or performing game play through the client based on the received game play request, the altered game-play graphics, and the specific status: This is a combination of the teachings from Tseng et al. regarding "playing games across different devices" and Cowan et al.'s system where player status affects capabilities and thus influences game play initiation and performance.
6. Receiving game-play information, the game-play information including one or more rewards and one or more features earned during game play: Tseng et al. teaches synchronizing "achievements" across platforms, which are a form of reward/feature. Cowan et al. describes social network interactions influencing gameplay, which implies the generation and reception of in-game effects or rewards.
7. Updating a global database to synchronize information across platforms based on the received game-play information: Explicitly taught by Tseng et al., which describes synchronizing "game progress and achievements" across platforms.
8. Posting details of one or more game events to a social network feed: Cowan et al. describes "influencing gameplay through social network interactions", which would involve posting relevant game events. Additionally, other cited prior art such as Walker et al. and Van Luchene extensively describe posting game-related activities to social networks.
9. Monitoring one or more social interactions related to the posted game events, the one or more social interactions including comments and likes: Taught by Cowan et al.'s concept of "influencing gameplay through social network interactions". Walker et al. and Van Luchene further elaborate on monitoring social network activity related to games.
10. Calculating one or more rewards for the player based on the one or more social interactions: Cowan et al.'s concept of social interactions "influencing gameplay" inherently includes the calculation of in-game effects or rewards. Walker et al. also discusses tracking scores and sharing game information, which forms a basis for calculating rewards based on social engagement.
11. Delivering the one or more calculated rewards to the player within the video game: This is a logical outcome of the calculations in the previous step and is implied by Cowan et al.'s "influencing gameplay" and Tseng et al.'s synchronization of "achievements" across platforms.

Application to Independent Claim 7 (System)

Claim 7 describes a system designed to execute the method of Claim 1. The elements of Claim 7 are likewise rendered obvious by the combination of Cowan et al. and Tseng et al., along with general knowledge of system architecture for online gaming:

• A system for managing a video game, comprising:
  • a network interface for communicating with a plurality of user devices and a plurality of networks: A standard and necessary component for any online or cross-platform gaming system, as taught by both Tseng et al. and Cowan et al..
  • memory for storing user account data, game options data, user rewards data, user play data, game options, preferences data, promotion data, and advertising data: Essential for any persistent game and implied by the synchronized progress and achievements in Tseng et al. and the multi-level play and rewards in Cowan et al..
  • a processor coupled to the network interface and the memory, the processor configured to execute a plurality of software modules, the plurality of software modules comprising: A standard central processing unit required for any computer-implemented system.
    • a user interface module configured to facilitate a connection of a user device with a social network server: Covered by Cowan et al.'s description of interaction via social networks and Tseng et al.'s cross-platform system, both requiring a user interface.
    • a permissions module configured to ensure user device compliance with protocols: Implied by managing different player statuses and interactions (Cowan et al.), as well as general security and access control requirements for online gaming systems.
    • a user account module configured to determine if a user has an existing account or must create one: Implied by the need for player accounts in all online gaming contexts, as taught by Tseng et al. and Cowan et al..
    • a user status module configured to assign a status to the player and manage the player's status: Directly taught by Cowan et al.'s system for "allowing players to participate at different levels, such as 'leaders' and 'followers'".
    • a promotion/rewards module configured to permit players to earn one or more rewards: Implied by Cowan et al.'s social interactions influencing gameplay and Tseng et al.'s synchronization of achievements. Walker et al. and Van Luchene also extensively address game-related activities, scores, and promotions that would necessitate such a module.
    • a game initiation/operation module configured to initiate game play, adapt game-play graphics based on the type of user device and user preference, and facilitate game play: Covered by Tseng et al.'s cross-platform play and adaptation for different devices.
    • a social network module configured to interact with one or more social network platforms to post game events to a social network feed, and process one or more social interactions for one or more rewards: Directly covered by Cowan et al.'s influencing gameplay through "social network interactions" and Tseng et al.'s "social features". Walker et al. and Van Luchene provide extensive detail on implementing these social network interactions within a gaming context.

Conclusion

The combination of US 2012/0115569 A1 (Cowan et al.) and US 2011/0219324 A1 (Tseng et al.) provides a clear and direct basis for an obviousness rejection of independent claims 1 and 7 of US Patent 10632388. A PHOSITA, motivated to enhance player engagement through varied social roles and expand game accessibility across multiple platforms, would have readily combined these teachings with a reasonable expectation of success. The key elements of multi-level player status, cross-platform synchronization, and social network-driven rewards are all present or clearly suggested in the combined prior art.