Patents by Inventor William B. Fulton
William B. Fulton has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 10398985Abstract: A social matchmaking service selects matches of on-line game players based on personal/social characteristics of the players. The social matching service evaluates several criteria to obtain a list of available, socially compatible, game sessions. Criteria about the player include a player's friends, positive feedback about the player, negative feedback about the player, games completed with other players, players to avoid, and the player's gamer zone, country and language. Criteria about hosts of potentially compatible game sessions are also considered. Social matching utilizes a multi-pass approach, applying rules for prioritizing social criteria at each pass. The multi-pass approach starts with a narrow search and broadens the search at each successive pass. At each successive pass, sessions are added to the list of potential sessions until a reasonable number of sessions is achieved. Game sessions are assigned session values in accordance with affiliations between players.Type: GrantFiled: June 3, 2016Date of Patent: September 3, 2019Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLCInventors: David Shaw, Paul E. Newson, Patrick W. O'Kelley, II, William B. Fulton
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Publication number: 20160279524Abstract: A social matchmaking service selects matches of on-line game players based on personal/social characteristics of the players. The social matching service evaluates several criteria to obtain a list of available, socially compatible, game sessions. Criteria about the player include a player's friends, positive feedback about the player, negative feedback about the player, games completed with other players, players to avoid, and the player's gamer zone, country and language. Criteria about hosts of potentially compatible game sessions are also considered. Social matching utilizes a multi-pass approach, applying rules for prioritizing social criteria at each pass. The multi-pass approach starts with a narrow search and broadens the search at each successive pass. At each successive pass, sessions are added to the list of potential sessions until a reasonable number of sessions is achieved. Game sessions are assigned session values in accordance with affiliations between players.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 3, 2016Publication date: September 29, 2016Inventors: David Shaw, Paul E. Newson, Patrick W. O'Kelley, II, William B. Fulton
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Patent number: 9375641Abstract: A social matchmaking service selects matches of on-line game players based on personal/social characteristics of the players. The social matching service evaluates several criteria to obtain a list of available, socially compatible, game sessions. Criteria about the player include a player's friends, positive feedback about the player, negative feedback about the player, games completed with other players, players to avoid, and the player's gamer zone, country and language. Criteria about hosts of potentially compatible game sessions are also considered. Social matching utilizes a multi-pass approach, applying rules for prioritizing social criteria at each pass. The multi-pass approach starts with a narrow search and broadens the search at each successive pass. At each successive pass, sessions are added to the list of potential sessions until a reasonable number of sessions is achieved. Game sessions are assigned session values in accordance with affiliations between players.Type: GrantFiled: December 20, 2005Date of Patent: June 28, 2016Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLCInventors: David Shaw, Paul E. Newson, Patrick W. O'Kelley, II, William B. Fulton
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Patent number: 8535165Abstract: A service that provides for setting up game sessions for a plurality of game players. A number of game players that each have a computing device capable of playing a computer game are linked together by the service. The service allows a player to set up a common game session so that a subset of the players can simultaneously start playing the game at the same level. Additionally, the service allows game competitions to be structured and played among a subset of the game players.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2012Date of Patent: September 17, 2013Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Patrick W. O'Kelley, J. Clinton Paul Fowler, Johan Peter Hansen, William B. Fulton, Jerry Alan Johnson
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Publication number: 20120283023Abstract: A service that provides for setting up game sessions for a plurality of game players. A number of game players that each have a computing device capable of playing a computer game are linked together by the service. The service allows a player to set up a common game session so that a subset of the players can simultaneously start playing the game at the same level. Additionally, the service allows game competitions to be structured and played among a subset of the game players.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 13, 2012Publication date: November 8, 2012Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Patrick W. O'Kelley, II, J. Clinton Paul Fowler, Johan Peter Hansen, William B. Fulton, Jerry Alan Johnson
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Patent number: 8241129Abstract: A service that provides for setting up game sessions for a plurality of game players. A number of game players that each have a computing device capable of playing a computer game are linked together by the service. The service allows a player to set up a common game session so that a subset of the players can simultaneously start playing the game at the same level. Additionally, the service allows game competitions to be structured and played among a subset of the game players.Type: GrantFiled: June 20, 2005Date of Patent: August 14, 2012Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Patrick W. O'Kelley, II, J. Clinton Paul Fowler, Johan Peter Hansen, William B. Fulton, Jerry Alan Johnson
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Patent number: 8221238Abstract: A reputation of an on-line gamer is calculated in accordance with feedback about the gamer provided by other players. The gamer's reputation is determined in accordance with the number of players the gamer has encountered via game play, the number of players who have indicated that they prefer to play with the gamer again, and the number of players who have indicated that they prefer not to play with the gamer again. Parameters used to determine the gamer's reputation can be weighted and/or decayed to allow a more dynamic and temporally accurate determination of the gamer's reputation. Players can observe other players' reputations.Type: GrantFiled: December 20, 2005Date of Patent: July 17, 2012Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: David Shaw, Patrick W. O'Kelley, II, William B. Fulton, Johan Peter Hansen
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Patent number: 7614955Abstract: A method and system for accumulating data to match and matching a user, based upon a play style and/or personal attribute, in an online gaming environment is described. One aspect of the invention provides a matchmaking system that matches players based upon a play style of the players. The system matches players who are looking for games with players who prefer similar play styles. Similarly the system can match players based upon a personal attribute of the player. The system can be built into existing general skill level and technical capabilities based matchmaking systems to provide more user desired matchmaking parameters, allowing a user to choose based upon play style, personal attribute, general skill level, and/or technical capabilities.Type: GrantFiled: March 1, 2004Date of Patent: November 10, 2009Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Shelly D. Farnham, Bruce Christopher Phillips, Scott Lee Tiernan, Keith Steury, William B. Fulton, Jens Riegelsberger
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Publication number: 20080182660Abstract: A club may be established in an online gaming space independent of the game title. The online gaming club may include a playlist of game titles and a rule set. A user may join an online gaming session, associated with the online gaming club, of one of the game titles in the playlist. Further, the online gaming club may be updated to exclude a user whose behavior within the online gaming session is inconsistent with the rule set.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 30, 2007Publication date: July 31, 2008Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: William B. Fulton, Sage Merrill, Barton House, Gerald Edsall