Obviousness

Obviousness Analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 for US Patent 12005349

This analysis identifies combinations of prior art references that would render the claims of US Patent 12005349 obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) in the field of interactive gaming systems involving broadcast media and mobile devices.

Identified Prior Art References:

The US12005349 patent explicitly incorporates or references the following prior art, which serves as the basis for this obviousness analysis:

1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,546 to Fascenda (the '546 patent): Titled "Game of Skill Playable by Remote Participants in Conjunction with a Live Event," this patent describes a system using "lock out" signals to control the entry of predictions by remote participants in a game of skill synchronized with a live event.
2. U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,913 to Berner and Lockton (the '913 patent): This patent discloses a central computing system for grouping participants based on skill levels in simultaneous, separate competitions of an identical game. It also mentions wireless receiving devices and telephonic links for game interaction and skill level updates.
3. U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/692,356 (the '356 provisional), filed June 20, 2005: Titled "SYSTEMS AND METHODOLOGIES ENABLING A CELL PHONE BASED SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE OFFERING A VARIETY OF SCHEDULED GAMES IN CONNECTION WITH LIVE TELEVISION PROGRAMMING," this reference teaches the use of cell phones for subscription-based games synchronized with live television.
4. U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/723,301 (the '301 provisional), filed October 3, 2005: Titled "CELLULAR PHONE GAMES BASED UPON TELEVISION ARCHIVES," this reference establishes the concept of playing games on cellular phones based on archived television content.
5. U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/791,793 (the '793 provisional), filed April 12, 2006: Titled "A METHODOLOGY FOR EQUALIZING SYSTEMIC LATENCIES IN TELEVISION RECEPTION IN CONNECTION WITH GAMES OF SKILL PLAYED IN CONNECTION WITH LIVE TELEVISION PROGRAMMING," this reference directly addresses the problem of systemic propagation delays in television signal reception for games of skill and proposes a methodology for equalizing these latencies.

General Knowledge in the Art (GKA):

At the time of the priority dates for these provisional applications (2005-2006), a PHOSITA would have possessed knowledge of:

• The existence and use of digital television recording systems (DVRs) like TiVo™, which could introduce viewing delays.
• Cellular phone location technologies, such as Qualcomm's Snaptrack, SnapSmart, and Snapcore, used to determine a user's physical location.
• Techniques for content identification and synchronization, including audio/video recognition, watermarking, and fingerprinting.
• Established principles of client-server architecture and distributed computing.

Obviousness Combinations and Rationale:

The independent claims (Claims 1, 12, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28) of US12005349 generally describe a system and method for synchronizing games with programming, involving a server, mobile devices, detecting programming, executing a game with synchronization points, determining and equalizing latency for fair play, and transmitting game data.

Combination 1: '793 Provisional + '546 Patent + '913 Patent + '356 Provisional + '301 Provisional + GKA

Core Concept: This combination renders obvious a system and method for providing synchronized, interactive games on mobile devices in conjunction with television programming, where systemic latencies in television signal reception are detected and equalized to ensure fair competition among geographically dispersed participants.

Rationale:

1. Problem Recognition and Solution Framework ('793 Provisional): The '793 provisional directly identifies the core problem addressed by US12005349: "systemic latencies in television reception" that create unfairness in "games of skill played in connection with live television programming." It also explicitly proposes "a methodology for equalizing" these latencies. This reference provides the primary motivation for a PHOSITA to combine other elements to achieve latency equalization.
2. Interactive Game Mechanics ('546 Patent): The '546 patent teaches the fundamental concept of a "Game of Skill Playable by Remote Participants in Conjunction with a Live Event" that uses "lock out" signals to control input timing. A PHOSITA, seeking to implement the latency equalization methodology of the '793 provisional, would naturally apply it to such known interactive games to mitigate the competitive advantages arising from signal delays.
3. Server-Client Architecture and Participant Grouping ('913 Patent): The '913 patent describes a "central computing system" for managing participants and competition, including the grouping of participants and the use of "wireless receiving devices" and "telephonic links." This provides the necessary server-client framework for delivering game data and managing participant interactions. It would be obvious to a PHOSITA to implement the game mechanics of '546 and the latency equalization of '793 within such a distributed system. The concept of "cohorts" (groups of viewers with similar delay characteristics) for applying delay equalization, as described in US12005349, is a direct application and elaboration of the participant grouping concept from '913 in the context of latency.
4. Mobile Device Platform ('356 and '301 Provisionals): The '356 provisional explicitly teaches a "CELL PHONE BASED SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE OFFERING A VARIETY OF SCHEDULED GAMES IN CONNECTION WITH LIVE TELEVISION PROGRAMMING." Similarly, the '301 provisional discusses "CELLULAR PHONE GAMES BASED UPON TELEVISION ARCHIVES." Given these teachings, it would be obvious for a PHOSITA to utilize widely adopted "cellular phones" (or other mobile devices) as the "wireless receiving devices" for playing the latency-equalized, interactive games described by combining '793, '546, and '913.
5. Addressing Specific Latency Sources (GKA): The GKA regarding DVRs and varied broadcast methods (cable, satellite, over-the-air) that cause propagation delays was well-known, as acknowledged in the background of US12005349. A PHOSITA would be motivated to leverage this understanding, combined with the methodologies of the '793 provisional, to develop specific techniques for determining these delays (e.g., by asking users about their reception method, using location data like GPS from mobile phones to identify cohorts).

This combination makes obvious the subject matter of Claims 1, 12, 26, 27, and 28, which generally cover a server-based system and method for detecting programming, synchronizing a game, executing it using synchronization points, determining and equalizing delays based on signal reception differences, and transmitting game data to mobile devices for participation. The adjustment of lockout signals or the entire data stream to equalize receipt, as taught in '546 and further elaborated by '793, directly covers the equalization aspects.

Combination 2: Combination 1 + GKA (for client-side synchronization)

Core Concept: Building on Combination 1, this combination specifically addresses the aspects where mobile devices play a more active role in determining latency or maintaining synchronization.

Rationale for Claims 22, 25 (Mobile device determines and synchronizes participant latency):
US12005349 describes scenarios where "the client software is able to delay the presentation of the game data based on the viewers' cohort." In a distributed system, it is a common engineering choice to distribute processing tasks to client devices to improve efficiency, responsiveness, and adapt to local conditions. Given the overarching goal of latency equalization from the '793 provisional, a PHOSITA would find it obvious to implement portions of the delay determination and synchronization logic on the mobile device itself. For example, if the server determines cohort-specific delays, the client device could be tasked with applying that calculated delay locally before presenting game data. Alternatively, if methods for determining delays involve client-side user input (e.g., a user marking an event time) or location data (using GPS on the phone), it would be obvious to leverage the mobile device's capabilities to contribute to or even locally manage its specific latency adjustments.

Rationale for Claims 23, 24 (Mobile device continuously checks synchronization using inserted audio/video):
The '793 provisional aims for precise synchronization. US12005349 itself describes using "an audio signal, possibly sub-audible to humans, which is inserted into the taped audio track recognizable by the audio receiver in a cellular phone which would be utilized to start and/or continually keep the pre-produced data files resident on the cellular phone in synchronization with the telecast." Methods for embedding signals (e.g., watermarks, sub-audible tones) within audio/video streams for content identification and synchronization were well-known in the art. A PHOSITA, seeking to ensure continuous and precise synchronization as required by the '793 provisional's objective, would find it obvious to equip the mobile device (cellular phone, as per '356 and '301 provisionals) with the capability to detect such inserted audio or video signals (or use known audio/video recognition technologies) to monitor and adjust its internal game timing relative to the received programming. This represents a logical implementation detail for achieving robust and ongoing synchronization within the established system.

Conclusion:

Based on the explicit disclosures in the '546, '913, '356, '301, and '793 patents and provisional applications, combined with the general knowledge of a PHOSITA in distributed gaming systems and content synchronization, all independent claims of US Patent 12005349 would have been obvious. The '793 provisional serves as a direct roadmap to solving the latency problem, and the other references provide the components (interactive games, server architecture, mobile devices) and context for implementing that solution. The motivations stem from a desire to improve fairness, enhance the user experience, and efficiently distribute processing in networked applications.