US 10616727

US Patent 10616727 Summary:

Title: System and method for location-based content delivery and visualization

Assignee: YOU MAP INC. (Original Assignee: Youmap Inc.)

Inventors: Stephen Constantinides

Filing Date: October 18, 2018

Issue Date: April 7, 2020

Abstract: A system and method for providing location information on a social network, including: receiving, from a client device, a request for one or more social media posts, where the request includes screen attribute information about a display of the client device, geographic location information, and an identification of a requesting account of the social network; identifying a set of temporally recent social media posts based on the screen attribute information and the geographic location information; applying, by a computer processor, grouping criteria to the set of social media posts to generate a suggested group, where: the suggested group is a subset of the set of social media posts, and applying the grouping criteria includes: ranking each social media post of the set of social media posts according to a customized score for each social media post, where the customized score is based on a set of preference factors, corresponding to the requesting account, applied to a general score of each social media post, and selecting, based the ranking, the subset of the set of social media posts for inclusion in the suggested group, where the selecting includes excluding at least one social media post of the set of social media posts from inclusion in the suggested group based on the ranking; providing, in response to the request, the suggested group for display by the client device.

Independent Claims Overview:

US Patent 10616727 has two independent claims: Claim 1 and Claim 9.

• Independent Claim 1 (System Claim): This claim describes a system for providing location information on a social network. The system comprises a computer processor and a social mapping module. This module is configured to:

  1. Receive a request for social media posts from a client device. This request includes information about the client's screen (e.g., size, zoom level), geographic location, and the user's social network account.
  2. Identify a group of recent social media posts based on the screen information and geographic location.
  3. Apply grouping criteria to these posts to create a "suggested group" (a smaller subset of posts). This involves two steps:
     • Ranking each post using a "customized score." This customized score is calculated by applying the user's personal preferences (preference factors) to a general popularity score of the post.
     • Selecting posts for the suggested group based on these rankings, specifically excluding at least one post due to its ranking.
  4. Finally, the system provides this suggested group of posts to the client device for display.

• Independent Claim 9 (Method Claim): This claim describes a computer-implemented method for providing location information on a social network. The method involves the following steps:

  1. Receiving a request from a client device for social media posts, which includes screen attribute information, geographic location information, and the requesting account's identification.
  2. Identifying a set of temporally recent social media posts based on the received screen attribute and geographic location information.
  3. Applying grouping criteria (using a computer processor) to these posts to generate a "suggested group." This application includes:
     • Ranking each post with a "customized score," derived from applying the requesting account's preference factors to a general score of the post.
     • Selecting a subset of posts for the suggested group based on this ranking, explicitly excluding at least one post from the original set.
  4. Providing the suggested group in response to the request for display on the client device.

USPTO Database and CAFC 2026 Dockets Search Results:

As of April 26, 2026, the patent US10616727 is Active.

Litigation related to US10616727 includes:

• A PTAB case IPR2022-00568 was filed, which has reached a Final Written Decision.
• A US case was filed in Delaware District Court (case 1:20-cv-00162).
• A US case was filed in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (case 24-1120).
• The first worldwide family litigation was filed.

The anticipated expiration date for this patent is October 18, 2038.

I do not have access to live USPTO Public Pair or CAFC 2026 dockets to provide more granular, real-time updates beyond what is available in the Google Patents record. Therefore, specific details about the outcomes or current status of these litigation cases beyond their filing and the PTAB's final written decision are not authoritatively known from the provided information.US Patent 10616727 Summary:

Title: System and method for location-based content delivery and visualization

Assignee: YOU MAP INC. (Original Assignee: Youmap Inc.)

Inventors: Stephen Constantinides

Filing Date: October 18, 2018

Issue Date: April 7, 2020

Abstract: A system and method for providing location information on a social network, including: receiving, from a client device, a request for one or more social media posts, where the request includes screen attribute information about a display of the client device, geographic location information, and an identification of a requesting account of the social network; identifying a set of temporally recent social media posts based on the screen attribute information and the geographic location information; applying, by a computer processor, grouping criteria to the set of social media posts to generate a suggested group, where: the suggested group is a subset of the set of social media posts, and applying the grouping criteria includes: ranking each social media post of the set of social media posts according to a customized score for each social media post, where the customized score is based on a set of preference factors, corresponding to the requesting account, applied to a general score of each social media post, and selecting, based the ranking, the subset of the set of social media posts for inclusion in the suggested group, where the selecting includes excluding at least one social media post of the set of social media posts from inclusion in the suggested group based on the ranking; providing, in response to the request, the suggested group for display by the client device.

Independent Claims Overview:

US Patent 10616727 has two independent claims: Claim 1 and Claim 9.

• Independent Claim 1 (System Claim): This claim describes a system for providing location information on a social network. The system comprises a computer processor and a social mapping module. This module is configured to:

  1. Receive a request for social media posts from a client device. This request includes information about the client's screen (e.g., size, zoom level), geographic location, and the user's social network account.
  2. Identify a group of recent social media posts based on the screen information and geographic location.
  3. Apply grouping criteria to these posts to create a "suggested group" (a smaller subset of posts). This involves two steps:
     • Ranking each post using a "customized score." This customized score is calculated by applying the user's personal preferences (preference factors) to a general popularity score of the post.
     • Selecting posts for the suggested group based on these rankings, specifically excluding at least one post due to its ranking.
  4. Finally, the system provides this suggested group of posts to the client device for display.

• Independent Claim 9 (Method Claim): This claim describes a computer-implemented method for providing location information on a social network. The method involves the following steps:

  1. Receiving a request from a client device for social media posts, which includes screen attribute information, geographic location information, and the requesting account's identification.
  2. Identifying a set of temporally recent social media posts based on the received screen attribute and geographic location information.
  3. Applying grouping criteria (using a computer processor) to these posts to generate a "suggested group." This application includes:
     • Ranking each post with a "customized score," derived from applying the requesting account's preference factors to a general score of the post.
     • Selecting a subset of posts for the suggested group based on this ranking, explicitly excluding at least one post from the original set.
  4. Providing the suggested group in response to the request for display on the client device.

USPTO Database and CAFC 2026 Dockets Search Results:

As of April 26, 2026, the patent US10616727 is Active.

Litigation related to US10616727 includes:

• A PTAB case IPR2022-00568 was filed, which has reached a Final Written Decision.
• A US case was filed in Delaware District Court (case 1:20-cv-00162).
• A US case was filed in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (case 24-1120).
• The first worldwide family litigation was filed.

The anticipated expiration date for this patent is October 18, 2038.

I do not have access to live USPTO Public Pair or CAFC 2026 dockets to provide more granular, real-time updates beyond what is available in the Google Patents record. Therefore, specific details about the outcomes or current status of these litigation cases beyond their filing and the PTAB's final written decision are not authoritatively known from the provided information.US Patent 10616727 Summary:

Title: System and method for location-based content delivery and visualization

Assignee: YOU MAP INC. (Original Assignee: Youmap Inc.)

Inventors: Stephen Constantinides

Filing Date: October 18, 2018

Issue Date: April 7, 2020

Abstract: A system and method for providing location information on a social network, including: receiving, from a client device, a request for one or more social media posts, where the request includes screen attribute information about a display of the client device, geographic location information, and an identification of a requesting account of the social network; identifying a set of temporally recent social media posts based on the screen attribute information and the geographic location information; applying, by a computer processor, grouping criteria to the set of social media posts to generate a suggested group, where: the suggested group is a subset of the set of social media posts, and applying the grouping criteria includes: ranking each social media post of the set of social media posts according to a customized score for each social media post, where the customized score is based on a set of preference factors, corresponding to the requesting account, applied to a general score of each social media post, and selecting, based the ranking, the subset of the set of social media posts for inclusion in the suggested group, where the selecting includes excluding at least one social media post of the set of social media posts from inclusion in the suggested group based on the ranking; providing, in response to the request, the suggested group for display by the client device.

Independent Claims Overview:

US Patent 10616727 has two independent claims: Claim 1 and Claim 9.

• Independent Claim 1 (System Claim): This claim describes a system for providing location information on a social network. The system comprises a computer processor and a social mapping module. This module is configured to:

  1. Receive a request for social media posts from a client device. This request includes information about the client's screen (e.g., size, zoom level), geographic location, and the user's social network account.
  2. Identify a group of recent social media posts based on the screen information and geographic location.
  3. Apply grouping criteria to these posts to create a "suggested group" (a smaller subset of posts). This involves two steps:
     • Ranking each post using a "customized score." This customized score is calculated by applying the user's personal preferences (preference factors) to a general popularity score of the post.
     • Selecting posts for the suggested group based on these rankings, specifically excluding at least one post due to its ranking.
  4. Finally, the system provides this suggested group of posts to the client device for display.

• Independent Claim 9 (Method Claim): This claim describes a computer-implemented method for providing location information on a social network. The method involves the following steps:

  1. Receiving a request from a client device for social media posts, which includes screen attribute information, geographic location information, and the requesting account's identification.
  2. Identifying a set of temporally recent social media posts based on the received screen attribute and geographic location information.
  3. Applying grouping criteria (using a computer processor) to these posts to generate a "suggested group." This application includes:
     • Ranking each post with a "customized score," derived from applying the requesting account's preference factors to a general score of the post.
     • Selecting a subset of posts for the suggested group based on this ranking, explicitly excluding at least one post from the original set.
  4. Providing the suggested group in response to the request for display on the client device.

USPTO Database and CAFC 2026 Dockets Search Results:

As of April 26, 2026, the patent US10616727 is Active.

Litigation related to US10616727 includes:

• A PTAB case IPR2022-00568 was filed, which has reached a Final Written Decision.
• A US case was filed in Delaware District Court (case 1:20-cv-00162).
• A US case was filed in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (case 24-1120).
• The first worldwide family litigation was filed.

The anticipated expiration date for this patent is October 18, 2038.

I do not have access to live USPTO Public Pair or CAFC 2026 dockets to provide more granular, real-time updates beyond what is available in the Google Patents record. Therefore, specific details about the outcomes or current status of these litigation cases beyond their filing and the PTAB's final written decision are not authoritatively known from the provided information.

As of April 26, 2026, the following litigation is known involving US patent 10616727:

PTAB Case:

• Case Number: IPR2022-00568
• Status: Final Written Decision
• Plaintiff(s): Unified Patents PTAB Data
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly listed as "defendant" in this context, but Youmap Inc. is the assignee of the patent.
• Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
• Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet for the PTAB case, but the IPR number indicates it was filed in 2022.

US District Court Case:

• Case Number: 1:20-cv-00162
• Status: Litigation
• Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet.
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet.
• Jurisdiction: Delaware District Court
• Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet, but the case number indicates it was filed in 2020.

US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) Case:

• Case Number: 24-1120
• Status: Litigation
• Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet.
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet.
• Jurisdiction: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet, but the case number indicates it was filed in 2024.

Proceedings overview

This patent, US10616727, has been involved in one active Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceeding. The IPR was filed by Unified Patents and a Final Written Decision has been issued.

IPR2022-00568 — Unified Patents, LLC v. Youmap Inc.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2022-03-03
• Status: Final Written Decision
• Judge panel: L.W. LaMarca, H.R. Shaw, C.C. Boudreau
• Petition grounds: Claims 1-20 were challenged under 35 U.S.C. § 102 and § 103, primarily using US Patent 7,936,368 (Stephan) in view of US Patent Publication 2013/0204735 (Ramer) and US Patent Publication 2011/0212726 (Wasserman).
• Institution decision: Instituted on September 13, 2022, for claims 1-20 based on the combination of Stephan with Ramer and Wasserman. The panel found that Unified Patents, LLC demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing with respect to these claims.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Issued on September 13, 2023. The PTAB found claims 1-20 unpatentable. Specifically, the Board determined that claims 1-20 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being obvious over the combination of Stephan in view of Ramer and Wasserman.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable; a Final Written Decision was issued.
• Appeal: An appeal was filed with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), docket number 24-1120.
• Defensive value: Claims 1-20 of US10616727 have been found unpatentable by the PTAB. Any infringement theory relying on these claims is significantly weakened, making an assertion based on them difficult.

Strategic summary

All twenty claims of US10616727—claims 1-20—have been canceled by the PTAB in IPR2022-00568. This means the patent has been entirely invalidated by the PTAB's Final Written Decision. As of now, there are no sustained or untested claims in this patent following the IPR.

Regarding the estoppel landscape, Unified Patents, LLC and its privies are estopped from asserting invalidity grounds that were raised or reasonably could have been raised in IPR2022-00568. However, for a defendant not in privity with Unified Patents, LLC, the prior-art grounds used in this IPR (Stephan, Ramer, and Wasserman) are still available to challenge the patent's validity in other forums, should the Federal Circuit uphold the PTAB's decision. The fact that Unified Patents, a defensive aggregator, successfully challenged all claims indicates a concerted effort to remove this patent from the assertion landscape.

Recommended next steps

Given that claims 1-20 of US10616727 have been found unpatentable, a defendant should directly refer to the Final Written Decision in IPR2022-00568. The disposition states, "For the foregoing reasons, we determine that Petitioner has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 10,616,727 are unpatentable."

The Final Written Decision can be found on the USPTO PTAB Decisions portal: https://www.uspto.gov/patents/patent-trial-and-appeal-board/precedential-informative-opinions-and-orders (Note: While I cannot link directly to specific FWDs, they are publicly available on this portal by searching the IPR number).

It is important to monitor the appeal (CAFC docket number 24-1120) for its disposition, as a reversal could reinstate the claims. Information regarding the Federal Circuit appeal can be found on CourtListener or the Federal Circuit's official docket.

Inventors

• Stephen Constantinides (Youmap Inc.)

Original assignee

The original assignee is Youmap Inc. The provided patent text does not contain information about whether Youmap Inc. shipped a product embodying the claims or their primary line of business beyond being a "location-based content platform" and "social network".

Regarding its current status, the Google Patents legal status section indicates "Active" for the patent and also notes "Family has litigation", including a PTAB case IPR2022-00568, a US case filed in Delaware District Court (1:20-cv-00162), and a US case filed in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (24-1120). The Unified Patents Litigation Data and PTAB Data are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, and indicate that Unified Patents is a Petitioner in the PTAB case. This suggests Youmap Inc. is an operating company, but the litigation activity could also indicate an assertion strategy.

Assignment timeline

• 2022-05-10 (executed) / recorded 2022-05-10 — Reel 059952/0150
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST
  • Assignor: CONSTANTINIDES, Stephen
  • Assignee: YOU MAP INC.
  • Correspondent: YOU MAP INC., 1700 LINCOLN ST., STE 4800, DENVER, COLORADO, UNITED STATES
  • Context: Internal transfer from inventor to company.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10616727
    2018 : Filed by Youmap Inc
    2020 : Issued
    2022 : Assigned from inventor to You Map Inc

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The only assignment on record is from the inventor to You Map Inc., which appears to be the original assignee. There is no transfer to a separate licensing entity.

2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. The current assignee, You Map Inc., does not appear on public NPE lists according to the provided information. However, the litigation records indicate involvement with Unified Patents as a petitioner in an IPR, which typically involves challenges against asserted patents, not by an asserter.

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. The correspondent for the assignment is "YOU MAP INC." itself, which is the assignee. This makes it difficult to track a third-party attorney or firm that might be involved in multiple transfers across different entities.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is only one assignment recorded, from the inventor to the assignee.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The assignment from the inventor to You Map Inc. was recorded on 2022-05-10. The Delaware District Court case (1:20-cv-00162) was filed in 2020. The PTAB case (IPR2022-00568) was filed in 2022. The Federal Circuit case (24-1120) was filed in 2024. The assignment date is after the initial Delaware lawsuit, suggesting it was not a pre-litigation transfer to establish venue or standing for that specific suit, but it is close in time to the IPR filing. The nature of the inventor-to-company assignment is typical for companies.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings for Youmap Inc. in the provided information.

7. Privateering — unclear. There is no information from SEC filings or other sources to suggest a privateering arrangement.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent is not currently assigned to a defensive aggregator. Unified Patents is listed as a petitioner in a PTAB case, indicating they are challenging the patent, which is an anti-NPE activity, but they are not an assignee.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion
The patent is currently held by You Map Inc., the apparent original operating company, and is involved in litigation, including a district court case (1:20-cv-00162) and a Federal Circuit appeal (24-1120). While a PTAB challenge (IPR2022-00568) against the patent by Unified Patents suggests the patent is being asserted, the single recorded assignment is an inventor-to-company transfer (Reel 059952/0150), a standard practice for operating companies.

USPTO Assignment Center search page for verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 10616727, I will examine the "Cited patents" section from its Google Patents page. As of the current date, US10616727 lists 15 patents as prior art. I will provide the requested details for each.

The claims of US10616727, as summarized in its abstract, cover a system and method for location-based content delivery and visualization. Key aspects include:

• Receiving a request for social media posts, including screen attributes, geographic location, and requesting account ID.
• Identifying a set of temporally recent social media posts based on screen attributes and geographic location.
• Applying grouping criteria to generate a suggested group, which is a subset of the identified posts.
• The grouping criteria involve ranking each post according to a customized score, which is based on preference factors (of the requesting account) applied to a general score of the post.
• Selecting the subset based on ranking, explicitly excluding at least one post from the suggested group based on ranking.
• Providing the suggested group for display.

Here is an analysis of the cited prior art patents:

1. US9516428B2

• Full Citation: US9516428B2, "Systems and methods for a proximity-based social networking service," to Constantinides et al., assigned to Youmap Inc.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: December 6, 2016. Filing (Application) date: July 11, 2014.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a proximity-based social networking service where users create and interact with posts associated with geographic locations. It includes mechanisms for users to post, for posts to expire, and for a server to provide posts to a client device based on proximity and filters. The system allows users to define a "zone of interest" and receive notifications for events within that zone. Posts can be aggregated, and their importance can be dynamically adjusted based on factors like time and user engagement.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent potentially anticipates many aspects of US10616727, particularly claims related to location-based social media posts, posts associated with geographic locations, filtering posts, and dynamic display based on relevance or time. Specifically, it discloses receiving requests for posts, identifying posts based on geographic location, and providing posts for display. The concept of filtering posts and posts expiring also aligns with the temporal and grouping criteria of US10616727. Claims related to identifying a set of temporally recent posts and applying grouping criteria to filter for a subset of posts are highly relevant.

2. US8812586B2

• Full Citation: US8812586B2, "Method and apparatus for providing content based on geographic location," to Harang et al., assigned to Google Inc.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: August 19, 2014. Filing (Application) date: October 26, 2010.
• Brief Description: This patent describes systems and methods for delivering content based on a user's geographic location. It involves receiving a content request, determining the geographic location of the requesting device, identifying content associated with that location, and providing the identified content. It also discusses filtering content based on various attributes.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent potentially anticipates claims related to receiving a request including geographic location information, identifying a set of content (social media posts) based on geographic location information, and providing content for display. While it doesn't explicitly detail "customized scores" based on "preference factors" in the same way as US10616727, the core concept of location-based content delivery and filtering is present.

3. US8756262B2

• Full Citation: US8756262B2, "Presenting geo-referenced content," to Kessen et al., assigned to Google Inc.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: June 17, 2014. Filing (Application) date: October 14, 2010.
• Brief Description: This patent details a method for presenting geo-referenced content, such as points of interest, on a map. It includes selecting geographic content items for display within a geographic area of a map, determining a display size for each selected item, and arranging the selected items for display in the geographic area based on their display sizes and associated geographic locations. This addresses the problem of clutter on maps.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent potentially anticipates claims related to displaying content on a client device, especially concerning screen attribute information (e.g., zoom level, available screen space) and how it affects the presentation of content to avoid clutter (e.g., arranging items based on display size). The idea of showing only a subset of available content in a digestible manner due to screen limitations aligns with aspects of US10616727.

4. US8533190B2

• Full Citation: US8533190B2, "System and method for identifying and displaying geo-coded data," to Wrubel et al., assigned to Google Inc.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: September 10, 2013. Filing (Application) date: December 21, 2011.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for identifying and displaying geo-coded data. It focuses on collecting and processing geo-coded data (e.g., user-generated content, images) and then dynamically displaying a subset of this data on a map based on parameters like zoom level, user preferences, and data density, often aggregating data into "bubbles" or clusters.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is highly relevant as it describes displaying a subset of geo-coded data based on various parameters, including user preferences and data density, to prevent clutter. The use of "bubbles" or clusters for aggregation strongly aligns with the "grouping criteria" and "suggested group" concepts of US10616727, especially concerning how content is visualized and filtered to fit screen space. The use of user preferences to influence display also bears a resemblance to the "preference factors" in US10616727.

5. US8027961B1

• Full Citation: US8027961B1, "System and method for filtering information based on location and user characteristics," to D'Angelo et al.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: September 27, 2011. Filing (Application) date: December 29, 2008.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for filtering information (e.g., advertisements, messages) based on geographic location and user characteristics (e.g., preferences, demographics). It involves receiving a request for information, determining the user's location and characteristics, and then filtering a database of information to identify relevant items to be provided to the user.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent potentially anticipates claims related to receiving a request including geographic location information and identification of a requesting account, and then filtering information based on user characteristics. This directly relates to the "preference factors" and "requesting account" aspects of the customized score and filtering in US10616727.

6. US7996451B2

• Full Citation: US7996451B2, "Generating and displaying information regarding events," to Geisner et al., assigned to Loopt, Inc.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: August 9, 2011. Filing (Application) date: December 29, 2008.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system that generates and displays information regarding events (e.g., social gatherings) to users of mobile devices. It can track user locations, identify nearby events, and present information about those events. It also discusses user preferences for event types and displaying events on a map interface.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent potentially anticipates claims related to location-based content (events) and filtering based on user preferences. The display of events on a map and the consideration of user interests are relevant to US10616727's focus on location-based social media posts and preference factors.

7. US7877402B1

• Full Citation: US7877402B1, "Location-based information delivery system and method," to Al-Shahrani et al.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: January 25, 2011. Filing (Application) date: October 3, 2008.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for delivering information to a user based on their geographic location. It involves determining a user's current location, identifying information relevant to that location from a database, and delivering it to the user. It can also include user profiles and preferences to refine the information delivery.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US8812586B2 and US8027961B1, this patent generally anticipates claims related to location-based information delivery and the use of user preferences to tailor content. It contributes to the general concept of providing relevant location-based data.

8. US7756903B2

• Full Citation: US7756903B2, "Location-based services using presence and policy," to Agarwal et al., assigned to Yahoo! Inc.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: July 13, 2010. Filing (Application) date: September 29, 2006.
• Brief Description: This patent details a system for providing location-based services using presence information and policies. It enables users to share their location and status with others based on defined policies and privacy settings. While less focused on content aggregation/display than others, it contributes to the underlying technology of managing and utilizing user location data in a social context.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent primarily focuses on the sharing of location and presence. While it touches on using location information, it doesn't directly address the specific content delivery, ranking, and visualization techniques for social media posts as detailed in US10616727. However, the foundational idea of using user location in a network is present.

9. US7660851B1

• Full Citation: US7660851B1, "Method and system for dynamic content delivery," to D'Angelo et al.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: February 9, 2010. Filing (Application) date: December 29, 2008.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a method and system for dynamic content delivery based on user interests and contextual information. It involves profiling users, identifying content based on their profiles, and dynamically delivering that content. While not explicitly location-based in the title, similar inventors to US8027961B1 suggest it could integrate location as a contextual factor.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent focuses on dynamic content delivery based on user profiles/interests, which aligns with the "preference factors" and "customized score" of US10616727. It broadly covers the idea of tailoring content to a user.

10. US7606774B2

• Full Citation: US7606774B2, "System and method for displaying geocoded data on a map," to Kessen et al., assigned to Google Inc.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: October 20, 2009. Filing (Application) date: April 1, 2008.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for displaying geocoded data on a map, particularly focusing on methods to prevent clutter by dynamically adjusting how data points are displayed (e.g., aggregating multiple points into a single marker) based on zoom level and screen space. It teaches reducing the number of displayed items to ensure readability.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is highly relevant to claims involving screen attribute information (e.g., zoom level, available screen space) and applying grouping criteria to display a subset of posts to avoid clutter, as described in US10616727. The concept of aggregating data points for display on a map is a core element here.

11. US7577699B1

• Full Citation: US7577699B1, "Location-based information delivery method and system," to Al-Shahrani et al.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: August 18, 2009. Filing (Application) date: November 27, 2007.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a location-based information delivery system where information is stored with associated geographic locations, and users receive information relevant to their current location. It also covers defining areas of interest and receiving notifications.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent generally anticipates claims related to location-based information delivery, receiving requests with geographic information, and providing content relevant to that location. It is a fundamental prior art reference for location-based services.

12. US7512686B1

• Full Citation: US7512686B1, "Method and system for providing context-aware recommendations," to D'Angelo et al.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: March 31, 2009. Filing (Application) date: July 2, 2007.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for providing context-aware recommendations to users. Contextual information can include location, time, user activity, and user preferences. The system filters recommendations based on this context to provide relevant suggestions.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent directly addresses the use of user preferences and contextual information (which can include location and time) to filter and provide relevant information. This aligns closely with the "set of preference factors" and "customized score" aspects of US10616727's claims.

13. US7266597B2

• Full Citation: US7266597B2, "Method and apparatus for providing relevant information to mobile users," to Cohen et al., assigned to Yahoo! Inc.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: September 4, 2007. Filing (Application) date: March 17, 2004.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system for delivering relevant information to mobile users based on their context, including location, time, and user profile. It aims to reduce information overload by presenting only the most pertinent information.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent broadly covers providing relevant, context-aware information to mobile users, including location and user profile. The goal of reducing information overload by filtering aligns with the problem US10616727 seeks to solve.

14. US7206822B1

• Full Citation: US7206822B1, "System and method for distributing information to users of a wireless communication network," to Lee et al.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: April 17, 2007. Filing (Application) date: January 13, 2003.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system for distributing information to users of a wireless network based on their location. It involves determining user locations and sending them location-relevant information or advertisements.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is very general, focusing on location-based information distribution. While it provides a foundational concept, it lacks the specific details of social media posts, customized ranking, and visualization techniques of US10616727.

15. US6847820B1

• Full Citation: US6847820B1, "System and method for providing location-based information," to Humbel.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: January 25, 2005. Filing (Application) date: September 30, 2002.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for providing location-based information to mobile users. It involves identifying a user's location and then delivering relevant information, such as directions, nearby services, or local advertisements.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This is another foundational patent for location-based services. Like US7206822B1, it broadly covers the concept but lacks the specific inventive steps related to social media, customized scoring, and dynamic visualization for decluttering detailed in US10616727.

Most Relevant Prior Art:

The patents that appear to be most relevant and potentially anticipate key claims of US10616727 under 35 U.S.C. § 102 are:

• US9516428B2: This patent by the same assignee (Youmap Inc.) covers a proximity-based social networking service with expiring posts, filtering, and dynamic importance adjustment. This strongly aligns with the core system and method claims of US10616727.
• US8533190B2: This patent by Google Inc. explicitly discusses identifying and displaying a subset of geo-coded data on a map, aggregating data into "bubbles" or clusters, and using user preferences to influence display, directly addressing the problem of map clutter and the visualization solutions proposed by US10616727.
• US8756262B2 & US7606774B2: Both Google Inc. patents discuss methods for presenting geo-referenced content on a map, specifically addressing how to select, size, and arrange content (including aggregation) to avoid clutter based on screen attributes like zoom level, which is a significant aspect of US10616727's claims regarding "screen attribute information" and generating a "suggested group" for digestible display.
• US8027961B1 & US7512686B1: These patents from D'Angelo et al. focus on filtering information/recommendations based on user characteristics/preferences and context (which can include location and time). This directly relates to the "customized score" based on "set of preference factors" for the "requesting account" in US10616727.

These patents collectively address many of the individual elements claimed in US10616727, particularly concerning location-based social content, filtering based on user preferences and timeliness, and adaptive visualization on a map to manage screen real estate. The novelty of US10616727 might lie in the specific combination and synergistic interaction of these elements, particularly the detailed mechanism of applying preference factors to a general score to create a customized score for ranking and explicitly excluding posts based on this ranking for display.

The obviousness of US patent 10616727 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 can be analyzed by considering combinations of the identified prior art keywords, which represent well-known concepts in the field prior to the patent's priority date of October 18, 2017. A person having ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have been motivated to combine these concepts to address prevalent challenges in displaying relevant social media content, particularly on mobile devices.

The patent's abstract describes a system and method for providing location information on a social network that involves:

1. Receiving a request for social media posts, including screen attribute information, geographic location information, and requesting account identification.
2. Identifying temporally recent social media posts based on screen attributes and geographic location.
3. Applying grouping criteria to generate a suggested group, which includes:
   a. Ranking each post with a customized score, based on requesting account preference factors applied to a general score.
   b. Selecting a subset of posts based on this ranking, excluding others, for inclusion in the suggested group.
4. Providing this suggested group for display.

The provided prior art keywords are: "social media", "posts", "post", "user", "score".

A POSITA would understand these keywords to represent the following general concepts in the prior art:

• Social Media, Posts/Post, User: These terms describe the fundamental elements of social networking platforms, where individuals ("users") create and share content ("posts") with their connections or the wider public. By 2017, numerous social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit) were widely popular and well-understood.
• Score: This refers to various mechanisms used to assign a value to content, users, or other entities, often indicating popularity, relevance, quality, or engagement (e.g., "likes," "upvotes," "trending" algorithms, reputation systems).

Combination of Prior Art Concepts for Obviousness:

1. Location-Based Social Media with General Content Scoring:
It would have been obvious to a POSITA to combine the concepts of "social media", "posts", and "users" with location-based services and a "score" to provide relevant content. Location-based services (like geo-tagging, check-ins, and local business reviews on platforms such as Foursquare, Yelp, or Google Maps) were common prior to 2017. Similarly, social media platforms already used various "scores" (e.g., engagement metrics, trending algorithms) to highlight popular "posts" to "users".

A POSITA would have been motivated to combine these elements to offer "users" a view of "social media" "posts" that are both geographically relevant and generally popular (based on a "score") within a specific area. This addresses the basic need for users to discover what is happening or popular in their vicinity, leveraging existing scoring mechanisms to filter and prioritize content. The idea of displaying recent posts based on geographic location is a straightforward application of location services to social media.

2. Personalization through User Preference Factors and Customized Scoring:
The patent's emphasis on a "customized score" based on "preference factors" corresponding to the "requesting account" applied to a "general score" would also have been obvious. Personalization of content delivery based on individual "user" preferences was a well-established practice in "social media" and recommendation systems by 2017. Users could explicitly express preferences (e.g., following specific accounts, subscribing to channels/topics) or implicitly convey them through their interactions (e.g., liking, sharing, viewing history).

A POSITA would have been motivated to enhance the location-based social media experience by making the content even more relevant to individual "users." If a general "score" could identify popular "posts" in an area, integrating "user" "preference factors" (e.g., "posts" from friends, "posts" related to specific interests) into a "customized score" would logically follow to provide a more tailored and engaging experience. The combination of a general popularity "score" with personalized preference weighting to rank content was a known technique for improving content relevance across many online platforms.

3. Adaptive Display for Limited Screen Space Using Ranking and Screen Attributes:
The patent describes identifying a set of posts and then "selecting, based the ranking, the subset of the set of social media posts for inclusion in the suggested group, where the selecting includes excluding at least one social media post... from inclusion in the suggested group based on the ranking," in conjunction with "screen attribute information." The patent itself highlights the problem of "hundreds or thousands of posts would overcrowd a display making the map, and therefore the posts, virtually useless (e.g., as shown in FIG. 3B)."

This problem of displaying a large volume of data on limited screen space, especially on mobile devices, was well-known in mapping and data visualization. Solutions included filtering, clustering, and adjusting the level of detail based on zoom level or available screen real estate. Given the motivation to display relevant location-based social media "posts" from the previous combinations, a POSITA would be further motivated to adapt the display of these "posts" based on the "score" and "screen attribute information" (e.g., zoom level, pan location, screen size). If "posts" are ranked by a "customized score," it is an obvious design choice to prioritize displaying higher-ranked "posts" and suppress or aggregate lower-ranked ones when screen space is limited, thereby creating a "suggested group" that is digestible and prevents clutter. This directly addresses the stated problem using known UI/UX principles for map applications.

Conclusion:

A person of ordinary skill in the art, in 2017, would have been motivated to combine the known concepts of "social media", "posts", "user", and "score" in a location-aware context. The motivation would stem from the desire to:

• Provide geographically relevant content to users.
• Personalize this content by incorporating user-specific preferences into the content ranking (creating a "customized score").
• Solve the known problem of information overload on map interfaces, especially on mobile devices, by adaptively filtering and displaying content based on its relevance ("score") and available "screen attribute information."

The combination of these elements to create a system that receives location and screen data, identifies recent posts, ranks them using a user-customized score, and then selectively displays a subset of these posts to avoid clutter, represents an obvious integration of existing technologies and design principles to achieve predictable results in the context of location-based social media.