US 11129163

US Patent 11129163 Summary

Title: Wireless communication method and wireless communication terminal in basic service set overlapping with another basic service set

Assignee:

• Current Assignee: Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc
• Original Assignee: SK Telecom Co Ltd, Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc

Inventors: Geonjung KO, Juhyung Son, Woojin AHN, Jinsam Kwak

Filing Date: 2018-09-04

Issue Date: 2021-09-21

Abstract:
A wireless communication method and a wireless communication terminal are provided for operating in a basic service set (BSS) that overlaps with another BSS. The wireless communication terminal includes a transceiver and a processor. The processor is configured to transmit a BSS color indicating its own BSS when communicating with another wireless communication terminal. If the wireless communication terminal fails to receive information signaling the BSS color, the processor transmits a predetermined value as the BSS color.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Independent Claim 1 (Method Claim): This claim describes a method for a wireless communication terminal operating in a basic service set (BSS) that overlaps with other BSSs. The method involves transmitting a "BSS color" that identifies the terminal's own BSS when communicating. Crucially, if the terminal doesn't receive information about its BSS color, it transmits a pre-defined value as the BSS color instead.

• Independent Claim 7 (Terminal Claim): This claim outlines a wireless communication terminal designed for use in overlapping BSS environments. The terminal includes a transceiver and a processor. The processor is set up to transmit a BSS color to identify its BSS during communication. If it doesn't get BSS color signaling information, it's configured to transmit a pre-defined value as the BSS color.

• Independent Claim 13 (Method Claim): This claim details a method for a wireless communication terminal in an overlapping BSS scenario. The method involves receiving a PLCP Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) and then accessing a channel based on whether that PPDU is considered an "Inter-BSS PPDU" (from a different BSS) or an "Intra-BSS PPDU" (from the same BSS as the terminal).

• Independent Claim 14 (Terminal Claim): This claim covers a wireless communication terminal for operating in overlapping BSSs. The terminal has a transceiver and a processor. The processor is configured to receive a PPDU and then decide how to access a channel based on whether the PPDU is an Inter-BSS PPDU or an Intra-BSS PPDU.

• Independent Claim 20 (Method Claim): This claim describes a wireless communication method where a terminal receives a PPDU. If the BSS color indicated by the received PPDU is a pre-defined value, the terminal does not perform any operations that are based on the BSS color.

• Independent Claim 21 (Terminal Claim): This claim specifies a wireless communication terminal with a transceiver and a processor. The processor is configured to receive a PPDU. If the PPDU indicates a pre-defined value for the BSS color, the processor is set up to not perform any BSS color-based operations.

Litigation Information:
US Patent 11129163 is currently involved in litigation:

• There are two US cases filed in the Texas Eastern District Court (case numbers 2:24-cv-00764 and 2:24-cv-00765).
• A PTAB case, IPR2025-00935, has been filed and is pending (Instituted).
• The patent family also has its first worldwide litigation filed.

(No specific CAFC 2026 dockets directly referencing US11129163 were found in the provided patent information, but district court cases could lead to CAFC appeals in the future.)

Known litigation involving US patent 11129163 includes:

1. District Court Cases:

   • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet, but the patent is currently assigned to Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc.

   • Defendant(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet.

   • Jurisdiction: Texas Eastern District Court

   • Case Number: 2:24-cv-00764

   • Filing Date: Not explicitly stated, but the "2:24" in the case number suggests 2024.

   • Outcome or Current Status: Active.

   • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet, but the patent is currently assigned to Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc.

   • Defendant(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet.

   • Jurisdiction: Texas Eastern District Court

   • Case Number: 2:24-cv-00765

   • Filing Date: Not explicitly stated, but the "2:24" in the case number suggests 2024.

   • Outcome or Current Status: Active.

2. PTAB Case:

   • Plaintiff(s) (Petitioner): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippet.
   • Defendant(s) (Patent Owner): Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc. (current assignee)
   • Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
   • Case Number: IPR2025-00935
   • Filing Date: Not explicitly stated, but the "2025" in the case number indicates the filing year.
   • Outcome or Current Status: Pending - Instituted.

Proceedings overview

There is 1 AIA trial proceeding on file for US patent 11129163. This proceeding was terminated due to settlement. As a result, no claims of the patent have been invalidated, and the patent owner's claims remain intact. This means that a defendant facing assertion of this patent will need to develop their own prior art defenses, as the claims have not been challenged or narrowed by this particular PTAB proceeding.

IPR2025-00935 — [[[Samsung Electronics Co.](/litigations/by-defendant/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.), Ltd.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.%2C%20Ltd.) et al.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.%2C%20Ltd.%20et%20al.) v. Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-04-30
• Status: Terminated-Settled. This indicates the proceeding concluded due to an agreement between the parties before a final decision on the merits.
• Judge panel: Not publicly available at this stage.
• Petition grounds: Not publicly available in the provided information.
• Institution decision: Not publicly available. The case status indicates "Terminated-Settled", which typically occurs after institution but before a final written decision.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): No Final Written Decision was issued due to the settlement.
• Settlement / termination: The proceeding was terminated due to settlement on 2026-07-29. The specific terms of the settlement are confidential.
• Appeal: No appeal to the Federal Circuit occurred as there was no Final Written Decision.
• Defensive value: This proceeding does not offer any direct claim invalidation for a defendant. The claims of US11129163 remain as originally granted. A defendant would need to consider their own prior art research and potential IPR filing, being mindful of the estoppel provisions for the petitioner and their privies in IPR2025-00935.

Strategic summary

No claims of US11129163 are currently canceled or sustained through a PTAB Final Written Decision, as the sole proceeding, IPR2025-00935, was terminated due to settlement. Therefore, all claims of the patent remain untested in the context of an AIA trial.

Regarding estoppel, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and any parties in privity with them are barred under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) from asserting in future district court litigation or other PTAB proceedings any ground they raised or reasonably could have raised in IPR2025-00935. However, since the petition grounds are not publicly available in the provided information, the precise scope of this estoppel is not clear to an external party without reviewing the petition itself. For other defendants not in privity with Samsung, all prior-art grounds remain potentially available. The patent owner, Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc., has not pursued any PTAB appeals in this instance due to the settlement. Unified Patents is listed as a petitioner in another PTAB case on Google Patents for this patent, IPR2025-00935.

Recommended next steps

There are no active proceedings for US11129163, and no claims have been invalidated. A defendant should conduct a thorough prior art search to identify potential invalidity grounds for an independent IPR filing, if appropriate, or for a district court defense.

Inventors

• Geonjung KO (SK Telecom Co Ltd, Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc)
• Juhyung Son (SK Telecom Co Ltd, Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc)
• Woojin AHN (SK Telecom Co Ltd, Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc)
• Jinsam Kwak (SK Telecom Co Ltd, Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc)

Original assignee

SK Telecom Co Ltd and Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc are the original co-assignees. SK Telecom Co Ltd is a South Korean telecommunications company that offers wireless communication services, among other products. It is currently operating. Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc is an intellectual property company.

Assignment timeline

• 2018-09-18 (executed) / recorded 2018-09-18 — Reel 045811/0301
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: AHN, WOOJIN, KO, Geonjung, KWAK, JINSAM, SON, JUHYUNG (all inventors)
  • Assignee: SK TELECOM CO., LTD. and WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC.
  • Correspondent: BAE, KIM & LEE IP LAW GROUP, 27F, FERRUM TOWER, 19, EUJ RO 5-GIL, JUNG-GU, SEOUL, REPUBLIC OF KOREA
  • Context: Original assignment from inventors to co-assignees.
• 2022-12-18 (executed) / recorded 2023-01-09 — Reel 062152/0001
  • Conveyance: License
  • Assignor: SK TELECOM CO., LTD.
  • Assignee: WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC.
  • Correspondent: WOO JAE CHUNG, 1600 DUANE STREET, APT 201, SANTA CLARA, CA 95050. This correspondent does not recur in this chain.
  • Context: Licensing agreement between co-assignees.
• 2024-06-20 (executed) / recorded 2024-06-21 — Reel 064972/0001
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignor's Interest
  • Assignor: SK TELECOM CO., LTD.
  • Assignee: WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC.
  • Correspondent: WOO JAE CHUNG, 1600 DUANE STREET, APT 201, SANTA CLARA, CA 95050. This correspondent does not recur in this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of remaining interest from one co-assignee to the other.
• 2025-02-26 (executed) / recorded 2025-03-03 — Reel 065874/0971
  • Conveyance: Corrective Assignment
  • Assignor: SK TELECOM CO., LTD.
  • Assignee: WILUS INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY INC.
  • Correspondent: WOO JAE CHUNG, 1600 DUANE STREET, APT 201, SANTA CLARA, CA 95050. This correspondent does not recur in this chain.
  • Context: Correction to a previous agreement date.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11129163
    2018 : Inventors assign to SK Telecom & Wilus Inst
    2022 : SK Telecom licenses to Wilus Inst
    2024 : SK Telecom assigns remaining interest
    2025 : Corrective assignment recorded

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Not present. While Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc is an IP company, the initial assignment was to both SK Telecom Co Ltd (an operating company) and Wilus, and subsequently, SK Telecom's interest was fully assigned to Wilus. There is no clear indication of a transfer to a shell entity with typical shell-entity characteristics.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Unclear. While Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc is primarily an intellectual property company, it is not explicitly listed on widely recognized NPE lists like those from RPX or Unified Patents. However, Unified Patents has filed an IPR against this patent, which is a common action against patents asserted by NPEs.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Not present. The correspondent "BAE, KIM & LEE IP LAW GROUP" appears once for the initial assignment. The correspondent "WOO JAE CHUNG" appears three times, but only in transfers between the initial co-assignees, not across different, unrelated entities, which would be a stronger signal of an NPE family.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. The transfers involve two entities over several years, not multiple consecutive transfers through chained LLCs in a short timeframe.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Unclear. There are litigation cases associated with this patent family (US case filed in Texas Eastern District Court, PTAB case IPR2025-00935 filed). The first district court litigation case was filed in 2024, while the assignment from SK Telecom to Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc was recorded in 2024 (Reel 064972/0001), just prior to the publicly listed litigation. This could be a signal depending on the exact filing date of the lawsuit and the execution date of the assignment, which are very close.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. No evidence suggests either original assignee filed for bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — Unclear. While SK Telecom Co Ltd (an operating company) transferred its interest to Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc (an IP company), there's no public evidence to confirm if Wilus is asserting on SK Telecom's behalf against competitors.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — moderate confidence
The transfer of full ownership from SK Telecom Co Ltd (an operating company) to Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc (an intellectual property company) via an assignment recorded on 2024-06-21 (Reel 064972/0001) is a signal. This is further supported by the fact that Unified Patents, an anti-NPE organization, has filed an IPR against this patent, indicating potential assertion activity. The proximity of this transfer to the first recorded litigation event further strengthens the case for NPE assertion.

For verification, see the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patents/[11129163](/patent/11129163)

The initial search results from Justia Patents Search (,,,,) did not directly provide the "References Cited" section for US11129163, but rather a list of patents assigned to Google. This is not what I am looking for. I need to specifically find the "References Cited" by US11129163. I will try a more direct approach using Google Patents itself.The search results from Justia Patents Search (,,,) and USPTO (,) provided general patent search functionality and examples, but did not directly provide the "References Cited" section for US11129163. I need to find the specific list of prior art patents cited by US11129163. The provided patent text for US11129163 at the beginning of the prompt also does not explicitly list the "References Cited" section, only "Prior art keywords" and "Prior art date".

Since I cannot directly interact with a live Google Patents page to extract this information, I will explicitly state this limitation. However, I can still analyze the provided patent text to understand the problem US11129163 aims to solve and the general prior art context it mentions, which is related to wireless communication standards like IEEE 802.11 and challenges in high-density environments with overlapping BSSs.

To fulfill the user's request as best as possible within my capabilities, I will use the "Prior art keywords" and the problem description within the provided patent text to infer the types of prior art that would be relevant. I will then explain that a specific list of cited patent numbers is not present in the provided text, and I could not extract it from the search results, so a direct claim-by-claim anticipation analysis against specific patents is not possible.

However, the prompt specifically asked me to "Look at each patent citation for 11129163." and "For each reference, provide: full citation, publication/filing date, brief description, and which claim(s) it potentially anticipates under 35 U.S.C. § 102." Since I don't have the list of citations, I cannot fulfill this part directly.

Therefore, I need to try one more specific search query to get the "References Cited" section of US11129163 from Google Patents. If that fails, I will have to explain the limitation.The search results (,) are general instructions for using Google Patents search and do not provide the "References Cited" list for US11129163. My previous attempts to get the cited references directly from search results have been unsuccessful.

Since I have the full patent text for US11129163, I should meticulously re-examine it for a "References Cited" section. If it's not explicitly labelled as such, it might be in the "Background Art" or "Detailed Description" sections by direct mention.

Upon re-reading the provided US11129163 patent text, there is no explicit section titled "References Cited" or similar, nor are specific patent numbers other than 11129163 itself mentioned within the descriptive definitions or background. The "Prior art keywords" and "Prior art date" are given, and there are references to IEEE 802.11 standards (802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ad), but these are not patent citations.

Therefore, I cannot fulfill the request to provide a list of patent citations and their details because that information is not present in the provided patent text and I was unable to retrieve it through web searches. I will explicitly state this limitation.

However, I can still analyze the general prior art context as described in the provided patent text to understand what types of prior art would be relevant and what problems US11129163 seeks to address, which might implicitly anticipate some general aspects of wireless communication.

Here's how I will proceed:

1. State that the explicit "References Cited" section is not present in the provided patent text, and attempts to retrieve it via search were unsuccessful.
2. Discuss the general prior art context mentioned in US11129163 (IEEE 802.11 standards, challenges in dense environments, overlapping BSSs, spatial reuse).
3. Explain that without specific patent citations, a detailed claim-by-claim anticipation analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for specific prior art patents is not possible.

Let's refine the response to directly address the user's request while being clear about the limitations.

I need to confirm if I can get the references from the Google Patents page URL provided: https://patents.google.com/patent/US11129163/en. My previous search results did not parse the content of this URL specifically for the "References Cited" section. I will assume I can't directly "browse" the page content as a human would.

Therefore, the only information I have about prior art is the "Prior art keywords" and the general problem description from the patent text.

Final strategy: I will state the limitation regarding the lack of specific patent citations. Then, I will synthesize a "brief description" of the type of prior art that US11129163 addresses, based on its background, and explain how the claims generally aim to overcome limitations in this existing technology without performing a claim-by-claim anticipation against non-existent specific patent references.

This will be a direct answer to the user, acknowledging the inability to fulfill the specific sub-tasks due to missing data.As a patent analyst, I have searched for US patent 11129163. Upon reviewing the provided full patent text and conducting web searches, I was unable to locate an explicit "References Cited" section that lists specific patent numbers as prior art for US11129163. The provided text includes "Prior art keywords" (wireless communication, BSS, PPDU, communication terminal, frame) and mentions various IEEE 802.11 standards (e.g., 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ad) in its background, but these are not presented as patent citations.

Therefore, I cannot provide a detailed analysis of specific patent citations, including their full citation, publication/filing date, brief description, and specific claim anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102, as that information is not available in the provided text or through the performed searches. A complete prior art analysis would typically require access to the "References Cited" section of the patent as filed with the USPTO or as displayed on patent databases like Google Patents.

However, based on the background and problem statement of US11129163, the general prior art it addresses can be characterized as follows:

General Prior Art Context Addressed by US11129163:

• Wireless Communication Technologies (IEEE 802.11 Standards): The patent explicitly mentions various generations of IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN (WLAN) technologies, from 802.11b/a/g to 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ad. These standards define the fundamental mechanisms for wireless communication, including physical layer (PHY) and Media Access Control (MAC) protocols.

  • Description: This prior art encompasses the established methods for wireless access, data transmission rates, frequency bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 60 GHz), modulation techniques (OFDM, MIMO, 256 QAM), and basic network structures like Basic Service Sets (BSS) and Extended Service Sets (ESS) [0003-0010, 0101-0104].
  • Potential Areas of Anticipation (General): The basic principles of wireless communication, frame structures, MAC layer operations, and network topologies would be anticipated by these established standards. US11129163 does not claim these foundational elements as novel but rather seeks to improve upon their performance in specific challenging scenarios.

• Challenges in High-Density Wireless Environments and Overlapping Basic Service Sets (OBSS): The patent highlights the problem of degraded communication efficiency due to interference when multiple BSSs overlap, particularly in high-density terminal environments. This indicates that existing mechanisms for channel access and interference management were insufficient for these conditions.

  • Description: Prior art systems face issues where wireless communication terminals may struggle to secure transmission opportunities (TXOP) due to interference in overlapping BSS (OBSS) scenarios, especially when using contention-based channel access procedures.
  • Potential Areas of Anticipation (General): General concepts of interference in wireless networks and the existence of overlapping BSSs are inherent in the development of WLAN standards. What US11129163 aims to address are the solutions to these problems, specifically related to improving communication efficiency in such challenging environments.

• Early Spatial Reuse (SR) Operations: The patent states that "To solve this problem [degraded communication efficiency due to interference in OBSS], a wireless communication terminal may perform a spatial reuse (SR) operation.". This implies that some form of SR operation was known, but its implementation or effectiveness in specific scenarios (e.g., BSS color collision, NAV setting) was problematic.

  • Description: Existing SR operations likely involve mechanisms for accessing channels based on whether a received frame originates from the same BSS (Intra-BSS) or another BSS (Inter-BSS/OBSS). This could include adjusting Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) thresholds, managing Network Allocation Vectors (NAV), and deferral operations [0057-0058].
  • Potential Areas of Anticipation (General): The broad concept of spatial reuse and differentiating between Intra-BSS and Inter-BSS transmissions to manage channel access are likely known prior art. US11129163 focuses on specific refinements and solutions for issues arising within these SR operations, such as handling BSS color collisions, refining NAV settings, and power save modes in complex interference scenarios.

How US11129163 Differentiates from General Prior Art:

US11129163 aims to improve wireless communication methods and terminals in overlapping BSS environments by:

• Providing mechanisms for a wireless communication terminal to transmit a BSS color, and specifically transmit a predetermined value (e.g., 0) when the BSS color information is unavailable, to avoid misinterpretation by other terminals (Claims 1, 2, 4, 15, 16).
• Defining how a receiving terminal processes PPDUs with a predetermined BSS color, often by not identifying them as Inter-BSS or Intra-BSS PPDUs based on this value, or by treating them as Intra-BSS PPDUs (Claims 3, 5, 17, 18).
• Refining channel access procedures (e.g., NAV setting) when BSS color collisions occur or when BSS identification is ambiguous, ensuring that terminals do not prematurely transmit or incorrectly defer (Claims 6, 7, 8, 10-14).
• Introducing specific rules for setting/not setting Intra-BSS NAV based on BSS color and TXOP Duration fields, especially during BSS color collisions, to mitigate interference (Claims 6, 9, 10, 11).
• Describing methods for a terminal to not enter a power save mode based on BSS color in certain collision scenarios (Claim 8).
• Detailing how a wireless communication terminal determines whether a PPDU is Inter-BSS or Intra-BSS based on various parameters beyond just BSS color, particularly in collision or ambiguous scenarios (Claims 12-14).

Without the specific list of cited patent prior art, a direct determination of which claims are potentially anticipated is not possible. However, the inventive steps of US11129163 lie in the specific methods and rules for handling BSS color information, NAV setting, power management, and BSS identification in the context of overlapping BSSs and BSS color collisions, which were presumably not fully addressed or optimized in the general IEEE 802.11 standards and existing SR operations.

I cannot perform an obviousness analysis of US patent 11129163 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 based on the provided text, as it does not include a "Prior Art" section listing specific prior art references (e.g., other patents, publications) that can be combined. The "Prior art keywords" section lists general terms such as "wireless communication," "bss," "ppdu," "communication terminal," and "frame," but these are not citable prior art documents for an obviousness analysis.