Prior art

Analysis of Prior Art for US Patent 11,666,827

The following analysis details the most relevant prior art cited against US Patent 11,666,827. This information is critical in understanding the landscape of innovation at the time of the invention and is central to the ongoing validity challenges faced by the patent. Each reference's potential to anticipate the patent's claims, particularly under 35 U.S.C. § 102, is examined.

Examiner-Cited Prior Art

The following references were cited by the USPTO patent examiner during the prosecution of the application that led to US Patent 11,666,827.

1. US Patent No. 8,298,065 B2 (the '065 patent)

• Full Citation: US Patent No. 8,298,065 B2, "Location-based services in a virtual world"
• Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Filing Date: June 1, 2009
• Publication Date: October 30, 2012
• Brief Description: The '065 patent describes a system where a user's real-world location, determined by GPS or other means, is used to influence their experience in a virtual world. It discloses providing location-based services, content, and advertisements to a user within a virtual environment based on their physical location. For instance, a player's avatar in a game could see virtual representations of real-world businesses near the player's actual location.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: This patent is highly relevant to the core concepts of US 11,666,827. It appears to anticipate several elements of Claim 1. Specifically, the '065 patent teaches:
  • Providing access to a video game with a virtual character.
  • Detecting a player's real-world geographic location.
  • Using that location to modify the virtual environment, which is analogous to actuating a "local element script" to modify a "plot node." The '065 patent's disclosure of providing location-specific content is a form of modifying the game's plot or environment for the player.

2. US Patent Publication No. 2011/0212771 A1 (the '771 publication)

• Full Citation: US Patent Publication No. 2011/0212771 A1, "System and Method for a Multiplayer Location-Based Game"
• Assignee: Google Inc.
• Filing Date: February 26, 2010
• Publication Date: September 1, 2011
• Brief Description: The '771 publication outlines a multiplayer game where players' real-world locations are represented on a game map. The system retrieves real-world data associated with player locations (e.g., businesses, landmarks) and incorporates them as interactive elements in the game. It describes players interacting with these virtualized real-world locations and with each other based on their relative physical proximity.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: This publication presents a strong case for anticipating the entirety of Claim 1.
  • It explicitly describes a multiplayer game where players interact with the game and each other from different real-world locations.
  • It teaches detecting player locations and retrieving information ("local elements") associated with those locations to modify gameplay.
  • The concept of incorporating real-world business data as game elements is a direct implementation of actuating a "local element script" to modify the game's "plot nodes."
  • Crucially, it discloses a multiplayer context where the actions and locations of one player affect the game world for others, touching upon the interactive modification aspect of Claim 1.

3. US Patent No. 7,844,289 B2 (the '289 patent)

• Full Citation: US Patent No. 7,844,289 B2, "Location based game"
• Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Filing Date: December 21, 2005
• Publication Date: November 30, 2010
• Brief Description: This patent details a game played on mobile devices where game events are triggered by the player's presence at specific real-world geographical locations. The system uses a database of locations, and when a player's device detects that it is at one of these locations, a corresponding game event is initiated. The patent focuses on using location as a trigger for game progression.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: The '289 patent is relevant to several clauses within Claim 1 and other dependent claims.
  • It clearly teaches detecting a player's location with a sensor on a computing device.
  • It describes retrieving location-associated data (a "local element") to trigger a game event (actuating a "script" to modify a "plot node" or "storyline").
  • While its primary focus is on single-player progression, the underlying mechanic of detecting location to actuate a script that modifies the game state is directly taught, potentially anticipating core components of the claimed method.

Conclusion

The prior art cited against US Patent 11,666,827, particularly the '771 publication by Google and the '065 patent by Microsoft, appears to disclose the foundational elements of the patent's independent claim. Both references, which predate the patent's priority date of November 19, 2012, describe multiplayer or virtual world systems that detect a user's real-world location and modify the in-game experience based on that location. This overlap is likely a key reason for the patent's invalidity ruling in the District Court and will be a central issue in the appeal at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.