PTAB

IPR2025-01276

Niantic Inc v. ImagineAR Inc

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Key Events
Petition
petition

1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: Enabling Virtual Gameplay
  • Brief Description: The ’691 patent describes systems and methods for enabling virtual gameplay where the storyline of a virtual world is modified based on real-world "local elements" associated with a player's geographic location. The patent claims a method where a "local element script" is actuated to modify player statistics and plot nodes, but only when the player's real-world location is not concurrently represented by another player in the game.

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, which discloses incorporating geolocation information into an online game to modify the gaming environment, teaches all limitations of the challenged claims. Kolo describes a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game where real-world conditions at a player's location affect gameplay.
      • Local Element Scripts: Petitioner contended that Kolo’s various gameplay modes—such as a "Battle" mode where weapon damage depends on weather at the players' respective locations, or a "Werewolf" mode where a player transforms based on a full moon—are driven by code corresponding to the claimed "local element script," which is actuated based on a real-world "local element" (e.g., weather, time of day).
      • Actuation Based on Uniqueness (Claim 1[d]): The key limitation of actuating the script only when a player’s location is unique (not represented by another player) was not expressly taught by Kolo. However, Petitioner argued a POSITA would have been motivated to add this feature to Kolo's system to enhance game engagement. This would encourage players to explore new physical locations to gain in-game advantages (like using a powerful weapon that only works when alone), thereby increasing advertising revenue opportunities for the game developer in those locations.
      • Modifying Statistics and Plot Nodes (Claims 1[c], 1[e]): Petitioner asserted that actuating Kolo's gameplay scripts inherently modifies character statistics (e.g., increasing strength to achieve maximum weapon damage) and plot nodes (e.g., the victim player losing health or being removed from the game after a battle).
    • Motivation to Combine (N/A - Single Reference): Not applicable.
    • Expectation of Success: A POSITA would have a high expectation of success in modifying Kolo to check for location uniqueness, as it was a straightforward programming task that leveraged Kolo's existing capability to track multiple player locations in an MMO environment.

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 built upon the Kolo reference to address dependent claims reciting specific types of local elements, such as news items referring to crowds or local celebrities. Petitioner argued Kolo already teaches using real-world data like weather reports (a type of news item) to modify gameplay. Zyda was introduced as it explicitly teaches a game that receives real-world news in real-time, extracts occurrences from the news (e.g., keywords, events at a location), and modifies the virtual world in response. Zyda discloses introducing non-player characters (NPCs) or modifying character attributes based on news events.
    • Motivation to Combine: A POSITA would combine Kolo and Zyda to make Kolo’s game world more immersive and interactive. Kolo already established the principle of using real-world data; applying Zyda’s more advanced techniques for processing a wider variety of real-time news (beyond just weather) was a natural and obvious extension to enhance player engagement. For example, if a news feed mentioned a crowd at a local park, the combined system would introduce a crowd of NPCs into the game at that location.
    • Expectation of Success: The combination required only known techniques, such as accessing news sources based on geolocation and extracting keywords, to implement in Kolo’s existing framework. This presented a predictable path to achieving a more dynamic and customized gaming experience.

4. Key Claim Construction Positions

  • "local element script": Petitioner argued that this term should be given its plain and ordinary meaning, which encompasses computer code that performs a function based on a local element. However, should the Board determine it is a means-plus-function term, Petitioner contended that the ’691 patent specification provides the corresponding structure for performing the recited functions: a processor and memory in a computer performing the recited functions. Petitioner maintained that the claims are unpatentable under either interpretation because the prior art discloses the same or an equivalent structure.

5. Key Technical Contentions (Beyond Claim Construction)

  • Interchangeability of Local and Remote Processing: Petitioner argued that Kolo discloses its invention can be implemented on local computing devices, a central server, or a combination of both. Therefore, regardless of whether a claim limitation is performed on the user's mobile device or a remote server, Kolo's disclosure of this functional interchangeability would have rendered it obvious that either component could serve as the claimed "computing device." This preempts any patentability argument based on the specific location of processing.

6. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requested the institution of an inter partes review and the cancellation of claims 1-28 of the ’691 patent as unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103.