Peer-to-Patent Australia

LATEST PRIOR ART

Date	Title	Reviewer

05/27/10	A policy-driven scheduler for a time-sharing system	William Caelli

03/30/10	Method and arrangement for calculation of author royalties	Nicholas Josey

03/30/10	Method and system for customizing electronic gaming machines	Nicholas Josey

03/30/10	Server-based gaming system technology transfer and IP license agreement	Nicholas Josey

03/29/10	Apparatus and Methods for a Client Server System	Jason Leong

DISCUSSION

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William Caelli (about 1 year ago)

Comments on Claim Specifics:: 0006 - Downloadable software modules and complete programs have been used for over 30 years and became popular as soon as the microprocessor permitted low cost “distributed computing” to become a “mainstream” activity in the ICT industry. There are no known “technology advances” that have made its use for gaming systems possible beyond those that have become accepted and normal practice for IT professionals. The only change may have been in the structure of actual gaming machines with the incorporation of micrprocessors and thus to the use of this well proven technology. 0008 - The technical solutions have been available for over 20 years through the use of cryptographic systems for such facilities as: - Digital watermarks, - Digital signatures, - Content encryption, etc. The problem has been purely that content owners have not wanted to change their obsolete business models to allow for the change in technology afforded by such entities as the introduction of the global Internet. 0010 - Cryptographic systems are NOT difficult to implement and nowadays may involve nothing more than the use of the low-cost “Trusted Platform Module (TPM)” chip set. This, moreover, also eliminates any performance concerns. 0064 - “..embodied in other specific forms..” This statement demonstrates that the application provides no novelty or claims as to specificity of the invention. Rather, it clearly demonstrates that the whole document is just a description of a distributed computer system, using well established technologies and sub-systems, applied to the gaming industry sector. The concept of a patent, as per the definition given by IP Australia is simple and as follows: A patent is a right granted for any device, substance, method or process which is new, inventive and useful. (URL http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/what_index.shtml cited at 6 May 2010). The claim must demonstrate something “new”. The document does not do this in that all the techniques outlined have been known, described and published for over 20 years. Inventiveness must indicate originality and the techniques described do not introduce any specific variation to the well established structures described. The claimed invention is useful, as is any integrated computer system.

Nicholas Josey (about 1 year ago)

The issue I see with this application is that the idea of storing content on an accessible server is not a new concept. Indeed, it would be quite obvious to pretty much any person with half an idea of how such a server can work. That being said, the application is very specific to the concept of gaming ‘machines’ – that is, focusing on a different niche of the market. With that in mind, the system of royalty calculation is also not all that challenging. Many companies do this already; with their website calculating how much is owed in relation to each download. (see, for example - http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7072867.html) The question here is whether putting these two areas together into the one concept is enough to make it patentable?

Nicholas Josey (about 1 year ago)

The application involves a method of allowing users to download and update content for slot and gaming machines from an online server to save having to constantly reboot and manually install content, while allowing the manufacturer to collect royalties securely. Sharing content online can often lead to severe issues with licensing and copyright infringement. With this in mind, a method of transferring content quickly without this concern it obviously very attractive. The application does not provide for the actual method of secure transfer; it is assumed that access to the server involves a number of prerequisites, similar to an online store. The appropriate protocols are then used. Once a user downloads content from the server, a royalty calculator is to calculate the fee based on either a time, event, percentage or net profit-based calculation, or daily rate. These royalties are then to be paid to the manufacturer. There are no specifics provided in the application as to how the calculator is to be configured – rather it just gives a few possibilities.

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