US 7702728

Summary of US Patent 7,702,728 (US7702728B2)

Search note: I located the patent record in multiple independent sources (Google Patents, FreePatentsOnline, Justia, USPTO.report). I found no CAFC 2026 docket entries for this patent number in any search — the CAFC docket query returned no matching results. Based on available public records, this patent does not appear in a pending 2026 Federal Circuit appeal; I have no evidence of any current CAFC case involving it.

Bibliographic data

Abstract (verbatim)

"Techniques for enabling mobile shared group interaction are described. Members of a group may access, through a user interface, group activities that provide a shared, synchronous, interactive experience. An interface may be provided via a mobile device such as a cellular telephone that enables members who are mobile to participate in group activities with other members who are also mobile or who are logged on via a non-mobile device such as a desktop computer system."

Independent claims — plain-language overview

The patent has 20 claims; claims 1 and 18 are the independent claims (1 is a system claim; 18 is a computer-readable-media claim). Claims 2–17 depend from claim 1; claim 19 depends from claim 18; claim 20 adds a graphical/audio element transmission feature.

Claim 1 (system) — A computing system with a processor, memory, and a group-interaction application that presents a GUI for group interaction between a first user and other users. The GUI includes:

• A group identification area showing visual representations (icons) of multiple online social groups the user belongs to, where membership persists even when the user is offline. The icons are automatically arranged based on at least one of: (a) a group member's geographic location, (b) date/time of the most recent communication between the user and another member, or (c) frequency of communication with another member. The icons are also filtered based on geographical location information of group members.
• A group activities menu with selectable items representing social activities the user can join as a member of a selected group, where the set of activities available to a member logged in via a mobile device differs from the set available to a member logged in via a non-mobile device — and the mobile member's set specifically includes activities available to mobile members but not to non-mobile members (e.g., the spec's example of a location-based treasure hunt game).

Claim 18 (computer-readable media) — Media storing instructions that, when executed by a mobile device's processor, cause it to:

• Present a GUI displaying (i) an avatar (visual representation of the user) shown to other online members of peer-to-peer online social groups the user belongs to, and (ii) visual representations of those peer-to-peer groups (each having two or more members, some of whom may be offline and thus unavailable for interaction).
• Arrange the group representations based on geographic-location relationships between groups, most-recent-group-communication timing, or communication frequency, and filter them based on geographic-location relationships.
• Automatically establish a connection between the user's computer system and another member's computer system in at least one of the groups.
• In response to selecting a group representation, display a collection of selectable social-activity items for that group — a collection that differs from the collection available to a member of the same group using a non-mobile device, again including mobile-only activities.

Key subject matter (from the specification)

The patent describes peer-to-peer "social group" interactions spanning mobile devices (cell phones, PDAs, etc.) and non-mobile devices (desktop PCs, TVs, set-top boxes). Notable features: presence info showing which members are online and whether they are on mobile devices; group icons filtered/ordered by geography (e.g., GPS) or interaction recency/frequency; shared synchronous activities (instant messaging, "winks," "bubbles," email, file share/send, musicmix, photomix, voicechat, flix, games lobby, push-to-talk); bandwidth-aware adaptation for mobile members (e.g., resized images, smaller wink/bubble versions); group photo editing with stickers; location tagging of photos; group voting on images; virtual "calling cards" for introductions; shared-music "musicmix" with shared playlist/song state; and group history (limited to the 15 most recent items on mobile devices). The design emphasizes equal member authority — no member can remove another member, and any member may invite new members or leave.

Sources

• Google Patents: https://patents.google.com/patent/US7702728/en
• FreePatentsOnline: https://FreePatentsOnline.com/7702728.html
• Justia Patents: https://patents.justia.com/patent/7702728
• USPTO.report: https://uspto.report/patent/grant/7,702,728

Uncertainty / caveats

• CAFC 2026 docket: I could not confirm any 2026 Federal Circuit proceeding involving this patent; the searches returned no relevant CAFC docket entries. Treat the absence as provisional rather than definitive.
• Legal status: Google Patents lists the patent as "Active" with adjusted expiration 2028-05-28, which I have taken at face value. I did not independently verify current maintenance-fee payment status directly in USPTO systems (Patent Center/PAIR), so fee-related status should be confirmed against USPTO records before relying on it.
• I did not independently verify the current assignee chain beyond the recorded 2014 assignment to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC shown on Google Patents.