Invalidity dossier
US 8086961
Image processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, and computer program product
Current assignee: Ricoh Co Ltd
Added 9/24/2026, 2:17:39 AM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview: US8086961B2
Title: Image processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, and computer program product
Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd. (original assignee listed as Ricoh Co Ltd)
Key dates: Priority date 2006-12-05; filing date 2007-11-30; publication date (grant) 2011-12-27; legal status listed as "Expired – Fee Related," adjusted expiration 2030-06-22.
Inventors: Iwao Saeki, Tetsuya Sakayori, Junichi Takami, Takashi Yano, Haruo Shida, Yoshifumi Sakuramata, Takanori Nagahara, and Hiroko Mano.
Purpose and plain-language scope
The patent addresses image forming apparatuses such as copiers, facsimiles, printers, and multifunction products (MFPs) that let users select functions and specify settings. The disclosed settings cover originals (type, density), image processing (zoom ratio, simplex/duplex printing, margin size), and finishing (sorting, stapling, punching). Prior approaches cited include Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H8-279884 (pre-scanning to determine color/B&W or text/image portions) and No. 2001-285534 (storing and recalling scanning-condition setting groups via buttons).
The claimed image processing apparatus broadly: creates multiple first previews of an image corresponding to preset processing values; displays them selectably; displays a selected preview upon selection; updates that preview based on an input setting to create a second preview; and displays the second preview. The image forming apparatus adds an input unit receiving an image and a printing unit that prints based on the second preview. The computer program product mirrors these steps as program code on a computer usable medium. Embodiments are described as an MFP with scanner, ADF, image storing unit, image processing unit, printer, finishing unit, display and display control units, system control unit (CPU/ROM/RAM), and communication control unit. Figures 1–9 include a functional block diagram, input screens with previews, an association table linking setting items to positions, and process flowcharts.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US8086961](/patent/US8086961)/en
What the excerpt does not establish: the full claims, complete specification text, prosecution history, examination outcomes, or any litigation, ownership transfers, or prior-art analysis; omitted text was not available and is not inferred.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:30:54 PM
Cases on file (0)
Specific litigation cases in our database that name US patent 8086961. The free-form analysis below may also discuss cases beyond this list.
No cases on file mention this patent. Upload a CSV or add a case manually in Admin → Manage litigation cases.
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.
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.