Prior art

Analysis of Prior Art for U.S. Patent 6430408

An evaluation of prior art cited during the prosecution of U.S. Patent 6,430,408 provides insight into the novelty and non-obviousness of its claims. The core of the '408 patent is the dynamic, market-based allocation of limited wireless network resources, such as bandwidth or signal quality, through bidding or price negotiation. The following analysis details key prior art references and their potential impact on the patent's claims under 35 U.S.C. § 102, which pertains to anticipation (i.e., whether an invention is new).

Key Prior Art and Potential Anticipation of Claims:

A review of the patent's file wrapper and the citations listed on the patent itself reveals several key references that touch upon dynamic pricing and resource allocation in telecommunications.

• U.S. Patent 5,303,297: "Dynamic pricing method and apparatus for communication systems"

  • Full Citation: US Patent 5,303,297, issued to Alan L. Anas et al., assigned to Motorola, Inc.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Published April 12, 1994; Filed July 25, 1991.
  • Brief Description: This patent describes a method for dynamically adjusting the price of communication services based on system loading. When the system is heavily loaded, the price to initiate a call is increased to manage demand. Conversely, the price is lowered during periods of light usage. This creates a feedback mechanism to influence user behavior and optimize network utilization.
  • Potential Anticipation of Claims: This reference appears to be highly relevant to the concept of dynamic pricing based on network conditions.
    • Claim 1: The '297 patent's teaching of adjusting prices based on system loading (demand) strongly relates to Claim 1's method of adjusting a price until a "market-clearing price" is achieved. The '297 patent's system inherently seeks to balance supply and demand through price adjustments, which is the core of Claim 1.
    • Claim 4: This claim's broader concept of establishing a price based on bids could be seen as anticipated by the implicit bidding process where a user decides whether to accept the dynamically set price offered by the system in the '297 patent.

• U.S. Patent 5,606,602: "Bidding for telecommunications traffic"

  • Full Citation: US Patent 5,606,602, issued to David M. Dworkin et al., assigned to Summit Telecom Systems, Inc.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Published February 25, 1997; Filed November 6, 1995.
  • Brief Description: This patent discloses a system where telecommunications carriers can bid for the right to carry traffic. It creates a real-time auction for routing calls or data, allowing carriers to compete on price.
  • Potential Anticipation of Claims: This patent directly addresses the concept of bidding for telecommunication services.
    • Claim 2: The '602 patent's system of carriers bidding for traffic is a direct parallel to Claim 2's method of transmitting a message that a service is available for bid and then allocating that service based on the bids received.
    • Claim 4: The auction mechanism for telecommunications traffic described in the '602 patent is a clear example of establishing a price through receiving bids, directly aligning with the language of Claim 4.

• U.S. Patent 5,802,502: "System for selective communication connection based on transaction pricing signals"

  • Full Citation: US Patent 5,802,502, issued to Christopher J. Gell et al., assigned to British Telecommunications public limited company.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Published September 1, 1998; Filed May 24, 1993.
  • Brief Description: This invention describes a system where a user can specify transaction details, including a price they are willing to pay for a communication connection. The system then attempts to establish a connection based on these user-defined pricing signals.
  • Potential Anticipation of Claims: This reference introduces the concept of a user-initiated price offer.
    • Claim 11: The '502 patent describes a user terminal that can specify a price for a service. This aligns closely with Claim 11's "means for placing a bid, at a certain price, for the enhanced communications service." The '502 system requires a mobile unit to have the capability to propose a price for a transaction, which is the essence of this claim.

• U.S. Patent 6,690,929: "Dynamic quality-of-service and pricing in communication system"

  • Full Citation: US Patent 6,690,929, issued to Robert Raymond Miller, II, assigned to Lucent Technologies Inc.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Published February 10, 2004; Filed August 3, 1998.
  • Brief Description: This patent, though published after the filing of the '408 patent, has a priority date that predates it and is therefore relevant prior art. It discloses a method for dynamically adjusting the quality of service (QoS) provided to a user based on a price the user is willing to pay. Users can select from different QoS tiers at different price points.
  • Potential Anticipation of Claims: This patent's focus on variable QoS for a price directly maps to the "enhanced communications service" in the '408 patent.
    • Claim 6 & 13: These claims focus on providing an enhanced service (improved signal via lobe extension) upon acceptance of a price. The '929 patent's broader concept of providing a higher QoS for a higher price could be argued to anticipate the specific implementation described in these claims, as improving signal quality is a form of enhancing QoS. The mechanism of lobe extension is a specific technical detail, but the underlying economic transaction is similar.

• U.S. Patent 5,577,100: "Mobile phone with internal accounting"

  • Full Citation: US Patent 5,577,100, issued to G. Michael DeGrave et al., assigned to Telemac Cellular Corporation.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Published November 19, 1996; Filed January 30, 1995.
  • Brief Description: This patent describes a mobile phone that can store and manage credits or monetary value internally. This allows the phone to make payments for services directly, without real-time authorization from a central billing system for every transaction.
  • Potential Anticipation of Claims: While not directly about bidding, this patent is relevant to the implementation of the payment and transaction aspect.
    • Claim 11 & 13: The mobile units described in these claims require a means to handle the economic transaction ("placing a bid" and "paying a price"). The '100 patent describes the functionality of a mobile unit to manage and dispense value (e.g., "e-wallet, and the like" as mentioned in the '408 patent's description), which is a necessary component for the mobile units claimed in '408 to participate in the described market.

While the prior art teaches concepts of dynamic pricing, bidding for services, and variable quality of service in telecommunications, the novelty of the '408 patent appears to lie in the specific combination and application of these ideas to the allocation of scarce, dynamically available "enhanced" services like antenna lobe extensions and peer-to-peer resource trading within a mobile communications network. The peer-to-peer allocation model in Claim 10, in particular, appears to be a more distinct concept not as clearly anticipated by the cited references, which primarily focus on a centralized, system-to-user allocation model.