Invalidity dossier
US 7629977
Embedding animation in electronic mail and websites
Current assignee: Cine Graphic Solutions LLC
Added 9/23/2026, 6:48:35 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 7,629,977 B1
Title: "Embedding animation in electronic mail and websites" (US7629977B1).
Identification and dates: US Patent 7,629,977 B1, application US11/403,374, filed 2006-04-12, granted 2009-12-08. Inventor: Douglas G. Richardson. Priority date listed as 2005-04-12. The source lists the original assignee as "Individual," with later assignments noted (EmailFilm Technology, Inc. in 2012 and 2017; back to Richardson in 2017) and status "Active – Reinstated," with an adjusted expiration of 2027-08-26.
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," using much smaller files than "is currently possible in the prior art."
Plain-language scope: A camera or video camera, typically fixed in one position, captures multiple photographs. The first photograph is the "naked photo." Using a graphics program (e.g., Adobe Photoshop), subsequent photos are edited to select an element that is in motion—such as an automobile crossing the field of vision—while the naked photo lacks that element. The edited images are stored with the naked photo as layers in a graphic file that is web-enabled, each layer positioned at the location from which it was clipped. The modified naked photo is transmitted with a web-enabled communication such as an email or website. On display, the naked photo appears, and each subsequent added layer is displayed and removed in the order pasted, with a short delay, thereby generating a movie. The specification describes implementation in software, hardware, or a combination, and describes figures covering a computing architecture, the photographs, layering, and a setup and a display-animation flowchart. Classifications include G06T13/80 and H04N19/20 and 19/27.
What the excerpt does not establish: It does not provide the full claim text, detailed drawing contents, a complete written description, examiner reasoning or cited prior art, the merits of any litigation, or the accuracy of legal-status and ownership entries (which the source itself states are assumptions or not legally analyzed).
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:42:35 PM
Cases on file (2)
Group view →Specific litigation cases in our database that name US patent 7629977. The free-form analysis below may also discuss cases beyond this list.
- 1:21-cv-07917United States District Court for the Southern District of New Yorkunknown
Defendants: FUJIFILM Holdings America Corp., Fujifilm North America Corp.
- 1:21-cv-01840United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinoisunknown
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.
Current assignee: Cine Graphic Solutions LLC
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.
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This patent in court (2)
2 tracked lawsuits name US 7629977.