Appeal No. 2003-1371 Page 9
Application No. 09/186,856
references link the split screen mode to game token location rather than player
location." (Appeal Br. at 12-13.)
1. Claim Construction
Here, claim 1 recites in pertinent part the following limitations:
player location means for associating a game location with each player
such that as each player moves through said adventure game, each
player's game location is updated; and . . . split screen means for dividing
the graphical display into separate portions of each player, said split
screen means being responsive to said player location means such that
when two players' game locations are within a preset range, the separate
portions of the graphical display for the two players are merged into a
single portion of the graphical display, and when the two players' game
locations are outside the preset range, the graphical display for the two
players is split into separate portions.
Giving the claim its broadest, reasonable construction, the limitations require merging or
splitting a display in response to a player's location in an electronic game.
2. Obviousness Determination
Stamper discloses "a computer program routine . . . used in a pinball video
game." Col. 3, ll. 37-38. Players of the game manipulate "a control component (pinball
flipper)," (Appeal Br. at 8), to "interact[] with one or more playing tokens (pinballs)." (Id.)
During play, a "main control program generates information related to playing token
status and position. . . ." Col. 4, ll. 12-14. Because a player focuses on the location of
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