PTAB

IPR2016-00491

Aristocrat Technologies Inc v. Igt

Log In
Key Events
Petition
petition

1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: Gaming Device Having a Bonus Game with Multiple Selection Groups
  • Brief Description: The ’701 patent discloses a gaming device, such as a video slot machine, featuring a bonus game. The bonus game involves multiple "selection groups," each containing a plurality of symbols that hide various "outcomes," such as bonus awards, game termination, advancement to another group, or winning all awards in a group.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground I: Claims 1-26 and 29-35 are obvious over Barrie in view of Banana-Rama and Luigi's Pizzeria

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Barrie (UK Application # GB 2 144 644), Banana-Rama (a 1998 article in Casino Journal), and Luigi's Pizzeria (a 1999 article in Casino Journal).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that the prior art taught all key elements of the challenged claims. Barrie, a UK patent application, disclosed the fundamental structure of a multi-level bonus game with different selection groups (rows of doors), bonus value outcomes ("reward class" doors), termination outcomes ("lose class" doors), and outcomes that advance the player to a new selection group ("win class" doors), which corresponds to the claimed "change group outcome." Banana-Rama, a trade journal article, taught a "win-group outcome" through its "Super Collect" feature, where a player could win all bonus amounts from the entire selection group. Luigi's Pizzeria, another trade journal article, taught an "achievement outcome" by describing a bonus game that provides an additional award (a bonus multiplier) after the player successfully completes all selections.
    • Motivation to Combine: A Person of Ordinary Skill in the Art (POSITA) would combine these references to create a more engaging and commercially successful game, a constant need in the competitive gaming industry. A POSITA would implement Barrie's multi-level game as a bonus round to attract players. To increase excitement, a POSITA would incorporate the known "win all" concept from Banana-Rama's "Super Collect" feature into Barrie's game structure. Finally, a POSITA would add an end-of-game "achievement" award as taught by Luigi's Pizzeria to provide a more compelling climax and reward for players who successfully navigate all levels without triggering a termination outcome.
    • Expectation of Success: A POSITA would have a high expectation of success because combining these features was a matter of routine software implementation. The prior art elements were all well-known concepts in gaming, and integrating them into Barrie's software-controlled game presented no technical barriers.

Ground II: Claims 27-28 and 36-37 are obvious over Barrie, Banana-Rama, and Luigi's Pizzeria in view of Walker

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Barrie (UK Application # GB 2 144 644), Banana-Rama (a 1998 article in Casino Journal), Luigi's Pizzeria (a 1999 article in Casino Journal), and Walker (Patent 6,174,235).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: This ground built upon the combination asserted in Ground I to address the remaining method claims requiring operation of the gaming device over a data network. Walker taught implementing gaming devices over a network, such as the Internet, and described the known benefits of doing so, including storing and accessing player-related information on a central server. The combination of Barrie, Banana-Rama, and Luigi's Pizzeria taught the core bonus game method, as established in Ground I.
    • Motivation to Combine: A POSITA would be motivated to modify the game resulting from the Ground I combination to operate over a network as taught by Walker. The motivation was to obtain the well-known advantages of networked gaming, such as tracking player data, funds, and preferences, which were desirable for both operators and players. This was a predictable and logical step in the evolution of electronic gaming devices at the time.
    • Expectation of Success: A POSITA would have expected success in making this modification, as implementing a software-based game on a known network architecture was well within the ordinary skill in the art and a common industry practice.

4. Key Claim Construction Positions

  • "win-group outcome": Petitioner argued this term should be construed as "an outcome defined to include at least one award of a bonus value that is associated with at least one different symbol within the same selection group." This construction was critical to distinguish it from a simple bonus award and to map the "Super Collect" feature from Banana-Rama, which awards values from other symbols.
  • "change group outcome": Petitioner proposed construing this as "an outcome that requires the player to make the next selection from a different selection group." This construction directly mapped to the advancement feature in Barrie, where selecting a "win class" door led the player to a new set of doors.
  • "achievement outcome" / "achievement bonus": Petitioner argued these related terms should be construed as "a reward for advancing through all available selection groups without selecting a termination outcome." This construction captured the concept of a final, cumulative prize for successfully completing the game, as taught by Luigi's Pizzeria.

5. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requested the institution of an inter partes review and cancellation of claims 1-37 of the ’701 patent as unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103.