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Wenhui ZHANG
Chinese Patent Attorney

　
I. Introduction

Article 22.3 of the Chinese Patent Law prescribes that: inventiveness means that, as compared with the prior art, the invention has prominent substantive features and represents a notable progress. With regard to the criteria for determining a “notable progress”, the Guidelines for Patent Examination provides that in the inventiveness determination for an invention, an important criterion for determining a “notable progress” is that the invention can produce advantageous technical effect as compared with the prior art.

With reference to actual cases, this article introduces one type of “advantageous technical effect”: improved user experience.

II. Provision of the Guidelines for Patent Examination

Under Section 6.1.3 of Chapter 9, Part II of the Guidelines for Patent Examination, “if the solution of the application for invention produces an improvement of user experience, and such an improvement of user experience is produced or generated by a technical feature, or is jointly produced or generated by a technical feature, algorithmic features or business rules and method features in mutual support or interaction with the technical feature, the improvement of user experience should be taken in consideration in the examination for inventiveness.”

The above is a new provision added to the Guidelines for Patent Examination in the revision by the CNIPA in 2023. It is the first time to clarify that the effect of “improvement of user experience” should be considered in the examination of inventiveness of an invention. Prior to this provision, either applicants or patent attorneys or examiners would follow the previous versions of the Guidelines for Patent Examination and pay more attention to the “technical effect in compliance with the laws of nature” of the technical solution of an invention; there has not been a clear standard as to whether an invention can be endowed with inventiveness based on the effect of improving the personal experience of the user, which easily led to controversies.

III. Case Study

Specifically in the field of games, it is indeed good news for the applicants that “improved user experience” would be considered as an “advantageous technical effect” in inventiveness determination, because the technical solution of a game is closely related to the players’ practical operating experience. The new provision caters to the important demand of a patent application in the specific field of games for satisfying the “notable progress” requirement and provides a specific guidance and the legal basis for applicants and attorneys in drafting an application. Furthermore, it enables more accurate determination of inventiveness by the practitioners including examiners in regard of a patent application producing the effect of improved user experience.

Examples of granted game-related patents are introduced subsequently. Referring to the specifications, these patents all describe an “advantageous technical effect” concerning an improvement in the experience of users which is generated or produced by a technical feature constituting the technical solution of the claims, just as prescribed by the provision of the Guidelines for Patent Examination (revised in 2023).

1. Case 1

Patent No. CN113713392B

Issue Date: 14 JULY 2023

Title of Invention: Virtual Character Control Method and Device, Storage Medium and Electronic Equipment

Technical problem addressed: During the participation in a game, a player needs to manipulate a virtual character to find and wear a virtual protection prop, which usually takes a relatively long time and increases the operation steps of the virtual character. Moreover, the process of finding a virtual prop embodies certain randomness; that is, there is a possibility that the player cannot find a virtual prop.

Technical means adopted:

A virtual character control method adapted for a target game application, comprising:

displaying a virtual scene and a first virtual character located in the virtual scene;

controlling the first virtual character to perform a first attack operation on a second virtual character using a first virtual attack prop, wherein the first virtual character and the second virtual character belong to different camps;

increasing armor for a third virtual character in an event that the first attack operation hits the second virtual character, comprising: increasing armor for a first part of the third virtual character in an event that the first attack operation hits the first part of the second virtual character; increasing armor for the first part of the third virtual character N times in a row in an event that the first attack operation hits the first part of the second virtual character N times in a row, wherein the third virtual character belongs to a same camp with the first virtual character, and each time the armor is increased by a predetermined value, and N is a natural number greater than 1.

Technical effect achieved: reducing the time taken by increasing armor for the virtual character and improving the gaming experience of the players.

2. Case 2

Patent No. CN113559515B

Issue Date: 14 NOV 2023

Title of Invention: Object Control Method and Device, Storage Medium and Electronic Equipment

Technical problem addressed: A fighting interaction process often requires highly of real-time performance. During a fighting interaction process, when a virtual character encounters an obstacle provided in the virtual scene, it can only continue to move after the moving direction of the virtual character is adjusted. If the player is not good at character manipulation, the virtual character could be easily stuck in the position of the obstacle and finally defeat by the enemy. That is, the related art has the problem that the operation for manipulating virtual characters in an encounter of obstacle is of high complexity.

Technical means adopted:

An object control method, comprising:

displaying a target virtual object in a moving state in a virtual scene;

determining, in a case where the target virtual object in motion collides with an obstacle in the virtual scene, a collision angle between the target virtual object and the obstacle;

controlling, in a case where the collision angle is greater than a target angle threshold, the target virtual object to automatically fit to the obstacle and move in a sliding manner in an offset direction, wherein the offset direction is a direction determined based on a current moving direction of the target virtual object, and the greater the collision angle is, the faster the target virtual object automatically fits to the obstacle and moves in a sliding manner in the offset direction;

controlling, in a case where the collision angle is less than the target angle threshold, the target virtual object to have a reduced moving speed or stop moving.

Technical effect achieved: simplifying the controlling operation when the target virtual object in motion collides with an obstacle, which is conducive to protecting a newb from failing a task due to unfamiliarity with the operations, to thereby improve the game experiences of new players.

3. Case 3

Patent No. CN113797544B

Issue Date: 09 JULY 2024

Title of Invention: Virtual Object Attack Control Method and Device, Computer Equipment and Storage Medium

Technical problem addressed: In a game where a plurality of virtual objects are present and attack one another, the game may end before a virtual object at a disadvantage can experience the fun of the game, resulting with a relatively short time of participation in the game and a decreased experience of the game.

Technical means adopted:

A virtual object attack control method, comprising:

identifying, in a game scene of a target game, a second virtual object that fights against a first virtual object, the first virtual object belonging to a different camp from the second virtual object;

obtaining a damage component value generated each time a virtual weapon of the second virtual object hits a virtual object in the target game;

obtaining, in the target game, a history battle the second virtual object has participated;

obtaining an attack capability parameter value of the second virtual object in the history battle, the attack capability parameter value comprising a hit rate of the second virtual object hitting another virtual object using a virtual weapon and an attack rate of the second virtual object using a virtual weapon;

predicting, based on the damage component value and the attack capability parameter value, a first attack damage value generated by an attack operation of the second virtual object against the first virtual object within a predetermined time;

determining, based on the first attack damage value, an advantageous party in a battle of the second virtual object versus the first virtual object;

if the advantageous party is the second virtual object, controlling the first virtual object to stop attacking as well as to evade an attack operation of the second virtual object.

Technical effect achieved: increasing the game participation time of a disadvantageous virtual object, reducing the probability of the disadvantageous virtual object being defeated, and increasing the game experience degree.

IV. Conclusion

As seen from the above cases, if the technical solution of an invention addresses the problem of poor user experience and thus attains to the advantageous technical effect of improving the user experience, such technical effect can be taken into consideration in inventiveness determination. The Guidelines for Patent Examination has provided the legal basis for the consideration of an advantageous technical effect in the prosecution. This lowers the requirements for the “technique” of an invention. Consequently, applicants may seek for protection by the patent system for various innovative solutions without a significant effect on the related “technique”.