Invalidity dossier
US 5794207
Added 9/23/2026, 4:47:25 PM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview: US 5,794,207 A
Title: Method and apparatus for a cryptographically assisted commercial network system designed to facilitate buyer-driven conditional purchase offers
Patent number: US 5,794,207 A
Application number: US 08/707,660
Inventors: Jay S. Walker; Bruce Schneier; James A. Jorasch
Original assignee: Walker Asset Management LP
Current assignee (as listed): Priceline.com LLC
Priority date: 1996-09-04
Filing date: 1996-09-04
Publication (grant) date: 1998-08-11
Legal status (as listed): Expired – Lifetime; anticipated expiration 2016-09-04
Purpose and plain-language scope (as reflected in the supplied text):
The patent describes a "cryptographically assisted commercial network system" built to handle "buyer-driven conditional purchase offers." In plain terms, the disclosed system concerns an arrangement in which buyers submit conditional offers through a commercial network, with cryptographic assistance, rather than sellers simply posting prices. The listed classifications point to computer-implemented administrative/commercial/financial systems, including reservations (G06Q10/02), coordination of plural reservations such as combined transportation and accommodation (G06Q10/025), and travel agencies (G06Q50/14). The prior-art keywords listed are: seller, payment, buyer, acceptance, sellers.
Later filings noted in the excerpt: The text lists numerous priority claims to later applications (e.g., US 08/889,319; 08/923,524; 08/923,317; 08/923,530; 08/923,618; 08/923,683; PCT/US1997/015492) and assignment records involving Priceline.com LLC and Priceline.com Incorporated.
What the excerpt does not establish:
The supplied text does not include the claims, written description, drawings, or detailed-embodiment text, so the precise claimed scope cannot be determined from it. It does not establish litigation, validity, enforceability, or the substantive content of any cited prior art. Any ownership changes beyond the listed assignment records, and the accuracy of the "current assignee" listing, are expressly disclaimed in the source itself.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:44:10 PM
Cases on file (0)
Specific litigation cases in our database that name US patent 5794207. The free-form analysis below may also discuss cases beyond this list.
No cases on file mention this patent. Upload a CSV or add a case manually in Admin → Manage litigation cases.
Litigation summary
Past and pending lawsuits — plaintiffs, defendants, jurisdictions, outcomes, and notable rulings.
Proceedings on file (0)
All PTAB activity →AIA trial proceedings (IPR / PGR / CBM) filed at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board against this patent. Sourced from the USPTO Open Data Portal and refreshed every six hours; each proceeding number deep-links to the PTAB E2E docket.
No PTAB proceedings on file. This patent has not been challenged via IPR, PGR, or CBM. The absence is itself a signal — well-asserted patents eventually attract IPRs. The LLM analysis below may surface filings the ODP feed hasn’t indexed yet.
PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.
Obviousness
Combinations of prior art that suggest the claimed invention would have been obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Extensions
Patent term adjustments, term extensions, continuations, divisionals, family members, and expiration dates.
Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.