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`HAVERSTOCK & OWENS LLP AN = S
`162 North Wolfe Road < l: =5
`Sunnyvale, CA 94086 NS =+
`(408) 530-9700 s')_ o =
`Customer No.: 28960 - =
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`Attorney Docket No.: AIRP-00800
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`Commissioner for Patents
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
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`PROVISIONAL APPLICATION TRANSMITTAL
`
`ir:
`Transmitted herewith for filing is the provisional patent application of Inventor: David B. Lockton et al.
`:l‘itle: CELL PHONE GAMES BASED UPON TELEVISION ARCHIVES
`CERTIFICATION UNDER 37 CFR § 1.10
`I hereby certify that this New Application and the documents referred to as enclosed herein are being deposited with the United S Postal
`Service on this date, October 3, 2005, in an envelope bearing "Express Mail Post Office To Addressee” Mailing Label Number
`EV551129858US addressed to: Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450 fi
`Francis Guerra : <>
`(Name of Person Mailing Paper) C Signature
`Enclosed are:
`1. The papers required for filing date under CFR § 1.53(b)(2):
`X Pages which includes
`7 Pages of Specification, including drawings
`2. First and Joint Inventor Information: Second and Joint Inventor Information:
`Name: David B. Lockton Name: Mark K. Berner
`Residence: 26725 Paseo Robles, Carmel, CA 93923 Residence: 2580 Johnson Place, Santa Clara, CA 95050
`Citizenship: United States Citizenship: United States
`Post Office Address: 26725 Paseo Robles, Carmel, CA 93923 Post Office Address: 2580 Johnson Place, Santa Clara, CA 95050
`.
`3." Fee Calculation Provisional Application Basic Fee: $200.00
`\ X Applicants are entitled to small entity status
`50% Filing Fee Reduction (if applicable)
`TOTAL FEES ENCLOSED $100.00
`4. Payment of Fees
`P.q Check in the amount of $100.00 enclosed.
`5. X Authorization to Charge Additional Fees
`The Commissioner is hereby authorized to charge any additional fees (or credit any overpayment) associated with this
`communication and which may be required under 37 CFR § 1.16 or § 1.17 to Account No. 08-1275. An originally
`executed duplicate of this transmittal is enclosed for this purpose.
`6. X Return Receipt Postcard
`7. Agent Information:
`Name of Firm: Haverstock & Owens LLP
`Name(s) of Attorneys: Thomas B. Haverstock (Reg. No. 32,571) and Jonathan O. Owens (Reg. No. 37,902)
`Address: 162 North Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
`Phone Number: (408) 530-9700
`8. This invention was not made by an agency of the U.S. Government nor under contract with an agency of the U.S. Government.
`
`Dated: October 3, 2005
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`FanDuel Ex. 1008-0001
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`EXPRESS MATL LABEL NO. EV551129858US
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`Cell phone games based upon television archives
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`This invention describes systems and methodologies for creating, producing, distributing,
`and playing games on cell phones and other mobile devices based on archived video of
`previously broadcast television programming. The game play is very similar to games of
`skill based on live TV broadcasts described in prior patents by the current inventors. The
`Lockton patent #4,592,546 (expired in April 2004) teaches a methodology for conducting
`games of skill utilizing two separate mass media in connection with live and taped
`television broadcasts. Lockton patent #5,083,800 similarly applies a separate mass media
`to control computer and video games played simultaneously. Prior art developed at
`Interactive Network, in operation from 1989 until 1995 taught a methodology for
`producing large scale simultaneously played games of skill in conjunction with the
`broadcast of prerecorded game shows such as Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.
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`For Jeopardy, for example, the preproduction of three additional wrong answers were
`created with the cooperation of the producers of the television shows in advance of the
`airing of the telecast. These game data files were time synchronized with the video tape
`of the game show and stored on a broadcast server. A means of mass communication
`(data broadcasting) separate from the television broadcast, for example, a network of FM
`stations utilizing the SCA sub carrier, or the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the
`television signal, were leased from broadcasters on a market by market basis. The
`separate mass media multicast the digital data files to a wireless data receiver in the
`participant’s possession. Through the visual observation of the “live” telecast of the
`syndicated television show in each market, the game show pre-produced synchronized
`data files, usually a half hour in duration, were manually synchronized at the beginning of
`the telecast. The synchronization was monitored throughout the telecast, as the telecast
`paused for the insertion of local and national commercials and then resumed. These pre-
`produced data files contained “lock out” signals prohibiting answers post the revelation
`of the correct answers, which were utilized by the game software residing in the wireless
`data receiver. This software created an individual performance file, generally based on
`total point scores for each participant receiving the data files simultaneously within their
`TV market, precisely synchronized with a separately broadcast television signal.
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`In addition to television based games, Interactive Network utilized a methodology for
`conducting games of skill based upon classic card, dice, word, and trivia games. The
`production of these games involved the creation of a digital file for the game, including
`questions and then the correct answers to be revealed to the competitor after a “lock out”
`prohibited further response for a trivia game, for example. The entire files containing
`both questions and answers were broadcast prior to the start of the game to all subscribers
`who indicated their intention to participate. After the countdown to a prescheduled start
`time, all of the competitors games were launched with a one-way signal broadcast to the
`participants, and the files “played” for a duration of 10- to 15-minutes until their
`conclusion.
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`FanDuel Ex. 1008-0002
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`The current state-of-the-art in cell phone based entertainment includes downloadable
`games covering virtually every genre of game that can currently be enjoyed on the
`computer and video game platforms. In addition, new broadband transmission
`technology generally referred to in cellular telephony as “third generation” or 3G, has
`enabled viewing of video clips on the cell phone either by streaming the digital video
`files using the internet, or downloading compressed files and then “playing” them on the
`cell phone’s LCD color display. Companies like Verizon Wireless and Qualcomm are
`utilizing these technologies in connection with content owners to download TV clips of
`news broadcasts, highlights of sporting events, and other television entertainment on an
`on demand basis to cellular subscribers. Qualcomm recently announced its Media Flo
`project which has the capability of broadcasting live televised events or clips from these
`events, such as NFL Football, for display and viewing on a cellular telephone color LCD
`display.
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`This invention describes a methodology and systems for providing games of skill and
`chance, playable either on demand or simultaneously by cellular subscribers, whereby the
`underlying event upon which the game play is based is archival video footage such as
`football, baseball, basketball, or other sporting events or game shows (Wheel of Fortune
`or Jeopardy), or other television entertainment which has already been broadcast.
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`Methodology
`This invention utilizes the following methods in the production game play, and display.
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`Game Production — All television programmers maintain video taped archives of every
`program they have produced and aired dating back to at least 1960. Segments of suitable
`length of once televised sporting events or game shows, generally between 5- and 10-
`minutes, would be selected by the producers of such a game service. For example, in the
`case of football based cellphone games, a scoring drive from a 1980 Super Bowl Game
`between the Pittsburgh Steelers and LA Rams of a 10-minute duration might be selected.
`In the case of a game show, a 7-minute “round” from a Jeopardy telecast aired in the
`past, might be selected.
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`The analog video files are digitized utilizing a variety of standard methodologies in an
`appropriate format for broadcast utilizing a wireless cellular network. Game producers
`would create data files to support a competitive game of skill or chance which would be
`precisely synchronized with the digitized video files. In the case of football, these data
`files, as taught in the Interactive Network prior art and the Lockton patents, would
`contain “lockout” signals prohibiting further input, a determination of whether each play
`was a short or long pass, a run to the right, or left based on observation of the video file
`of the game. Point values are assessed for correct or incorrect answers, and the game
`play would be played similarly to that described as in the aforementioned prior art. In the
`case of a Jeopardy game show, three wrong answers would be created and the four
`multiple choices including the correct answer for each Jeopardy question selected would
`be produced.
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`In the production process, the game data file is time synchronized precisely with the
`video file. The user would select answers 1, 2, 3, or 4 on his cell phone to answer the
`question before a time stamped “lockout” signal contained in the game file, precluding
`further input. When the correct answer is selected by the television contestant, then the
`point values for the correct answer would be incremented or decremented by software in
`the game file, depending on whether the competitor was right or wrong with their
`selection.
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`The digitized video files, and the separately produced overlying game play file would
`then either be combined for streaming or broadcast into a single data file, maintained as
`two data files, or utilize an alternate methodology, to ensure that both files are broadcast
`simultaneously on a single TCP, UDP, multicast, or other transmission, utilizing current
`data compression capabilities. The game data files would contain graphic information
`separate from the video of the game telecast, such as the selection options, for example
`“run,” “pass,” for a game based on a football telecast. Separate digital sound tracks, one
`for the television programming, and one for the game programming could also be
`combined for a single transmission. In other words, data can either be A) down-loaded in
`advance, or B) streamed or broadcast. The different types of data 1) digitized video, 2)
`game play data, 3) audio enhancements, can either be combined with each other or sent
`separately. Regardless of how these discreet pieces of information are delivered to the
`phone, the application will ensure that the game play data and audio are synchronized
`with the video archive.
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`Game Play — Under this methodology, a user on an ad hoc basis, or as a subscriber to a
`service utilizing a free trial, or charging the required fee to their cellular telephone bill,
`would indicate their desire to participate in a contest based upon the old television
`program. The contests would have a specific start time, displayed on the cell phone, such
`as, for example, “1980 Super Bowl game, 3:15 pm,” or an alternative, the menu on the
`cell phone could describe a game played at any time by the cell phone owner by selecting
`it from a menu on the cell phone. Upon selecting this game from the menu, the
`underlying video and data files would be streamed or downloaded to the cell phone, and
`the video of the underlying telecast sporting event, game show, or other entertainment
`program, would be displayed on the cell phone utilizing software permanently or
`temporarily resident on a cell phone client designed to display full motion video. A
`record of what episodes of what games had been played for an individual subscriber
`would be maintained on the service’s server to insure a subscriber always received a
`game they had not played before.
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`On Demand Games Against Friends — For games not played simultaneously in real time,
`a subscriber playing an on demand game would have the ability, utilizing the cell phone
`display, to add the telephone number, subscriber pseudo name, or other identification of
`friends who are also subscribers, with whom he wishes to match his score in the game
`about to be played. This information would be registered on a central game management
`server, and the subscribers selected would be immediately notified, notified when they
`accessed the game provider’s main menu, or at some other time. When, for example a
`football game was played by the subscriber wishing to compare his score with friends,
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`FanDuel Ex. 1008-0004
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`this specific game would be identified on the server so that when and if those friends who
`were challenged and notified, selected a football game for play, the identical game
`previously played and identified will be streamed or downloaded to their new
`competitors. At the conclusion of the game of the last player challenged, the scores of all
`the cohort players would be transmitted to all the competitor’s cell phones, so that they
`can determine the relative ranking of their scores.
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`Additional Kinds of Content - In addition to games played with televised sports and game
`show footage utilizing the methods described, cellphone games could be based upon a
`unique repurposing of existing archival television footage from a variety of television
`genres. For example, a game based on a sitcom, such as the discontinued Seinfeld Show,
`might utilize short clips of a scene, and then ask viewers to answer questions related to
`the predicted resolution of the issue, problem, or situation seen in the short clip. People
`also might be shown historic, memorable sports plays, for example, football passes, runs,
`catches, or highlighted events from a variety of sports telecasts, and then asked to identify
`the participants, the year the clip was from, and the outcome. In each scenario, however,
`the video footage and the overlying game aspect would be pre-produced, combined,
`transmitted and then separated for display and game play.
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`Game Display - The data files which manage the game play, received simultaneously,
`would also utilize software resident on the client for managing the display on the phone’s
`LCD. This game software could be a separate “gaming client” or an “all in one”
`application which addresses the video and game elements. This game data graphics
`could be presented to the player by overlaying the text and symbols over the television
`footage, or in the alternative, utilize a separate portion of the cell phone’s display for this
`information, at the option of the producers. An example of this latter approach is the
`crawling information displayed at the bottom of a TV screen containing stock tickler
`information, or the way closed captioning information is displayed on TV screens. In the
`alternative, a picture in picture (PIP) approach could also be used to separately display
`game play information from the underlying television footage.
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`Under this invention, the subscriber would play along with the 10- to 15-minute TV
`segment of the game until its conclusion, and would be informed at the end, based upon
`software resident in the phone, what their total points earned are. By transmitting this
`game performance information to a central server for compilation, the competition would
`receive information on how their score relates to the scores achieved by other players of
`the game. Under this “on demand” game play format, prizes would generally not be
`awarded, since the person could play the game as many times as they desire, or obtain the
`answers from someone who had played.
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`Games Based on Simultaneous Broadcast — In the alternative, the combined video and
`game data files produced by the same methodology described above could be
`simultaneously broadcast to all participants at a specific time, such as every 15-minutes,
`to all of the players who have registered their intention to play a specific game. In this
`format, these files would be individually streamed, or in the alternative, digitally
`broadcast, precisely at the same time to all participants. Another approach is to download
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`FanDuel Ex. 1008-0005
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`the data in advance. Under this approach the application would ensure that the video and
`game play started at the appropriate time. This could be done by broadcasting a “start”
`signal to all players. The games would unfold in precisely the same manner that the
`games described in Lockton #4,592,546 and the aforementioned prior art.
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`A significant difference in this invention and the prior art, is that all of the information
`utilized for the game is pre-produced and combined in a single data file, and received
`simultaneously by all participating cell phones broadcast, to be separated and displayed
`for simultaneous viewing on a cell phone by the methods described above. While the
`games would unfold to the participant in virtually the same manner as a game based upon
`a live telecast of a sporting event or game show, the cell phone is not utilized as a
`receiving device for a second mass media communications synchronized with the
`underlying telecast, but rather is receiving the single data file which contains both the
`video of the telecast and the game data information. The video and game data is then
`separated by applications software resident on the cell phone for simultaneous display on
`a single color LCD display.
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`Benefit
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`While there is a large potential demand for games of skill for prizes based upon the live
`telecast of sporting events and syndicated game shows, participation in these games is
`generally limited to prime time or near prime time viewing on week days, and sporting
`events on the weekends. The explosion in the popularity of cellular games of short
`duration indicates that the owners of cellular telephones often find 5-10 minutes during
`the day to participate in stimulating entertainment work breaks, while commuting to and
`from work, sometimes even when they are working, etc. The methodologies described
`herein provide a new and unique form of entertainment. While based on popular
`television programming, the games can be enjoyed either on demand or several times an
`hour with scheduled start times, since they are generated from TV archives. The games
`are ever changing and are based on programming with a proven huge fan audience. This
`invention provides the highest quality production value at a fraction of the cost of
`existing video, computer, and cell games. These games require the skills of graphic
`artists and designers, and extensive programming to create full motion 3D graphics in
`attempt to make games like John Madden Football, or Sony’s Jeopardy games as close to
`the actual telecast as possible. This invention repurposes the actual television footage of
`these events at a fraction of the cost.
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`Games with a common start time might be played competitively for prizes. While all of
`these telecasts may have been viewed in the past by a potential competitor, it would be
`highly unlikely that anyone could specifically remember the details of an event seen 5 to
`10 years ago. Even so, it is highly likely that these games would still be considered
`games of skill, in that the ability to remember the answers to trivia questions and other
`memory tests have been defined as legal games of skill. These games based on old TV
`footage could be played for prizes where laws permit.
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`FanDuel Ex. 1008-0006
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`FanDuel Ex. 1008-0007
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`FanDuel Ex. 1008-0008
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`PATENT ‘APPLICATION SERIAL'NO _ - . .. ..+
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`_U.S: DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE .
`T 'PATENT - AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`' FEE RECORD' SHEET
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`1d/gs/eoos.nfimmi' 00000091 60723301
`01 FC:2005 - - 1000007
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`PTO:1556
`(587) s
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`U8 Gomarrvrent Prrang Ofios: 2002.— 444-267/0405) P
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`FanDuel Ex. 1008-0009
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