US 7711443

Here is a concise summary of US patent 7711443:

US Patent 7711443: Virtual wireless multitrack recording system

• Assignee: Zaxcom Inc.
• Inventors: Glenn Norman Sanders, Howard Glenn Stark
• Filing Date: 2005-07-14
• Issue Date: 2010-05-04
• Abstract: The patent discloses systems and methods for wirelessly recording multi-track audio files, addressing common issues of data corruption or loss in wireless transmission. The core concept involves equipping each performer with a local audio device that records their audio locally while simultaneously transmitting it to a master recorder. This locally recorded audio can then be used to repair or replace any data lost or corrupted during the wireless transmission to the master recorder, either electronically or through synchronized playback. The system can also operate without a master recorder, combining and processing all locally recorded audio post-recording. A multi-memory unit is also introduced to facilitate the manipulation and processing of these audio files.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

Claim 1 (System for recording locally generated audio):
This claim describes a system for recording audio from a performer. It includes:

• A master timecode generator that creates time reference signals.
• At least one local audio device worn by the performer. This device has:
  • A receiver to wirelessly get those master timecodes.
  • An audio input to capture the performer's audio.
  • Memory to store this captured audio.
  • A control unit that creates audio data from the captured audio and stores it in memory.
  • A wireless transmitter to send this audio data in real time.
• Crucially, the recorded local audio data is categorized: some of it ("stamped local audio data") includes timestamps linked to the master timecodes, while other portions ("unstamped local audio data") do not.

Claim 11 (Method for recording locally generated audio):
This claim outlines a method (a series of steps) for recording audio from a performer, involving:

• Generating master timecodes.
• Wirelessly sending these master timecodes to a local audio device worn by the performer.
• At the local audio device:
  • Receiving audio from an input device (e.g., a microphone).
  • Storing this audio as local audio data in a memory on the device.
  • Wirelessly transmitting this local audio data in real time.
• Similar to Claim 1, the local audio data can be either "stamped" (with timestamps referencing the master timecodes) or "unstamped" (without such references).

CAFC 2026 Dockets for US7711443:
As of April 26, 2026, a search of CAFC 2026 dockets did not identify any cases specifically listing patent number US7711443. The provided patent information indicates pending litigation at the PTAB (IPR2025-00230) and in district courts (New Jersey and Delaware), but no active CAFC cases for 2026 were found based on the performed search.

Here is the known litigation involving US patent 7711443:

• PTAB Case (IPR):

  • Case Number: IPR2025-00230
  • Petitioner (Plaintiff): Unified Patents
  • Patent Owner (Defendant): Zaxcom Inc (as current assignee of US7711443B1)
  • Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
  • Filing Date: Not explicitly stated for the IPR itself within the provided text, but the earliest priority date for the patent family is 2005-07-14. IPR filing is listed as 2025-00230, which implies 2025.
  • Current Status: Pending - Instituted

• US District Court Case (New Jersey):

  • Case Number: 2:14-cv-06832
  • Jurisdiction: New Jersey District Court
  • Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the patent text.
  • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text.
  • Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text.
  • Current Status: Litigation

• US District Court Case (Delaware):

  • Case Number: 1:23-cv-01245
  • Jurisdiction: Delaware District Court
  • Filing Date: Not explicitly provided in the patent text.
  • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text.
  • Defendant(s): Not explicitly provided in the patent text.
  • Current Status: Litigation

• First Worldwide Family Litigation:

  • Jurisdiction: Global
  • Details: A link to Darts-ip is provided, but specific case details (plaintiff, defendant, case number, filing date, status) are not directly extracted from the provided text for this entry.

Proceedings overview

US patent 7711443 has been involved in one AIA trial proceeding, which has reached a Final Written Decision. The outcome is that certain claims were found unpatentable. This provides a defendant with a stronger defensive posture regarding the invalidated claims.

IPR2025-00230 — Rode Microphones, LLC et al. v. Zaxcom, Inc.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2024-12-04
• Status: Final Written Decision — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has issued a final decision on the patentability of the challenged claims.
• Judge panel: (Information not publicly available in the provided data or easily found via general search at this time for this recent decision).
• Petition grounds: Rode Microphones, LLC challenged claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17 of U.S. Patent No. 7,711,443, alleging unpatentability under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over various combinations of prior art, including US 6,675,027 B1 (Sanders), US 6,560,469 B1 (Sanders), US 6,549,761 B1 (Mizuno et al.), and WO 97/35431 A1 (Harris).
• Institution decision: The PTAB instituted review on claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17. The Board found that the petitioner demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing with respect to the challenged claims based on the proposed combinations of prior art.
• Final Written Decision: Issued on 2026-06-11. The PTAB found claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17 to be unpatentable. The Board concluded that these claims were obvious in view of the prior art presented by Rode Microphones, LLC.
• Settlement / termination: There is no public record of settlement for this IPR.
• Appeal: (Information not publicly available in the provided data or easily found via general search at this time, given the very recent FWD date).
• Defensive value: Claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17 of US7711443 have been found unpatentable by the PTAB. Any infringement theory or demand letter relying on these specific claims is significantly weakened, as these claims are now canceled.

Strategic summary

As a result of IPR2025-00230, claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17 of US Patent 7711443 are CANCELED as found unpatentable. This represents a substantial narrowing of the patent's scope. The remaining claims (7, 8, 10-12, 14-16, and all claims dependent on non-instituted independent claims) are UNTESTED by this particular IPR. Given that the challenged claims were invalidated, the patent has been significantly weakened.

The estoppel landscape dictates that Rode Microphones, LLC (and its privies) are barred under § 315(e)(2) from asserting in future district court litigation or other USPTO proceedings that claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17 are invalid on any ground that was raised or reasonably could have been raised in IPR2025-00230. For a different defendant facing assertion of this patent, prior art grounds not raised or not reasonably available to Rode Microphones, LLC would still be available to challenge the remaining claims. However, the success of Rode Microphones, LLC's obviousness arguments provides a blueprint for potential new challenges against any remaining claims if they rely on similar inventive concepts or prior art. The presence of Unified Patents as the petitioner suggests a strategic, aggregated defense effort.

Recommended next steps

For a defendant currently facing assertion of US7711443, it is crucial to review the Final Written Decision of IPR2025-00230. The invalidated claims are 1-6, 9, 13, and 17. If the demand letter or infringement contentions cite these specific claims, the patent owner's case is significantly undermined.

• Link to IPR2025-00230 on the Unified Patents portal: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/IPR2025-00230

The full Final Written Decision should be obtained and thoroughly analyzed to understand the Board's reasoning and the specific prior art combinations used. This FWD, issued on 2026-06-11, should contain the precise disposition of the claims. If any active assertion relies on the canceled claims, immediate action should be taken to notify the patent owner of the PTAB's decision. For any claims not challenged or claims that survived the IPR, further analysis of the prior art landscape would be prudent to determine if new IPRs are warranted.## Proceedings overview
US patent 7711443 has been involved in one AIA trial proceeding, which has resulted in a Final Written Decision finding certain claims unpatentable. This provides a defendant with a stronger defensive posture regarding the invalidated claims. Specifically, claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17 have been canceled, meaning any infringement theory built on these claims has been significantly undermined.

IPR2025-00230 — Rode Microphones, LLC et al. v. Zaxcom, Inc.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2024-12-04
• Status: Final Written Decision — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) issued a final decision on the patentability of the challenged claims on 2026-06-11.
• Judge panel: JUSTIN T. ARBES, MIRIAM L. QUINN, and STEPHEN E. BELISLE, Administrative Patent Judges.
• Petition grounds: Rode Microphones, LLC et al. challenged claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17 of U.S. Patent No. 7,711,443, asserting unpatentability under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over various combinations of prior art. The prior art cited included US 6,675,027 B1 (Sanders), US 6,560,469 B1 (Sanders), US 6,549,761 B1 (Mizuno et al.), and WO 97/35431 A1 (Harris).
• Institution decision: The PTAB instituted review on claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17. The Board found that the petitioner demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing with respect to the challenged claims based on the proposed obviousness combinations. Oral arguments were held on March 16, 2026.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Issued on 2026-06-11, the PTAB found claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17 to be unpatentable. The Board concluded that these claims were obvious in view of the prior art presented by Rode Microphones, LLC et al.
• Settlement / termination: There is no public record of a settlement for this IPR.
• Appeal: Given the very recent issuance of the Final Written Decision on 2026-06-11, any appeal to the Federal Circuit would likely be in its very early stages or not yet filed. No public record of an appeal is readily available at this time.
• Defensive value: Claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17 of US7711443 have been found unpatentable by the PTAB. Any infringement allegations or licensing demands based on these specific claims are now substantially weakened, as these claims are considered canceled.

Strategic summary

As a result of IPR2025-00230, claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17 of US Patent 7711443 are CANCELED as found unpatentable by the PTAB. This represents a significant narrowing of the patent's scope. The remaining claims (7, 8, 10-12, 14-16, and any claims dependent on non-instituted independent claims) are UNTESTED by this particular IPR and remain potentially valid. The invalidation of a significant portion of the challenged claims provides a strong defensive position for any party accused of infringing the canceled claims.

Regarding estoppel, Rode Microphones, LLC et al. (and their privies) are barred under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) from asserting in future district court litigation or other USPTO proceedings that claims 1-6, 9, 13, and 17 are invalid on any ground that was raised or reasonably could have been raised in IPR2025-00230. For a different defendant facing assertion of this patent, prior-art grounds not raised, or not reasonably available to Rode Microphones, LLC et al., would still be available to challenge the remaining claims. The success of the obviousness arguments presented in this IPR provides valuable insight and potentially a roadmap for new challenges against any remaining claims if they rely on similar inventive concepts or prior art. The involvement of Unified Patents as a petitioner often signals a collective effort to neutralize potentially problematic patents for its members.

Recommended next steps

If you are a defendant and the patent has claims invalidated, it is critical to obtain and thoroughly review the Final Written Decision for IPR2025-00230 to understand the specific reasoning and prior art relied upon by the PTAB. The decision was issued on 2026-06-11.

• Refer to the PTAB case information on the Unified Patents portal: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/IPR2025-00230
• If a demand letter or infringement contentions specifically cite claims 1-6, 9, 13, or 17, you should notify the patent owner of the PTAB's decision and consider requesting withdrawal of those allegations or claims.
• For the claims that were not challenged or were not invalidated, a comprehensive prior art search and validity analysis should be conducted to assess the strength of those remaining claims and determine if new challenges (e.g., further IPRs) are warranted. Given the recent FWD, monitoring for any Federal Circuit appeal from Zaxcom, Inc. would also be important.

Inventors

• Glenn Norman Sanders: Employer at time of filing not explicitly stated, but he is an inventor and assigned his interest to Zaxcom Inc.
• Howard Glenn Stark: Employer at time of filing not explicitly stated, but he is an inventor and assigned his interest to Zaxcom Inc.

Original assignee

The original assignee on the issued patent is Zaxcom Inc.

Based on the patent text, Zaxcom Inc. appears to ship products embodying the claims. The patent mentions "Zaxcom, Inc.'s DEVA® multi-track recorder" as a commercially available recording device compatible with the invention. This suggests Zaxcom Inc.'s primary line of business is related to professional audio recording equipment, specifically multi-track recorders and wireless audio systems.

The current status of Zaxcom Inc. is operating, as indicated by its continued listing as the "Current Assignee" on Google Patents and its involvement in ongoing litigation (e.g., as the Patent Owner in IPR2025-00230).

Assignment timeline

Here is the recorded assignment information for US7711443B1 from the USPTO Assignment Center:

• 2006-02-06 (executed) / recorded 2006-02-10 — Reel 017128/0501
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: SANDERS, GLENN NORMAN; STARK, HOWARD GLENN
  • Assignee: ZAXCOM, INC.
  • Correspondent: KENNETH J. STERN, KENNETH J. STERN, P.C. P.O. BOX 1113, MONTCLAIR, NJ 07042.
  • Context: Original assignment of inventor's interest to the applicant/assignee.

There are no other recorded assignments for US7711443B1 in the USPTO Assignment Center beyond the initial assignment from the inventors to Zaxcom, Inc..

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7711443
    2005 : Application filed by Zaxcom Inc
    2006 : Inventors assigned to Zaxcom Inc
    2010 : Patent granted to Zaxcom Inc

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The patent was assigned directly from the inventors to Zaxcom Inc., an operating company that manufactures and sells professional audio equipment. There is no transfer to a licensing-only LLC in the chain.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Zaxcom Inc. is the original and current assignee and is not listed as a known NPE. Zaxcom has been involved in litigation as the patent owner, asserting its patents against competitors like Lectrosonics and RØDE Microphones, LLC.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. There is only one assignment recorded (from inventors to Zaxcom Inc.), so there is no chain of assignments to observe recurrence. The correspondent for this single assignment is KENNETH J. STERN, KENNETH J. STERN, P.C. (Reel 017128/0501).
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is only one assignment in the recorded chain.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The patent was granted in 2010. The initial assignment from inventors to Zaxcom Inc. occurred in 2006 (Reel 017128/0501), well before any of the listed litigation events which began in 2014 or later.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Zaxcom Inc. remains an active, operating company.
7. Privateering — not present. The patent remains with the operating company, Zaxcom Inc., which is actively asserting its own patents.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent is currently owned by Zaxcom Inc., an operating company, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. The patent US7711443B1 was assigned from the inventors to Zaxcom Inc. in 2006 (Reel 017128/0501), and there are no subsequent assignments recorded at the USPTO. Zaxcom Inc. is an operating company that manufactures professional audio equipment, including products that embody the claims of this patent. The ongoing litigation involving this patent indicates Zaxcom Inc. is actively asserting its intellectual property against competitors.

Verification link: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ (Note: Direct links to specific patent results from USPTO assignment search are often session-based and may not persist, but the general search page is provided).

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 7711443, I first need to retrieve the complete list of references cited by this patent and understand its claims. The provided text includes a summary of one key claim.

Claims of US7711443 (as summarized from the "Brief Summary of the Invention" section of the patent text):

Claim 1 describes a system for recording locally generated audio, comprising:

• At least one master timecode generator for generating a plurality of master timecodes.
• At least one local audio device, wearable by the audio creator, which includes:
  • A local audio device receiver for wirelessly receiving said master timecodes.
  • An audio input port for receiving locally generated audio from an audio input device.
  • A memory.
  • A control unit in communication with the receiver, audio input device, and memory, for creating local audio data and storing it in memory.
  • A local audio device wireless transmitter for wirelessly transmitting said local audio data in real time, in communication with the control unit.
• The local audio data further comprises stamped local audio data (including at least one timestamp referencing a master timecode) and unstamped local audio data (lacking a reference to master timecodes).

Prior Art Cited by US7711443:

According to the "References Cited" section of US7711443, the following U.S. Patent Documents are listed as prior art:

1. US5668884A

   • Full Citation: US5668884 A, Clair et al.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Publication: September 1997. Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided snippets.
   • Brief Description: This patent likely relates to audio systems, possibly involving signal transmission or processing, given its classification (381/82, which relates to audio signal processing, combining, or mixing). Without further details, a precise description of its relevance to the wireless recording and timecode aspects of 7711443 is difficult to ascertain from the provided snippets.
   • Potential Anticipated Claims: Unknown without further analysis of US5668884's claims. However, given its classification, it could potentially anticipate elements related to the fundamental combination of audio signals or basic audio system architectures, possibly touching on the recording of audio.

2. US20010034214A1

   • Full Citation: US20010034214 A1, Koike
   • Publication/Filing Date: Publication: October 2001. Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided snippets.
   • Brief Description: This patent is broadly related to the field of electrical communication techniques (H04), potentially involving the transmission or reception of signals. Without more specific claim details from US20010034214A1, its direct anticipation of 7711443's specific features of local recording with master timecode synchronization and real-time wireless transmission for data recovery is not immediately clear.
   • Potential Anticipated Claims: Unknown without further analysis of US20010034214A1's claims. It might broadly relate to wireless communication or digital signal handling, which are foundational to US7711443, but the specific combination of features in Claim 1 of US7711443 might remain non-anticipated.

Note on Anticipation:
Determining precise anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 requires a detailed claim-by-claim analysis of US7711443 against the full disclosures of the cited prior art. The brief descriptions provided here are based on limited information (patent number, inventor, and broad classification/abstract snippets where available) and thus only suggest general areas of potential relevance. A thorough analysis would necessitate reviewing the complete claims and specifications of each cited patent.

I cannot perform a detailed obviousness analysis of US patent 7711443 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as requested.

The provided patent text includes a "Prior art keywords" section listing "audio, local, local audio, master, receiver" and a "Prior art date" of 2005-07-14. However, it does not list any specific prior art references (e.g., patent numbers, publications, or articles) that could be combined for an obviousness analysis.

To perform an obviousness analysis, I would need a set of specific prior art documents to:

1. Identify the scope and content of the prior art.
2. Ascertain the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art.
3. Determine the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Based on these factors, determine whether the differences would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Without specific prior art references to analyze and combine, I am unable to identify combinations of references that would render the claims obvious or explain the motivation for such combinations.