Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 6,772,229, I will examine the "Cited by" section of the patent on Google Patents, as this lists the prior art references considered during its examination.

Based on the full patent text provided, the following prior art references are mentioned:

• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/041,599
  • Full Citation: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/041,599.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed March 13, 1998.
  • Brief Description: This is a continuation-in-part application, meaning US 6,772,229 builds upon it. It relates to communication and collaboration tools that allow groups to share information across time and space using computer and other communication channels.
  • Potentially Anticipating Claims (35 U.S.C. § 102): As a parent application, it would not anticipate claims of US 6,772,229 under 35 U.S.C. § 102 but rather provides foundational technology or disclosure for the later patent.

The patent also generally discusses "prior art methods" and differentiates itself from existing products, which it categorizes into "Centripetal method" and "Narrowcasting method". These are discussed as conceptual approaches rather than specific patent citations.

Centripetal Method Examples:

• IBM's Lotus Notes and Domino
• Microsoft's Exchange and NetMeeting
• Netscape's Virtual Office by Concentric
• Radnet's Webshare
• Novell's GroupWise
• Thuridion's Crew
• IntraACTIVE's In Tandem
• Linkstar's HotOffice
• Changepoint's Involv
• Internet Media Inc.'s 3-2-1 Intranet

Narrowcasting Method Examples:

• PointCast's Client and Server
• Marimba's Castanet
• Progressive Network's Real Clients and Servers
• Microsoft's NetShow
• Netscape's Browser and Media Server
• Wayfarer's INCISA
• All listserve products

These product examples, while not formal patent citations within the text, represent the state of the art that the invention aimed to improve upon. The patent specifically states that these centripetal and narrowcasting approaches "suffer from the disadvantage that group members have to report and remember to report to a central area for communication and collaboration," and that "Prior art methods assume that value is added by improving the way group members go about retrieving information that updates at a central location." The invention, referred to as the Centrifugal Communication and Collaboration Method (CCCM), aims to reverse this by "pushing" out data and information to participants.

Without specific patent numbers for these mentioned products within the patent document itself, a definitive anticipation analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for each product is not possible from the provided text. However, the descriptions of their functionality indicate that they generally represent systems where users actively seek information from a central source, contrasting with the "push" model of US 6,772,229.