US 10735488

Here's a concise summary of US patent 10735488:

US Patent 10735488: Method of downloading digital content to be rendered

• Title: Method of downloading digital content to be rendered
• Assignee: Audio Pod Ip LLC (Current Assignee); Audio Pod Inc (Original Assignee)
• Inventors: John McCue, Robert McCue, Gregory Shostakovsky, Glenn McCue
• Filing Date: September 28, 2018
• Issue Date: August 4, 2020
• Abstract: The patent describes a method for downloading digital content, such as audio, for rendering. It involves downloading a list of available content servers to a client device. The client then tracks service level statistics for these servers and selects a primary server based on these statistics to download a first segment of the content. If the service from the primary server degrades, a second server is selected from the list, based on its service level statistics, to seamlessly take over the download of subsequent content segments, making the server replacement largely unnoticeable to the user.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

1. Independent Claim 1 (Method): This claim describes a method where a client device first downloads a list of content servers. It then monitors how well these servers are performing (service level statistics). Based on this performance data, the client picks an initial server to download a part (segment) of the digital content. If that server's performance drops, the client transparently switches to another server from the list, again based on performance, to continue downloading the next part of the content. The goal is a smooth, uninterrupted user experience despite server changes.
2. Independent Claim 2 (Non-transitory computer-readable storage medium): This claim covers a computer program stored on a non-transitory medium (like a hard drive or flash memory). When a computer runs this program, it performs the same steps as described in Claim 1: downloading a server list, tracking server performance, selecting a primary server for content segments, and then imperceptibly switching to a backup server if the primary server's performance declines.

Legal Status and Litigation:

As of April 26, 2026, US Patent 10735488 is active. The patent family has litigation, including:

• A PTAB case, IPR2025-01041, which was filed but not instituted procedurally.
• Several US District Court cases filed in the Virginia Eastern District Court in 2024 (3:24-cv-00407, 3:24-cv-00406, 1:24-cv-00915).
• A US District Court case filed in the New Jersey District Court in 2025 (2:25-cv-02198).
• First worldwide family litigation was filed.

Searches for specific dockets related to US10735488 within the CAFC 2026 dockets did not directly yield specific case numbers in the provided search results. Therefore, I cannot definitively report on any specific CAFC cases for this patent number in 2026 at this time. The provided search results offer general information on accessing CAFC scheduled cases, but no direct patent-specific docket information for 2026.