Niantic Inc v. ImagineAR Inc

1. Case Identification

• Case #: IPR2025-01275
• Patent #: 11,484,797
• Filed: July 14, 2025
• Petitioner(s): Niantic, Inc.
• Patent Owner(s): Imaginear, Inc. and Imagine AR, Inc.
• Challenged Claims: 1-28

2. Patent Overview

• Title: Enabling Virtual Gameplay Based on Real World Local Elements
• Brief Description: The ’797 patent describes systems and methods for modifying the storyline of a virtual world based on real-world “local elements” associated with a player’s geographic location. The system detects a player's location, retrieves a corresponding local element (e.g., weather, news), and actuates a “local element script” to alter gameplay for that player and others.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground 1: Claims 1-21, 24, 26, and 27 are obvious over Kolo

• Prior Art Relied Upon: Kolo (Application # 2012/0244945).
• Core Argument for this Ground:
  • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that Kolo discloses a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game that incorporates a player's geolocation to modify the gaming environment. Kolo’s battle scenario, where weapon effectiveness is dependent on the weather at both a "wielding player's" and a "victim player's" distinct geolocations, allegedly discloses the core limitations of independent claim 1. Petitioner mapped the game logic that modifies weapon damage based on weather to the claimed “local element script,” arguing it is associated with a real-world location (the local element being weather) and is actuated to modify a virtual character statistic (damage) and a plot node (the battle's outcome). Kolo’s system of requiring different weather conditions at the two player locations for maximum weapon effectiveness was argued to meet the limitation of actuating the script only when the player's location is "not represented by another player." Dependent claims covering features like creating scripts at subsequent locations, modifying character appearance, and using on-board sensors were also argued to be disclosed or rendered obvious by Kolo's teachings on continuous gameplay and mobile device capabilities.
  • Motivation to Combine (for §103 grounds): Not applicable (single reference ground).
  • Expectation of Success (for §103 grounds): Not applicable (single reference ground).
  • Key Aspects: Petitioner contended that it would have been an obvious design choice to store Kolo's game logic in a database for modularity and ease of maintenance, thereby meeting the "creating in a database" limitation.

Ground 2: Claims 22-23, 25, and 28 are obvious over Kolo in view of Zyda

• Prior Art Relied Upon: Kolo (Application # 2012/0244945) and Zyda (Application # 2011/0214071).
• Core Argument for this Ground:
  • Prior Art Mapping: This ground asserted that while Kolo provides the foundational location-based MMO, Zyda provides the explicit teaching of incorporating a broader range of real-world news and events into a game to modify it. Zyda discloses receiving real-world news in real-time, extracting occurrences (e.g., events, weather reports, celebrity appearances), and modifying attributes of the virtual world or characters based on them. Petitioner argued that adding Zyda’s teachings to Kolo’s system would render obvious the dependent claims reciting specific local elements. For example, Zyda’s disclosure of modifying non-player characters (NPCs) based on real-world events was argued to make it obvious to introduce a crowd of NPCs into Kolo's game when a news item refers to a crowd (claim 22) or to introduce an NPC representing a local celebrity (claim 25). Zyda’s teaching of extracting keywords from news reports was mapped to the limitation of claim 23.
  • Motivation to Combine (for §103 grounds): A POSITA would combine Zyda’s teachings with Kolo’s system to enhance player immersion and engagement. Kolo already used a basic local element (weather), and incorporating a wider variety of real-world news from Zyda was presented as a natural extension to make the game world feel more dynamic and connected to reality.
  • Expectation of Success (for §103 grounds): A POSITA would have had a reasonable expectation of success because the combination involved applying a known technique (Zyda's news integration) to improve a known system (Kolo's location-based game) to achieve predictable results in customization and immersion.

4. Key Claim Construction Positions

• “local element script”: Petitioner contended that this term, if not found indefinite, may be a means-plus-function term under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). The recited functions are creating, actuating, and modifying game elements as detailed in the claims. The corresponding structure identified in the ’797 patent specification is a processor and memory in a computer performing the recited functions. Petitioner asserted that the prior art discloses this same or an equivalent structure.

5. Key Technical Contentions (Beyond Claim Construction)

• Local vs. Server Processing: Petitioner argued that any function Kolo describes as being performed by its central server could obviously be performed by a player's local computing device (and vice-versa). Kolo allegedly discloses options for a fully local version of the game, a server-connected version, and a hybrid model, making the specific location of the claimed "computing device" performing the steps an obvious design choice for a POSITA.

6. Relief Requested

• Petitioner requests institution of an inter partes review and cancellation of claims 1-28 of the ’797 patent as unpatentable.