PTAB

IPR2017-01082

WarGaMing Group Ltd v. Gat

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Petition
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1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: Online Game with Interoperating Pilot and Unit Information
  • Brief Description: The ’243 patent describes a method for an online game, particularly a role-playing game (RPG), where a player-controlled "pilot" is associated with a "unit." The invention addresses the issue of a unit's abilities remaining static as the pilot's abilities grow by introducing a "sync point," a ratio that proportionally applies changes in the pilot's abilities to the unit's abilities, thereby linking their growth.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground 1: Obviousness over Levine and D&D - Claims 1-7 are obvious over Levine in view of D&D.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Levine (Application # 2003/0177187) and D&D (Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook Core Rulebook I v.3.5).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that the combination of Levine and D&D disclosed all limitations of the challenged claims. Levine was asserted to teach a generic online gaming platform, including an "application database" for managing all game objects (such as player "Avatars" and animals), their properties, and their states. D&D, a widely-known tabletop RPG rulebook, was asserted to teach the core game mechanics of a player character ("pilot") associated with an animal companion or familiar ("unit"). Critically, Petitioner contended that D&D taught the claimed "sync point" concept through explicit rules where a unit's abilities (e.g., hit points, bonus tricks) increase proportionally based on fixed ratios tied to the pilot's abilities (e.g., total hit points, level). For example, a "familiar has one-half the master's total hit points." Petitioner argued it would have been obvious to store D&D's character and unit ability information, along with the synchronizing ratios, within Levine's database structure. When a character leveled up (triggering an update request), the system would refer to the pilot's database entry, find the associated unit's unique identifier (GUID), and update both the pilot's and unit's abilities according to the stored sync point ratios.
    • Motivation to Combine: A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would combine Levine and D&D because Levine itself stated that the rules of many massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) were based on tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons. This provided an explicit reason for a game developer to implement the popular and proven D&D ruleset on an online gaming platform like the one disclosed in Levine to create a commercially viable online RPG.
    • Expectation of Success: Petitioner asserted that a POSITA would have had a high expectation of success, as D&D rules had already been successfully implemented in numerous videogames prior to the patent's filing date, demonstrating their suitability for computer-based implementation.

Ground 2: Obviousness over Levine and MOO - Claims 1-7 are obvious over Levine in view of MOO.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Levine (Application # 2003/0177187) and MOO (Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares: The Official Strategy Guide).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner presented an alternative obviousness combination where Levine again provided the online platform and database infrastructure. MOO, a strategy guide for a popular computer-based space strategy game, was argued to teach the "sync point" concept in a different context. MOO disclosed "leaders" (pilots) who command "starships" (units). Specific leader abilities, such as "Fighter Ace," provided percentage-based bonuses to the starship's abilities (e.g., "5 percent per experience level"), directly teaching a ratio that proportionally links the growth of the pilot's ability (level) to the unit's ability (damage). Petitioner argued a POSITA would have found it obvious to implement this system using Levine's architecture, where the leader's and starship's abilities and the 5%/level sync point ratio would be stored in Levine's "application database." An increase in the leader's level would trigger a database update for both the leader and their associated ship, applying the proportional bonus.
    • Motivation to Combine: A POSITA would be motivated to combine the references to create a multiplayer online spaceship game, a popular genre at the time. Both references were directed to videogame development; MOO provided established game design mechanics, while Levine provided the underlying programming and network architecture. Applying MOO's game mechanics to Levine's flexible online platform was presented as a predictable design choice.
    • Expectation of Success: Combining the known game mechanics from a successful computer game (MOO) with a generic online platform (Levine) was argued to be a straightforward implementation for a POSITA, leading to a high expectation of success in creating a functional and engaging online game.

4. Key Claim Construction Positions

  • "Pilot": Petitioner proposed the construction "a player character representing a gamer," arguing this was consistent with the specification's explicit definition and necessary to encompass characters from prior art games like D&D.
  • "Unit": Petitioner proposed "an object operated by a control of a gamer," which would include the animal companions from D&D and the starships from MOO. Petitioner noted this construction should, at a minimum, include animal mounts, consistent with the Patent Owner's positions in related litigation.
  • "Ability": Petitioner argued for "a numeric representation of an attribute," contending that this should include a character's "level." This construction was crucial for mapping the level-based progression systems in D&D and MOO to the claims.

5. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requests institution of an inter partes review and cancellation of claims 1-7 of the ’243 patent as unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103.