Prior art — US Patent 11349787

Analysis of Prior Art Cited in U.S. Patent 11,349,787

An examination of the file history of U.S. Patent 11,349,787 reveals the prior art references that were cited by the USPTO patent examiner during the prosecution of this patent and its parent applications. These references are crucial for understanding the landscape of existing technology at the time the invention was evaluated and for assessing the patent's validity. Below is an analysis of the most relevant cited patents, outlining their key features and their potential to anticipate the claims of the '787 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

U.S. Patent No. 8,364,741 B2

Full Citation: US 8,364,741 B2, "System and method for providing a communications portal"
Assignee: Avaya Inc.
Publication Date: January 29, 2013 (Filed: July 23, 2008)
Brief Description: This patent discloses a system for managing communications between external users (e.g., customers on a website) and internal users (e.g., agents). It describes establishing a communication session, such as a chat, initiated by an external user. The system can route the communication to an appropriate agent and allows for the exchange of messages. It specifically mentions creating a "portal" that can handle various communication types and route them accordingly.
Potential Anticipation of Claim(s) 1 and 17: This reference is highly relevant. It describes a system that receives a communication from a user, establishes a session, and connects them with a responder ("agent"). This appears to teach the core elements of receiving a communication request from a web browser, associating it with a conversation, and connecting it to a responder, as outlined in claims 1 and 17. The concept of a "portal" managing the session is analogous to the '787 patent's server determining a "conversation identifier" and mapping communications.

U.S. Patent No. 8,930,480 B2

Full Citation: US 8,930,480 B2, "Method and apparatus for a universal translator for text messaging"
Assignee: IMForward, LLC
Publication Date: January 6, 2015 (Filed: June 15, 2011)
Brief Description: This patent details a system that acts as a universal translator between different text messaging platforms (e.g., AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, SMS). A user can send a message from one service, and the system routes it to a recipient on a different service, translating the protocol as needed. The system maintains user profiles and routing information to ensure messages are delivered correctly between otherwise incompatible platforms.
Potential Anticipation of Claim(s) 1 and 17: This patent is relevant to the '787 patent's concept of bridging different communication modes. While the '787 patent focuses on a web browser initiating contact with a responder on a potentially different platform (like SMS), the '480 patent describes the core functionality of a central server translating between different real-time communication protocols. Dependent claims of the '787 patent, which specify different communication protocols (like SMS), are particularly relevant here. The '480 patent's system inherently requires identifying users and conversations to route messages, which aligns with the "conversation identifier" element of claims 1 and 17.

U.S. Patent No. 9,413,812 B2

Full Citation: US 9,413,812 B2, "System and method for facilitating communication across a plurality of communication platforms"
Assignee: LivePerson, Inc.
Publication Date: August 9, 2016 (Filed: December 21, 2012)
Brief Description: The '812 patent describes a system that facilitates communication between a website visitor and an agent. It explicitly details a visitor engaging a chat window on a website, with the system routing the chat to an available agent who may be using a different communication tool. The system handles session management and ensures messages are relayed correctly. A key aspect is the ability to transfer the conversation to a different medium, such as from web chat to SMS, if the user leaves the website.
Potential Anticipation of Claim(s) 1 and 17: This reference strongly anticipates the core ideas of the '787 patent. It discloses receiving a communication from a "web browser of a user" (claims 1 and 17), routing it to a responder ("agent"), and managing the conversation across different platforms. The system's ability to maintain the conversation even when the user moves to a different communication mode (e.g., SMS) strongly suggests the use of a persistent "conversation identifier" to link the messages, directly anticipating a key element of the independent claims.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0040854 A1

Full Citation: US 2011/0040854 A1, "Unified Social Messaging"
Applicant: Research In Motion Limited
Publication Date: February 17, 2011 (Filed: August 13, 2009)
Brief Description: This application describes a "unified" messaging system where a user can manage messages from multiple different services (e.g., social media, instant messaging, email) in a single interface. A central server receives messages from various sources, associates them with the correct user and conversation thread, and presents them in a consolidated view. This involves mapping identifiers from different services to a single, unified conversation.
Potential Anticipation of Claim(s) 1 and 17: The '854 application teaches the principle of a central system that receives communications from disparate sources and maps them to a specific conversation thread. This is analogous to the '787 patent's server receiving a response from a "first responder" via a protocol like SMS or email and mapping it back to the web browser conversation using a "conversation identifier." The concept of unifying different message types into a single conversation is a foundational element of claims 1 and 17.