US 10768871

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I have the core patent details. Now let me specifically check for CAFC (Federal Circuit) 2026 docket activity involving this patent number.

US Patent 10,768,871 (US10768871B2) — Summary

I searched for patent number 10768871 specifically (U.S. Patent No. 10,768,871; publication US10768871B2). No similar-number substitutions were used. Here is what the records show.

Bibliographic data

Sources: Google Patents – US10768871B2; uspto.report Patent Grant 10768871; Flexiworld patent page.

The application is a continuation of U.S. 15/348,006 (filed Nov. 10, 2016), itself a continuation of U.S. 10/053,765 (filed Jan. 18, 2002, issued as 9,836,257), and a continuation-in-part of the chain leading back to U.S. 10/016,223 (filed Nov. 1, 2001, issued as 7,941,541). It is part of the large Flexiworld "universal wireless output" family (family ID 22998933 per Darts-ip, flagged as having litigation).

Abstract (verbatim, per grant record)

"Output devices supporting wireless device discovery are herein disclosed and enabled. To setup an output device for wireless connection, wireless device discovery is performed by a client of the output device to discover the output device. Upon being discovered, the output device may provide identification or information related to the output device to the client for establishing a wireless connection. Subsequently, the output device may receive, via the established wireless connection, digital content from the client for output. Wireless device discovery operations may be based on one or more of a close proximity wireless communication, a Bluetooth wireless communication, or a wireless communication compatible with a protocol within IEEE 802.11 standards. Security information or authentication may be required for establishing the wireless connection. Subsequent to having established the wireless connection, the output device receives the digital content from the client for playing at the output device."

Independent claims — plain-language overview

The patent has 20 claims; the independent claims are 1, 7, and 15 (all others are dependent).

• Claim 1 (apparatus — wireless output device): A wirelessly discoverable output device (e.g., speaker, TV, display, printer, controller box) having communication circuitry compatible with Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, and/or the 2.4 GHz band, plus memory storing an attribute or identification of the device. It must (1) facilitate wireless device discovery by a client; (2) after discovery, wirelessly send its stored attribute/ID to the client; (3) implement a security/authentication procedure (username, password, ID, PIN, IP address, device ID, security key, biometric, fingerprint, voice, or combination); (4) establish the wireless link only after steps (1)–(3); (5) receive output data related to digital content over that link; and (6) output/play the data. The client is a mobile information apparatus (or app running on it) that is a distinct device; the link must be compatible with IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, or 2.4 GHz operation.

• Claim 7 (method — output device ↔ smartphone): A method for establishing a short-range wireless link between a wireless output device and a smartphone, based on physical proximity. Steps: (1) wireless discovery (either side discovering the other); (2) after discovery, the device transmits its stored attribute/ID to the phone (proximity-based); (3) device receives a service/connection request; (4) device establishes a short-range wireless link; (5) device receives output data containing audio or voice digital content; (6) device processes/decodes the data; (7) device outputs/plays the audio/voice content. Dependent claims add Bluetooth/IEEE 802.11 compatibility, status/device-info reporting to the phone, audio/voice uplink, security detection, sharing of the attribute/ID over a network, and wireless software/data synchronization.

• Claim 15 (apparatus — output device for playing digital content): A wireless output device with an output component and wireless circuitry (IEEE 802.11 or Bluetooth) operable to: (1) facilitate discovery by a client; (2) after being discovered, transmit an attribute/ID to the client; (3) receive a query or service request; (4) establish a wireless link; (5) receive output data; and (6) play it. Notably, at least part of the received output data must be device-dependent, and the output data must be associated with the attribute/ID transmitted in step (2). The client is a mobile information apparatus (distinct device) or an app thereon. Dependent claims add authentication, audio/voice uplink, a user interface (screen, buttons, keypad, etc.), a Bluetooth-audio/smartphone embodiment, and device-type/content-type definitions.

Litigation / CAFC 2026 check

This patent is the subject of multiple district-court cases (per Google Patents' litigation flags, Unified Patents, and Stanford's NPE Litigation Database), including:

• Flexiworld Technologies, Inc. v. Hisense Co., Ltd. et al., 1:22-cv-04338 (N.D. Ga., filed Oct. 31, 2022) — Stanford NPE Database
• Flexiworld Technologies, Inc. v. Sony Corporation, 2:23-cv-00616 (E.D. Tex., filed Dec. 19, 2023) — goldencompass/patentpia record
• Flexiworld Technologies, Inc. v. Xerox Corp., 6:23-cv-06372 (W.D.N.Y.) — stipulated dismissal with prejudice (both sides bear costs) — PatSnap case summary
• A 2026-filed Texas Eastern District Court case (2:26-cv-00229) is listed on the Google Patents record, but I could not retrieve its caption.

CAFC 2026 dockets: I have no authoritative confirmation of any Federal Circuit (CAFC) appeal docketed in 2026 involving patent 10768871 specifically. My searches returned no CAFC appeal record for this patent number, and my final search was truncated before I could exhaustively query the CAFC docket. Given the patent is marked "Expired – Fee Related" with anticipated expiration of November 1, 2021, any 2026 appeal would most likely relate to a district-court judgment or remedy from the cases above (e.g., post-judgment or damages appeals) rather than ongoing infringement liability. Please treat the CAFC-2026 portion as unverified — I could not confirm it from an authoritative docket source.

Confidence notes

• High confidence: bibliographic data, abstract, claim text, and district-court litigation history (corroborated across Google Patents, uspto.report, Unified Patents, Stanford, and PatSnap).
• The "Expired – Fee Related" status and 2021 expiration come from Google Patents' legal-status metadata; verify against USPTO Patent Center if precise maintenance-fee/expiration status matters.
• CAFC 2026 docket status for this patent: not confirmed — see caveat above.