US 7388587

Patent Overview — US 7,388,587 B1

Title: Method for embedding animation in electronic mail and websites

Patent number: US 7,388,587 B1
Application number: US 11/586,016
Inventor: Douglas G. Richardson
Original/current assignee listed: Individual
Prior art date: 2005-04-12
Filing date: 2006-10-25
Publication (grant) date: 2008-06-17
Adjusted expiration listed: 2026-07-19
Legal status listed: Active
Classifications: G06T13/00, G06T13/80 (2D animation, e.g., sprites); H04N19/20 and H04N19/27 (video object coding, including synthetic/natural hybrid coding)

Purpose: The patent relates generally to electronic mail and websites and, more specifically, to a method for embedding images in email and websites. It aims to provide an efficient method for transmitting dynamic images, or "movies," over both wired and wireless electronic communication media.

Plain-language scope: Multiple photographs are captured from a camera, typically fixed in position and focal length. The first photograph is the "naked photo." Using a graphics program such as Adobe Photoshop, subsequent photos are edited to select a moving element—for example, a car crossing the field of view—while other moving portions are also edited. The edited images are stored with the naked photo as layers in a graphic file, each layer positioned to correspond to the clipped image's location in its source photo. The modified naked photo is then transmitted with a web-enabled electronic communication such as an email or website. Upon display, the naked photo appears, and each subsequent layer is displayed and removed in the order pasted, with a short delay and at the corresponding location, thereby generating a movie with much smaller files than the prior art.

Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US7388587/en

What the excerpt does not establish: It provides no claim text, so the precise metes and bounds of the claimed invention cannot be stated. It does not establish validity, enforceability, or the accuracy of the assignee, legal-status, or expiration listings. It also does not establish the content of the related applications listed (e.g., US 12/140,060; US 13/232,306), nor the substance of any litigation or ownership transfers.