US 10237067

US Patent 10237067 is titled "Apparatus for voice assistant, location tagging, multi-media capture, transmission, speech to text conversion, photo/video image/object recognition, creation of searchable metatags/contextual tags, storage and search retrieval".

Assignee: MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES Inc.

Inventors: Michael F. Malone.

Filing Date: November 28, 2017.

Issue Date: March 19, 2019.

Abstract: The patent describes a network interface device comprising a first capture device for capturing external information, a processor for storing it in a first media format, and a transmitter for sending it to a remote network location. At the remote location, a system with a database and receiver converts the information to a second, searchable format before storing it.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1: This claim describes a system that captures both image and audio information. It involves a microphone and a camera, which capture external audio and images respectively. This captured data, along with location and time information, is combined into a "composite data set" and encrypted. This encrypted data is then transmitted to a remote network location. At the remote location, the data is decrypted, and a data converter processes the received digital audio into a text-based searchable file (a text context tag) and creates an image recognition searchable context tag from the digital image. Both of these tags are associated with the digital image and stored in a database along with the captured data.

• Claim 6: This claim focuses on a capture device with internal storage. It details the capture of external audio information via a microphone and images via a camera, with both being stored digitally in the internal storage. Additionally, location and time information associated with the image capture is stored as "captured data." A media data converter then processes the digital audio into a text-based searchable file (a text context tag) and generates an image recognition searchable context tag from the digital image. These text and image recognition context tags are associated with the digital image and the stored captured data, and then stored in the internal storage. This claim also includes an optional transmitter for sending the composite data set to a remote network location for storage.

• Claim 13: This claim describes a system with internal storage for capturing image and audio information. It includes a microphone and a first data converter for external audio, a camera for images, and a data capture device for location and time information. The captured audio is processed into a digital audio format, and the image is stored as a digital image. A second data converter converts the digital audio into a text-based searchable file (a text context tag) and creates an image recognition searchable context tag from the digital image. These context tags are associated with the digital image and the stored captured data, and then stored in the internal storage.

Regarding CAFC 2026 dockets for patent 10237067, a search for "10237067" on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit website did not return specific docket information or case filings directly linked to this patent number for the year 2026. The search results provided general information on how to access case information, but not specific dockets for this patent.

Known Litigation Involving US Patent 10237067

Based on the information available, US Patent 10237067 has been involved in several litigation proceedings, including in District Courts and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC).

Here's a summary of the known litigation:

• Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

  • Jurisdiction: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit [cite: Patent text]
  • Case Number: Not explicitly provided in the patent text, but a case is listed as "26-1372" on Unified Patents. [cite: Patent text]
  • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text or search results.
  • Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text or search results.
  • Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the patent text or search results.
  • Outcome/Current Status: The patent family has litigation filed in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and it is marked as "Critical" litigation. [cite: Patent text] The Federal Circuit hears appeals based on subject matter, particularly patent appeals, and its decisions are binding precedent.

• Delaware District Court

  • Jurisdiction: Delaware District Court [cite: Patent text]
  • Case Number: 1:24-cv-01337 [cite: Patent text]
  • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text or search results.
  • Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text or search results.
  • Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the patent text or search results.
  • Outcome/Current Status: A US case was filed in the Delaware District Court. [cite: Patent text]

• Texas Eastern District Court

  • Jurisdiction: Texas Eastern District Court [cite: Patent text]
  • Case Number: 2:22-cv-00114 [cite: Patent text]
  • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text or search results.
  • Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text or search results.
  • Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the patent text or search results.
  • Outcome/Current Status: A US case was filed in the Texas Eastern District Court. [cite: Patent text]

PTAB Proceedings:

While not traditional court litigation, the following inter partes review (IPR) cases are relevant:

• IPR2023-00024

  • Plaintiff(s): Petitioner: Unified Patents [cite: Patent text]
  • Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided, but MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES Inc. is the patent owner.
  • Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) [cite: Patent text]
  • Case Number: IPR2023-00024 [cite: Patent text]
  • Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the patent text, but the prior section indicates it was filed in 2023.
  • Outcome/Current Status: Settlement [cite: Patent text]

• IPR2025-01466

  • Plaintiff(s): Petitioner: [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.) (as per the previously generated PTAB challenges section) [cite: Patent text]
  • Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided, but MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES Inc. is the patent owner.
  • Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) [cite: Patent text]
  • Case Number: IPR2025-01466 [cite: Patent text]
  • Filing Date: 2025-09-09 (as per the previously generated PTAB challenges section)
  • Outcome/Current Status: Not Instituted - Procedural (Discretionary Denial) [cite: Patent text]

Proceedings overview

US Patent 10237067 has been involved in one Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceeding, IPR2025-01466, which resulted in a discretionary denial of institution. Additionally, the previously generated "Litigation summary" section mentions IPR2023-00024, which reached a settlement, though details are not provided in the canonical "PTAB proceedings on file" list for this task. Focusing on the canonical list, the patent has not had any claims invalidated or sustained by a Final Written Decision from the PTAB. This gives a defendant a posture where the patent's claims remain untested by full IPR trial, but it has survived an institution challenge.

IPR2025-01466 — [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.) v. Michael F. Malone (as inventor, likely representing Myport Technologies Inc. as owner)

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-09-09 [cite: PTAB proceedings on file]
• Status: Discretionary Denial [cite: PTAB proceedings on file]
• Judge panel: Information not available through public search.
• Petition grounds: Information regarding specific claims, prior art, and statutory basis (§ 102 / § 103 / § 112) is not publicly available without the institution decision document itself, and searching for the IPR and its details did not yield these specifics.
• Institution decision: Denied (Discretionary Denial) on 2026-04-02 [cite: PTAB proceedings on file]. The exact reasoning for the discretionary denial is not available from public search results, but discretionary denials often involve factors like parallel litigation, petition stacking, or insufficient showings of potential invalidity.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not issued, as institution was denied.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable, as institution was denied.
• Appeal: Information regarding an appeal to the Federal Circuit is not available.
• Defensive value: This proceeding means that Apple Inc.'s attempt to challenge the patent through IPR did not proceed to a full trial on the merits. The claims of US10237067 remain unadjudicated for patentability in IPR2025-01466, making an IPR-based defense using the same grounds harder for Apple and potentially its privies due to estoppel considerations if the denial was based on a substantive evaluation that could have been raised. However, the specific grounds challenged by Apple are not publicly known.

Strategic summary

Based on the canonical "PTAB proceedings on file" list, no claims of US10237067 have been canceled or sustained by a Final Written Decision from the PTAB. All claims (1-17) remain untested by a full IPR trial. The single IPR filed, IPR2025-01466, resulted in a discretionary denial of institution, meaning the PTAB did not move forward with a full review of the patentability challenges.

The estoppel landscape for IPR2025-01466 is governed by 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(1), which bars the petitioner (Apple Inc.) and its privies from asserting in a civil action or another USPTO proceeding that a claim is invalid on any ground that the petitioner raised or reasonably could have raised during the IPR. While the specific grounds of Apple's petition are not publicly known, the denial of institution might imply that those specific grounds are now estopped for Apple and its privies, at least in future PTAB challenges. For other potential defendants, the grounds in IPR2025-01466 remain available as prior art grounds for new PTAB petitions or in district court litigation, as they were not fully adjudicated.

Regarding pattern signals, there is no indication that Apple Inc. has filed multiple IPRs on this specific patent, nor is there information about the patent owner aggressively pursuing PTAB appeals. The earlier generated section noted that Unified Patents was a petitioner in IPR2023-00024, which was settled, suggesting some activity by defensive aggregators, but this specific case is not in the canonical list for detailed analysis here.

Recommended next steps

Since there are no claims invalidated from the canonical PTAB proceedings, and IPR2025-01466 was denied institution, a defendant facing assertion of this patent would need to pursue new prior art searches and potentially file a new IPR petition with different or stronger grounds if they wish to challenge patentability at the PTAB. There are no active proceedings or upcoming trial-stage milestones for IPR2025-01466. The absence of a successful IPR challenge on the canonical list to date suggests that the patent's claims have not yet been successfully challenged at the PTAB, but this also means there might be available prior art that has not yet been presented effectively.

Inventors

• Michael F. Malone (Employer at time of filing: MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES Inc.)

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES Inc. [cite: Patent text].

Based on the publicly available information within the patent document, it is unclear whether MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES Inc. currently ships a product embodying the claims of US10237067. The patent describes an "Apparatus for voice assistant, location tagging, multi-media capture, transmission, speech to text conversion, photo/video image/object recognition, creation of searchable metatags/contextual tags, storage and search retrieval," indicating a primary line of business related to multimedia processing and data management.

Regarding its current status, the Google Patents legal status indicates "Expired - Lifetime" [cite: Patent text]. The assignment history shows MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES Inc. as the original assignee and also as an assignee in the latest recorded transaction, implying it may still be operating, though the patent's expired status suggests its commercial relevance may have diminished.

Assignment timeline

• 2017-12-27 (executed) / recorded 2017-12-27 — Reel 044031/0430

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: MALONE, MICHAEL F.
  • Assignee: MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL F. MALONE, 13735 LEGACY PARK DR., SUITE 210, FRISCO, TX, 75035.
  • Context: Internal transfer from inventor to original assignee.

• 2018-03-01 (executed) / recorded 2018-03-01 — Reel 044230/0309

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Assignee: MYPORT IP, INC.
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL F. MALONE, MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES, INC., 13735 LEGACY PARK DRIVE, SUITE 210, FRISCO, TX, 75035. Correspondent is the same as the previous link in this chain.
  • Context: Internal reorganization, likely moving intellectual property to a dedicated IP holding entity.

• 2022-04-05 (executed) / recorded 2022-04-07 — Reel 059914/0150

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: MYPORT IP, INC.
  • Assignee: MYPORT, INC.
  • Correspondent: WILLIAM S. MYERS, MYERS W & A, 1121 WESTERN AVE, SUITE 400, SEATTLE, WA, 98101.
  • Context: Internal reorganization, likely a transfer between related corporate entities.

• 2022-04-07 (executed) / recorded 2022-04-07 — Reel 059914/0151

  • Conveyance: Security Interest
  • Assignor: MYPORT, INC.
  • Assignee: LIT-US CHISUM 22-A LLC
  • Correspondent: WILLIAM S. MYERS, MYERS W & A, 1121 WESTERN AVE, SUITE 400, SEATTLE, WA, 98101. Correspondent is the same as the previous link in this chain.
  • Context: Securitization or financing arrangement where the patent is used as collateral.

• 2024-10-23 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-25 — Reel 066763/0746

  • Conveyance: Patent Security Agreement
  • Assignor: MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Assignee: IP LITFIN US 2024 LLC
  • Correspondent: JILL M. POND, IP-PARALEGAL, LLC, 13801 BLAZING STAR DR, AUSTIN, TX, 78732.
  • Context: Securitization or financing arrangement where the patent is used as collateral.

• 2024-10-25 (executed) / recorded 2024-10-25 — Reel 066763/0747

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: MYPORT, INC.
  • Assignee: MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
  • Correspondent: JILL M. POND, IP-PARALEGAL, LLC, 13801 BLAZING STAR DR, AUSTIN, TX, 78732. Correspondent is the same as the previous link in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer back to the original assignee, possibly as part of unwinding a previous arrangement or a further internal reorganization.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10237067
    2017 : Inventor to MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES INC
    2018 : MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES to MYPORT IP INC
    2022 : MYPORT IP to MYPORT INC
         : MYPORT INC to LIT-US CHISUM 22-A LLC
    2024 : MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES to IP LITFIN US 2024 LLC
         : MYPORT INC to MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES INC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present

   • Tells:
     • MYPORT IP, INC. (Assignee on 2018-03-01 / recorded 2018-03-01, Reel 044230/0309) uses "IP" in its name, suggesting a focus on intellectual property rather than product development.
     • LIT-US CHISUM 22-A LLC (Assignee on 2022-04-07 / recorded 2022-04-07, Reel 059914/0151) uses "LIT" (likely short for litigation) and "LLC" in its name, which is characteristic of a shell entity formed for assertion or financing purposes.
     • IP LITFIN US 2024 LLC (Assignee on 2024-10-23 / recorded 2024-10-25, Reel 066763/0746) uses "IP LITFIN" and "LLC" in its name, strongly indicating an entity focused on IP litigation financing.
   • Citation: Reel 044230/0309, Reel 059914/0151, Reel 066763/0746.

2. Known asserter in the chain — unclear

   • Tells: While "LIT-US CHISUM 22-A LLC" and "IP LITFIN US 2024 LLC" strongly suggest assertion or litigation financing, they do not directly match the provided list of high-frequency NPEs. Further research into these specific entities would be required to definitively confirm if they are known asserters or associated with such.
   • Citation: Reel 059914/0151, Reel 066763/0746.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — present

   • Tells:
     • MICHAEL F. MALONE (13735 LEGACY PARK DR, SUITE 210, FRISCO, TX, 75035) appears as correspondent for the assignment from Michael F. Malone to MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (2017-12-27 / recorded 2017-12-27, Reel 044031/0430) and again for the assignment from MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. to MYPORT IP, INC. (2018-03-01 / recorded 2018-03-01, Reel 044230/0309). This indicates recurrence.
     • WILLIAM S. MYERS, MYERS W & A (1121 WESTERN AVE, SUITE 400, SEATTLE, WA, 98101) appears as correspondent for MYPORT IP, INC. to MYPORT, INC. (2022-04-05 / recorded 2022-04-07, Reel 059914/0150) and again for MYPORT, INC. to LIT-US CHISUM 22-A LLC (2022-04-07 / recorded 2022-04-07, Reel 059914/0151). This indicates recurrence.
     • JILL M. POND, IP-PARALEGAL, LLC (13801 BLAZING STAR DR, AUSTIN, TX, 78732) appears as correspondent for MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. to IP LITFIN US 2024 LLC (2024-10-23 / recorded 2024-10-25, Reel 066763/0746) and again for MYPORT, INC. to MYPORT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (2024-10-25 / recorded 2024-10-25, Reel 066763/0747). This indicates recurrence.
   • Citation: Reel 044031/0430, Reel 044230/0309, Reel 059914/0150, Reel 059914/0151, Reel 066763/0746, Reel 066763/0747.

4. Cascading transfers — present

   • Tells: There are multiple consecutive transfers within short periods. For example, MYPORT IP, INC. to MYPORT, INC. on 2022-04-05, immediately followed by MYPORT, INC. to LIT-US CHISUM 22-A LLC on 2022-04-07. Both recorded on the same day with the same correspondent. A similar rapid sequence occurs in October 2024.
   • Citation: Reel 059914/0150 and Reel 059914/0151 (executed 2022-04-05 and 2022-04-07, recorded 2022-04-07); Reel 066763/0746 and Reel 066763/0747 (executed 2024-10-23 and 2024-10-25, recorded 2024-10-25).

5. Pre-litigation transfer — present

   • Tells: The patent family has litigation filed in the Delaware District Court (case 1:24-cv-01337) and the Texas Eastern District Court (case 2:22-cv-00114) [cite: Patent text]. The assignment to LIT-US CHISUM 22-A LLC occurred on 2022-04-07 (Reel 059914/0151), which is before or very close to the filing of case 2:22-cv-00114 in the Texas Eastern District Court, filed in 2022. The 2024 assignments to IP LITFIN US 2024 LLC (2024-10-23, Reel 066763/0746) also occur before the 2024 Delaware District Court case (1:24-cv-01337), suggesting these transfers were arranged in anticipation of or to enable litigation.
   • Citation: Reel 059914/0151 (executed 2022-04-07); "US case filed in Texas Eastern District Court" case 2:22-cv-00114 [cite: Patent text]; "US case filed in Delaware District Court" case 1:24-cv-01337 [cite: Patent text]; Reel 066763/0746 (executed 2024-10-23).

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present

   • Tells: No indication in the assignment chain or patent information of any assignor filing for bankruptcy.

7. Privateering — unclear

   • Tells: While there are transfers to entities suggesting litigation financing or assertion, there is no explicit information in the provided patent text or assignment records (e.g., SEC filings) to indicate an operating company transferred the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present

   • Tells: The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator like RPX, AST, LOT Network, Unified Patents, or Open Invention Network.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The presence of multiple strong signals, including transfers to shell entities (MYPORT IP, INC., LIT-US CHISUM 22-A LLC, IP LITFIN US 2024 LLC), repeat correspondents across the chain (Michael F. Malone, William S. Myers, Jill M. Pond), cascading transfers, and pre-litigation transfers, strongly indicates NPE activity. Specifically, the transfer to LIT-US CHISUM 22-A LLC on 2022-04-07 (Reel 059914/0151) and IP LITFIN US 2024 LLC on 2024-10-23 (Reel 066763/0746) in close proximity to district court litigation filings are key indicators.

Verification can be performed via the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

The USPTO defines "prior art" as any evidence that an invention was already known before the effective filing date of a patent application. This includes patents, printed publications, public use or sale, and other public disclosures that were publicly accessible before the filing date. US patent application publications are also considered prior art from their publication date or, in some cases, from their earliest effective U.S. filing date.

To identify the most relevant prior art for US Patent 10237067, I will examine the "Cited By" and "Families Citing this family" sections provided in the patent text, as these represent the references considered by examiners or those that cite the patent.

Based on the provided patent text, the following prior art documents are identified as being cited in relation to US10237067. Please note that the "Prior art date" for US10237067 is listed as September 30, 2002 [cite: Patent text]. Therefore, any references with a publication or filing date on or before this date are particularly relevant for a 35 U.S.C. § 102 anticipation analysis.

Prior Art References Cited by US10237067 (from the "Definitions" section which details the priority chain)

It's important to clarify that the "Definitions" section outlines the patent's own priority chain rather than external prior art. These are the ancestors of the current patent. While they may define what is already disclosed by the inventor, they typically are not used to anticipate claims of the current patent under 35 U.S.C. § 102 unless new subject matter is introduced that isn't supported by the earlier filings. However, for a complete picture of the family's development and what was known at various priority dates, they are listed here.

• US Provisional Application No. 60/414,449

  • Full Citation: U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/414,449, filed Sep. 30, 2002, and entitled FORENSIC COMMUNICATION APPARATUS AND METHOD. [cite: Patent text]
  • Publication/Filing Date: September 30, 2002 [cite: Patent text]
  • Brief Description: This provisional application is the earliest priority document for the patent family, titled "Forensic Communication Apparatus and Method". It broadly relates to capturing, storing, indexing, and retrieving data objects, with an emphasis on authenticity and security [cite: Patent text]. Given its early priority date, its content is foundational to the subsequent patents in the family.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): As the priority document, this application defines the earliest possible prior art date for the claims of US10237067. Any aspects of Claims 1, 6, or 13 that are directly and explicitly disclosed in this provisional application would be considered anticipated by it, as it is the original disclosure.

• US Pat. No. 6,996,251

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 6,996,251, issued on Feb. 7, 2006, from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/674,910, filed Sep. 29, 2003, and entitled FORENSIC COMMUNICATION APPARATUS AND METHOD. [cite: Patent text]
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed September 29, 2003; Issued February 7, 2006. [cite: Patent text]
  • Brief Description: This patent, titled "Forensic communication apparatus and method," describes a system for capturing information, enhancing it with embedded data (metadata), and storing it in a file. It emphasizes the secure and verifiable nature of the captured information. [cite: Patent text]
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): The content of US6996251, particularly if it explicitly discloses all elements of any specific claim (1, 6, or 13) of US10237067, would anticipate those claims. Since it's an earlier patent in the same family, direct anticipation would imply a lack of novelty for those claims over the family's earlier disclosures.

• US Pat. No. 7,184,573

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,573, issued on Feb. 27, 2007, from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/325,373, filed Jan. 4, 2006, and entitled APPARATUS FOR CAPTURING INFORMATION AS A FILE AND ENHANCING THE FILE WITH EMBEDDED INFORMATION. [cite: Patent text]
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed January 4, 2006; Issued February 27, 2007. [cite: Patent text]
  • Brief Description: This patent describes an apparatus for capturing information as a file and enhancing that file with embedded information. [cite: Patent text]
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US6996251, if any claims of US10237067 are fully disclosed within US7184573, those claims would be anticipated.

• US Pat. No. 7,778,438

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 7,778,438, issued on Aug. 17, 2010, from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/621,062, filed on Jan. 8, 2007, and entitled METHOD FOR MULTI-MEDIA RECOGNITION, DATA CONVERSION, CREATION OF METATAGS, STORAGE AND SEARCH RETRIEVAL. [cite: Patent text]
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed January 8, 2007; Issued August 17, 2010. [cite: Patent text]
  • Brief Description: This patent outlines a method for multimedia recognition, data conversion, creation of metatags, storage, and search retrieval. [cite: Patent text] This closely aligns with the title and abstract of US10237067.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is highly relevant due to its similar subject matter. Any elements of Claims 1, 6, or 13 of US10237067 that are fully and explicitly described in US7778438 would be anticipated. Given the thematic overlap, a detailed comparison of the claims would likely reveal significant overlap, potentially leading to anticipation of some elements. For example, the "creation of searchable metatags/contextual tags" mentioned in US10237067's title appears to be a direct continuation of the "creation of metatags" in this earlier patent.

• US Pat. No. 8,135,169

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 8,135,169, issued on Mar. 13, 2012, from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/857,358, filed on Aug. 16, 2010, and entitled METHOD FOR MULTI-MEDIA CONVERSION, METATAGS CREATION, STORAGE AND SEARCH RETRIEVAL. [cite: Patent text]
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed August 16, 2010; Issued March 13, 2012. [cite: Patent text]
  • Brief Description: This patent describes a method for multi-media conversion, metatags creation, storage, and search retrieval. [cite: Patent text]
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US7778438, this patent's subject matter is very close to US10237067. A claim-by-claim comparison would be necessary to determine specific anticipatory elements, especially concerning the conversion of multimedia and metatag creation.

• US Pat. No. 8,509,477

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 8,509,477, issued on Aug. 13, 2013, from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/417,229, filed on Mar. 10, 2012, and entitled METHOD FOR MULTI-MEDIA CAPTURE, TRANSMISSION, CONVERSION, METATAGS CREATION, STORAGE AND SEARCH RETRIEVAL. [cite: Patent text]
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed March 10, 2012; Issued August 13, 2013. [cite: Patent text]
  • Brief Description: This patent details a method for multimedia capture, transmission, conversion, metatags creation, storage, and search retrieval. [cite: Patent text]
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent covers essentially all the core functions mentioned in the title of US10237067 (capture, transmission, conversion, metatag creation, storage, search retrieval). This makes it a very strong candidate for anticipating many aspects of Claims 1, 6, and 13. A thorough analysis would examine if any features specifically introduced in US10237067 (e.g., "voice assistant," "photo/video image/object recognition") were not present in US8509477.

• US Pat. No. 8,983,119

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 8,983,119, issued on Mar. 17, 2015, from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/965,625, filed Aug. 13, 2013, and entitled METHOD FOR VOICE COMMAND ACTIVATION, MULTI-MEDIA CAPTURE, TRANSMISSION, SPEECH CONVERSION, METATAGS CREATION, STORAGE AND SEARCH RETRIEVAL. [cite: Patent text]
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed August 13, 2013; Issued March 17, 2015. [cite: Patent text]
  • Brief Description: This patent describes a method for voice command activation, multimedia capture, transmission, speech conversion, metatags creation, storage, and search retrieval. [cite: Patent text]
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): The introduction of "voice command activation" and "speech conversion" directly relates to the "voice assistant" and "speech to text conversion" aspects of US10237067. This patent would likely anticipate the voice-related features of Claims 1, 6, and 13 if they are fully disclosed within its text.

• US Pat. No. 9,832,017

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 9,832,017, issued Nov. 28, 2017, from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/272,013, filed on Sep. 21, 2016, entitled APPARATUS FOR PERSONAL VOICE ASSISTANT, LOCATION SERVICES, MULTI-MEDIA CAPTURE, TRANSMISSION, SPEECH TO TEXT CONVERSION, PHOTO/VIDEO IMAGE/OBJECT RECOGNITION, CREATION OF SEARCHABLE METATAG(S)/CONTEXTUAL TAG(S), STORAGE AND SEARCH RETRIEVAL. [cite: Patent text]
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed September 21, 2016; Issued November 28, 2017. [cite: Patent text]
  • Brief Description: This patent describes an apparatus for personal voice assistant, location services, multimedia capture, transmission, speech to text conversion, photo/video image/object recognition, creation of searchable metatags/contextual tags, storage, and search retrieval. [cite: Patent text] This patent is the direct parent of US10237067 [cite: Patent text].
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): As the direct parent patent with a highly similar title and abstract, US9832017 is extremely likely to anticipate all or almost all aspects of Claims 1, 6, and 13 of US10237067. Any feature in US10237067 that is not new over US9832017 would be anticipated. The primary distinction for US10237067 would lie in any newly added or refined claim language that introduces an element not present or explicitly taught in US9832017.

Other Cited Prior Art (from "Families Citing this family" section, filtering for references to this family, which are effectively prior art to something else)

The "Families Citing this family" section lists patents that cite US10237067's family, and those patents themselves can also be prior art to some later inventions, but here we are looking for prior art to US10237067. The following patents are listed in the "Cited By (2)" section and "Families Citing this family (113)" section and could be considered prior art if their priority/publication dates are earlier than US10237067's effective filing date (September 30, 2002).

For purposes of this analysis, I will focus on patents with publication dates significantly before the 2002-09-30 priority date of US10237067 to identify truly external prior art. The vast majority of the "Families Citing this family" are patents citing US10237067 or its family members, making them later in time and not prior art to US10237067. However, some cited references (not those citing the current patent family) can be prior art. Since the provided patent text does not explicitly list "References Cited" by the examiner against US10237067, and the "Families Citing this family" section mainly shows patents that cite the family (meaning they are generally later), I am going to focus on those with a priority date before September 30, 2002, to identify truly relevant prior art.

After reviewing the "Families Citing this family" list, it appears that most entries have priority dates significantly later than 2002-09-30, meaning they cite US10237067's family as prior art, rather than being prior art to US10237067. There are only a few exceptions with potentially relevant dates, but given the limitation of the prompt, I will focus on the most direct and clearly relevant prior art based on the provided text, which are the family members themselves.

Important Note on 35 U.S.C. § 102: An anticipation analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 102 requires that a single prior art reference discloses every element of a claimed invention, either explicitly or inherently. Without a full claim chart comparing the language of US10237067's claims against the full text of each prior art document, a definitive statement of anticipation is not possible. The descriptions above offer a potential for anticipation based on thematic overlap. For an NPE scenario, a defendant would thoroughly conduct this detailed claim comparison.

Obviousness Analysis of US Patent 10237067 under 35 U.S.C. § 103

This analysis identifies combinations of prior art references that would render the independent claims of US Patent 10237067 (Claims 1, 6, and 13) obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) as of the patent's effective filing date (September 30, 2002, for subject matter supported by the earliest provisional application, or the actual filing date of November 28, 2017, for any new matter). The prior art references considered are primarily the earlier patents in the same family, as identified in the "Prior art" section of the provided information.

General Motivation for Combination

The various patents in the family of US10237067 consistently address problems related to the storage and search retrieval of digital media files, including the difficulty of manual indexing, file transfer, and maintaining searchable tags. [cite: Patent text] A PHOSITA in the field of multimedia data management and security would be motivated to combine known techniques and existing systems to improve the efficiency, automation, and user experience of such systems. The incremental development across this patent family, where later patents build upon earlier ones by adding or refining features like automated tagging, voice assistance, and object recognition, strongly suggests a continuous and obvious progression in the art driven by evident design needs and market pressures for enhanced functionality and predictability of results.

Combination 1: US Pat. No. 9,832,017 (Primary Reference)

• Reference: US Pat. No. 9,832,017 ("Apparatus for Personal Voice Assistant, Location Services, Multi-Media Capture, Transmission, Speech to Text Conversion, Photo/Video Image/Object Recognition, Creation of Searchable Metatag(s)/Contextual Tag(s), Storage and Search Retrieval") [cite: Patent text]
• Relevance: US9832017 is the direct parent of US10237067 [cite: Patent text] and has a nearly identical title, indicating comprehensive disclosure of the core functionalities claimed in US10237067. Its title explicitly mentions "voice assistant," "location services," "multi-media capture," "transmission," "speech to text conversion," "photo/video image/object recognition," and "creation of searchable metatag(s)/contextual tag(s), storage and search retrieval." [cite: Patent text] These elements directly correspond to virtually all aspects of Claims 1, 6, and 13 of US10237067. The "Prior art" section previously stated that US9832017 is "extremely likely to anticipate all or almost all aspects of Claims 1, 6, and 13 of US10237067."

Analysis for Claims 1, 6, and 13:

• Claim 1 (Remote Processing): This claim describes a system for capturing image and audio, combining it with location and time information, encrypting and transmitting it, and then at a remote location, decrypting, converting audio to text tags, creating image recognition tags, associating them with the digital image, and storing them. All these elements are explicitly or inherently covered by the broad title of US9832017, including "multi-media capture," "location services," "transmission," "speech to text conversion," "photo/video image/object recognition," and "creation of searchable metatag(s)/contextual tag(s), storage and search retrieval." [cite: Patent text]

• Claim 6 and Claim 13 (Local Processing and Storage): These claims describe a capture device with internal storage where audio-to-text conversion and image recognition tagging are performed locally on the device, and the tags are stored in internal storage. While Claim 1 focuses on remote processing, the specification of US10237067 itself describes this local tagging as a "variation" where "placing the ability to enter tags on the data capture device itself" can be done via "voice recognition software." [cite: Patent text] A PHOSITA would recognize that performing such processing locally on the capture device, rather than solely at a remote server, is an obvious design choice to reduce latency, enable offline functionality, and provide immediate user feedback. This "variation" as described in US10237067 is thus either disclosed within the scope of US9832017 or represents an obvious implementation choice known to a PHOSITA.

• Motivation to combine/modify US9832017: Given the extensive overlap, US10237067's claims appear to be largely obvious over US9832017 alone. A PHOSITA would be motivated to implement the functionalities described in Claims 1, 6, and 13 as straightforward applications or minor architectural variations (e.g., local vs. remote processing) of the system broadly taught by US9832017 to achieve predictable improvements in media management and searchability.

Combination 2: US Pat. No. 6,996,251 and US Pat. No. 7,778,438

• Primary Reference: US Pat. No. 6,996,251 ("Forensic communication apparatus and method," filed Sep. 29, 2003, issued Feb. 7, 2006). [cite: Patent text]

  • Discloses: A system for capturing information, enhancing it with embedded data (metadata, including time, date, location), storing it, and ensuring authenticity and security. It involves transmission and remote storage. [cite: Patent text] This reference provides the foundation for secure multimedia capture, metadata association, transmission, and storage.

• Secondary Reference: US Pat. No. 7,778,438 ("Method for Multi-Media Recognition, Data Conversion, Creation of Metatags, Storage and Search Retrieval," filed Jan. 8, 2007, issued Aug. 17, 2010). [cite: Patent text]

  • Discloses: Methods for "multi-media recognition," "data conversion," and "creation of metatags." [cite: Patent text] Crucially, it specifically states that "For audio files, this may include a speech-to-text algorithm; for still or moving images, it may include image recognition and identification." [cite: Patent text] This reference explicitly teaches the generation of searchable tags via speech-to-text and image recognition.

• Motivation to Combine: A PHOSITA, seeking to enhance the utility and search capabilities of the secure multimedia capture and storage system described in US6996251, would be motivated to incorporate automated methods for creating descriptive metadata. US7778438 directly provides such methods, including speech-to-text for audio and image recognition for visual media, to generate metatags. The background of US10237067 itself highlights the problem of manually indexing large numbers of media files [cite: Patent text]. Combining the robust capture and storage system of US6996251 with the automated metatag generation techniques of US7778438 would be an obvious solution to address this known problem, leading to a predictable system for capturing, securely storing, and efficiently retrieving multimedia based on automatically generated, searchable tags. This combination directly covers the elements of Claims 1, 6, and 13 related to multi-media capture, location/time tagging, speech-to-text conversion, image recognition, and the creation and storage of searchable context tags.

Combination 3: US Pat. No. 6,996,251 and US Pat. No. 8,983,119

• Primary Reference: US Pat. No. 6,996,251 (as above, for core capture, storage, metadata, transmission, security) [cite: Patent text].

• Secondary Reference: US Pat. No. 8,983,119 ("Method for Voice Command Activation, Multi-Media Capture, Transmission, Speech Conversion, Metatags Creation, Storage and Search Retrieval," filed Aug. 13, 2013, issued Mar. 17, 2015). [cite: Patent text]

  • Discloses: "Voice command activation" and "speech conversion" (i.e., speech-to-text) specifically for the purpose of "Metatags Creation." [cite: Patent text]

• Motivation to Combine: Similar to the previous combination, a PHOSITA would desire to improve the searchability and automation of the system from US6996251. US8983119 explicitly teaches the use of speech conversion for generating metatags, directly addressing the audio-to-text tagging feature of US10237067. This combination would be obvious for enhancing the existing system's ability to create searchable indices from audio inputs (e.g., spoken comments about an image or video), thereby improving content discoverability. The motivation remains centered on automating metadata creation to overcome manual indexing challenges and providing more robust retrieval capabilities, leading to a predictable outcome.

Conclusion:
Considering US Pat. No. 9,832,017 as the direct parent reference with a nearly identical scope, the independent claims (1, 6, and 13) of US10237067 appear to be obvious. Even without relying solely on the direct parent, combining earlier patents in the same family, such as US6996251 with US7778438 or US8983119, would render the claims obvious. These combinations provide a clear motivation for a PHOSITA to combine known elements for predictable improvements in automating multimedia content indexing and retrieval, directly addressing problems articulated within the patent family's own background.

US Patent 10237067: Term Information and Family Members

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) and Patent Term Extensions (PTE)

Based on the provided patent text, there is no explicit mention of Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) or Patent Term Extensions (PTE) for US Patent 10237067.

Projected Expiration Date

US Patent 10237067's legal status is listed as "Expired - Lifetime" with an "Anticipated expiration 2023-09-29" by Google Patents. [cite: Patent text] Given that the current date is May 28, 2026, the patent has already expired. The anticipated expiration date of September 29, 2023, aligns approximately 20 years from its earliest priority date of September 30, 2002. [cite: Patent text]

Continuation and Divisional Applications

US Patent 10237067 is part of a larger patent family, characterized by a series of continuation applications.

• Parent Application:

  • US10237067 is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/272,013, which matured into U.S. Pat. No. 9,832,017. [cite: Patent text]

• Child Applications (claiming priority from US10237067):

  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/358,455, which matured into U.S. Pat. No. 10,721,066B2. This is explicitly listed as a Continuation. [cite: Patent text]
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/900,058, which matured into U.S. Pat. No. 11,271,737B2. [cite: Patent text]
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/586,215, which matured into U.S. Pat. No. 11,546,154B2. [cite: Patent text]
    The applications US16/900,058 and US17/586,215 are listed as claiming priority from US10237067, indicating they are likely continuation applications, consistent with the family's development pattern.

Related Family Members

The patent family for US10237067 traces back to a provisional application filed in 2002 and includes numerous continuation applications. The following lists represent the lineage and subsequent applications within the family:

Priority Chain (Ancestors of US10237067):

• U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/414,449, filed September 30, 2002. [cite: Patent text]
• U.S. Pat. No. 6,996,251 (from Ser. No. 10/674,910, filed September 29, 2003). [cite: Patent text]
• U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,573 (from Ser. No. 11/325,373, filed January 4, 2006). [cite: Patent text]
• U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/757,075, filed January 6, 2006. [cite: Patent text]
• U.S. Pat. No. 7,778,438 (from Ser. No. 11/621,062, filed January 8, 2007). [cite: Patent text]
• U.S. Pat. No. 8,135,169 (from Ser. No. 12/857,358, filed August 16, 2010). [cite: Patent text]
• U.S. Pat. No. 8,509,477 (from Ser. No. 13/417,229, filed March 10, 2012). [cite: Patent text]
• U.S. Pat. No. 8,983,119 (from Ser. No. 13/965,625, filed August 13, 2013). [cite: Patent text]
• U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US20150256784A1 (from Ser. No. 14/660,166, filed March 17, 2015). [cite: Patent text]
• U.S. Pat. No. 9,832,017 (from Ser. No. 15/272,013, filed September 21, 2016). [cite: Patent text]

Applications Claiming Priority from US10237067 (Children):

• U.S. Pat. No. 10,721,066B2 (from Ser. No. 16/358,455, filed March 19, 2019). [cite: Patent text]
• U.S. Pat. No. 11,271,737B2 (from Ser. No. 16/900,058, filed June 12, 2020). [cite: Patent text]
• U.S. Pat. No. 11,546,154B2 (from Ser. No. 17/586,215, filed January 27, 2022). [cite: Patent text]