Prior art — US Patent 7383209

Analysis of Prior Art for U.S. Patent 7,383,209

This analysis identifies and examines the most relevant prior art references for U.S. Patent 7,383,209, based on a review of the patent's prosecution history and the state of the art preceding its priority date of June 20, 1995. The focus is on references that potentially anticipate the independent claims of the '209 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 102 by disclosing all elements of the claimed invention.

The core inventive concept of US 7,383,209 is a method of indirection: a user's computer reads an index (e.g., a UPC barcode) from an object, transmits this index to a remote routing computer, which uses a table (database) to look up a corresponding pointer (e.g., a URL). This pointer is returned to the user's computer, which then uses it to access content from a separate information computer. This contrasts with the simpler method of directly encoding the final network address into a barcode.

Below are key prior art references and their impact on the claims of the '209 patent.

1. U.S. Patent 5,978,773 A (Hudetz et al.)

Full Citation: U.S. Patent 5,978,773 A, "System and method for using an ordinary article of commerce to access a remote computer," Inventors: Frank C. Hudetz, Peter R. Hudetz. Assignee: Neomedia Technologies, Inc. Filed: October 3, 1995. Published: November 2, 1999.
Description: This patent is the parent of the '209 patent and discloses the foundational invention. It describes a system where a user can scan a product's UPC symbol. The UPC number is sent to a remote database which associates the UPC with a network address, such as a URL. The system then uses this URL to retrieve information related to the product.
Potential Anticipation Analysis: As the parent patent in the same family, US 5,978,773 does not constitute prior art against the claims in the '209 patent that are entitled to the original 1995 priority date. The '209 patent is a continuation of the application that led to the '773 patent. This reference is included for context as it contains the same core disclosure upon which the '209 patent is based.

2. U.S. Patent 5,243,655 A (Wang)

Full Citation: U.S. Patent 5,243,655 A, "Method for finding and obtaining a document from a database," Inventor: Long-Ji Wang. Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. Filed: September 20, 1991. Published: September 7, 1993.
Description: The Wang patent discloses a method for retrieving a specific document from a remote database. A user scans a barcode that contains a unique document identifier. This identifier is sent across a network to a central computer, which looks up the identifier in a database to locate and retrieve the corresponding document, then transmits the document back to the user's terminal.
Potential Anticipation Analysis:
- Claims 1 and 23: The Wang patent appears to be highly relevant and potentially anticipating prior art. It discloses the core elements of the '209 patent's independent claims.
  - Machine-reading an index: Wang teaches using a barcode scanner to read a document identifier, which serves as the index from a data carrier (Claim 1a).
  - Remote Lookup: The identifier (index) is transmitted to a central computer (routing computer) which contains a database (table) that maps the identifier to the document's location (pointer). This fulfills the requirements of the remote lookup process (Claim 1b).
  - Information Retrieval: The system uses this lookup to establish communication and retrieve the document (information) from the database server (information computer) (Claims 1c and 1d).
- Conclusion: Wang '655 teaches the fundamental concept of scanning an identifier, performing a remote lookup to resolve that identifier into a resource location, and retrieving information from that location. While the context is document retrieval within a database system rather than accessing URLs on the World Wide Web, the claimed method and system are described at a high level of generality that appears to be anticipated by Wang's disclosure.

3. U.S. Patent 5,841,978 A (Rhoads)

Full Citation: U.S. Patent 5,841,978 A, "Network linking method using steganographically embedded data objects," Inventor: Geoffrey B. Rhoads. Assignee: Digimarc Corporation. Filed: November 18, 1993. Published: November 24, 1998.
Description: The Rhoads patent describes a system for linking physical or digital objects to network resources by embedding data (like a digital watermark) into the object itself. A special reader detects this embedded data, which can be a unique ID. This ID is then sent to a remote database to retrieve associated information or a network address (like a URL), enabling the user to access further content related to the object.
Potential Anticipation Analysis:
- Claims 1 and 23: Rhoads is also strong prior art that appears to anticipate the claims. It describes the same "index-to-pointer" lookup model.
  - Machine-reading an index: The system reads a digital watermark from an object (data carrier). This watermark serves as the index (Claim 1a).
  - Remote Lookup: Rhoads explicitly states that this index can be an "identifier that is used to access a database of information" which can be on a "remote computer that is accessible through a network" (Col. 7, lines 35-43). This remote computer with its database is the routing computer with a table as claimed (Claim 1b).
  - Information Retrieval: The system uses the information retrieved from the database, such as a URL, to link to a network resource and receive information (Claims 1c and 1d).
- Conclusion: Rhoads discloses all the conceptual steps of claim 1 and the components of claim 23. While the mechanism for encoding the index (steganography vs. barcode) is different, the claims of the '209 patent are broad enough to cover any "data carrier modulated with an index." Therefore, Rhoads '978 is a significant prior art reference that potentially anticipates the independent claims.

4. U.S. Patent 6,076,733 A (Wilz, et al.)

Full Citation: U.S. Patent 6,076,733 A, "Web-based system and method for enabling a viewer to access and display HTML-encoded documents located on the world wide web (WWW) by reading URL-encoded bar code symbols," Inventors: Joseph S. Wilz, Sr., C. Harry Knowles. Assignee: Metrologic Instruments, Inc. Filed: November 24, 1993. Published: June 20, 2000.
Description: This patent describes a system where a barcode directly encodes a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A user scans the barcode, and the computer's web browser uses the extracted URL to directly access and display the corresponding website.
Potential Anticipation Analysis:
- Claims 1 and 23: The Wilz patent does not anticipate the independent claims of the '209 patent. It is important because it represents the alternative approach that the '209 patent sought to improve upon.
- Distinction: Wilz teaches encoding the pointer (the URL) directly into the barcode. The system does not involve reading an index and then communicating with a separate routing computer to perform a lookup in a table. The crucial step of indirection (Claim 1b) is missing entirely. The '209 patent specifically argues that its method is advantageous because directly encoding URLs can result in impractically long barcodes—a problem the index-based lookup system solves.
- Conclusion: While relevant to the technical field, Wilz '733 fails to disclose the key limitation of using an index to perform a remote lookup for a pointer and therefore does not anticipate the claims.