They are tangible, each covering an approach to automated three-dimensional computer animation, which is a specific technological process. In writing about this patent claim, Judge Wu noted that – in isolation – it appears tangible and specific rather than abstract. Generating an output morph weight set stream by applying said first set of rules to each sub-sequence of said plurality of sub-sequences of timed phonemes andĪpplying said output morph weight set stream to an input sequence of animated characters to generate an output sequence of animated characters with lip and facial expression synchronized to said audio sequence. Obtaining a plurality of sub-sequences of timed phonemes corresponding to a desired audio sequence for said three-dimensional characters Obtaining a first set of rules that defines a morph weight set stream as a function of phoneme sequence and times associated with said phoneme sequence A method for automatically animating lip synchronization and facial expression of three-dimensional characters comprising: The inventions claim priority back to 1997.ġ. Those morph-streams are then used as input sequences for the animated characters to provide both timing and movement of facial expressions, including emotion. Then, those phenome sequences are used to create a set of morph-weight-set streams (based upon a set of factors provided by the animators). The details are a bit more technical. According to claim 1 of the ‘278 patent, the invention operates by first creating a set of phoneme sequences keyed to a pre-recorded audio sequence. Historically, this has been very expensive and time consuming to do well. What you might call the ‘gist’ of the invention is simply a data transformation - from an audio signal to a visual animation output. The problem addressed by the invention is that it has been historically quite difficult to match-up animation audio and video - so that the character’s mouth and face are moving to match the sound overlay. The appeal will be interesting and may serve as one of the Federal Circuit’s first opportunities to draw a new line in the sand. Here, the invention is directed toward a specific technological problem that had troubled the field of animation – automatically animating lip synchronization and facial expression of animated characters. to invalidate non-business-method claims. The case is quite important because it is one of the first major applications of Alice Corp. (2014) to invalidate all of McRO’s asserted patent claims. In his second major Section 101 decision in as many weeks, Judge Wu (C.D.
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