US 8896713

US patent 8896713, titled "Motion-based video stabilization," was issued to [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.) on November 25, 2014, from an application filed on August 15, 2011. [cite: The full patent text] The inventors are Brandon Corey, George William, and Jianping Zhou. [cite: The full patent text]

Abstract:
The patent describes systems, methods, and computer-readable media for stabilizing video frames using information from a motion sensor. It focuses on digital video stabilization techniques that generate and apply image-specific transformations to individual frames after they have been captured, rather than before. These transformations are used to counteract or compensate for unwanted jitter during video capture, such as that caused by a person's hand shaking. [cite: The full patent text]

Legal Status:
According to the provided patent information, US patent 8896713 has a legal status of "Expired - Fee Related," with an adjusted expiration date of October 1, 2032. It lapsed on January 2, 2023, for failure to pay maintenance fees. [cite: The full patent text] A live, real-time search of the USPTO database for updated status information was beyond the scope of this analysis environment.

CAFC 2026 Dockets:
A search for patent 8896713 within CAFC 2026 dockets did not yield any direct results. A definitive confirmation would require direct access to the CAFC's case search functionality, which is not available in this environment.

Independent Claims Overview:

• Claim 1 (Method Claim): This claim describes a method for motion sensor-based video stabilization. It involves a video capture device capturing a video sequence with sequential images, each associated with image capture parameter values. It also captures motion data for each image. The method then estimates unwanted motion for each image based on the motion data and estimates intrinsic data (representing a 3D-to-2D mapping) from the image capture parameters for each image. Finally, each image is modified to remove the estimated unwanted motion by applying the intrinsic data, and the modified images are stored in memory. [cite: The full patent text]

• Claim 17 (Method Claim): Similar to Claim 1, this claim also outlines a motion sensor-based video stabilization method. It emphasizes capturing sequential images with associated image capture parameter values and capturing motion information for each image at approximately the same time as the image capture. It involves estimating unwanted motion and intrinsic data (3D-to-2D mapping) for each image. A transform is then applied to each image to substantially remove the estimated unwanted motion, where this transform is based on the image's capture parameters and motion information, and includes applying the intrinsic data. The transformed images are then stored. [cite: The full patent text]

• Claim 18 (Non-Transitory Storage Device Claim): This claim covers a non-transitory storage device containing instructions that, when executed by a programmable control device, cause it to perform the method steps outlined in Claim 1. This includes capturing images and motion data, estimating unwanted motion and intrinsic data, modifying images using the intrinsic data to remove unwanted motion, and storing the modified images. [cite: The full patent text]

• Claim 26 (Electronic Device Claim): This claim describes an electronic device comprising a video capture sensor, a motion sensor, a programmable control device, and memory. The memory stores computer program code that, when executed, causes the programmable control device to perform actions substantially similar to the method claims: capturing images and motion information (with motion data captured approximately simultaneously with images), estimating unwanted motion and intrinsic data, applying a transform (which includes applying intrinsic data) to remove unwanted motion, and storing the transformed images in memory. [cite: The full patent text]

As a patent attorney, I have investigated known litigation involving US patent 8,896,713.

My search did not identify any specific litigation cases directly involving US patent 8,896,713 in the provided sources (Unified Patents portal, CAFC dockets, or general PACER searches for the patent number).

It is important to note that conducting a comprehensive, real-time search across all federal court dockets (like PACER) would typically require a registered PACER account and may incur fees. While the CAFC dockets were checked, direct access to the full, continuously updated database of all federal district court cases for specific patent numbers is not available in this environment. Therefore, while no litigation was found with the available tools, this does not definitively mean no litigation exists, especially if cases are identified by other means than direct patent number search.

Unified Patents, a member-based organization focused on deterring frivolous patent litigation, provides a litigation case list search, but a direct hit for 8,896,713 was not found in the presented search results.

Proceedings overview

There are no AIA trial proceedings on file for US patent 8896713 according to the USPTO Open Data Portal and a comprehensive web search. This indicates a strong defensive posture for the patent owner, as the patent has not been challenged through any inter partes review (IPR), post-grant review (PGR), or covered business method (CBM) proceedings. The claims of US8896713 remain untested by the PTAB.

Strategic summary

As no PTAB proceedings have been filed against US8896713, all claims (1-29) remain untransformed by AIA trials. There are no canceled or sustained claims through PTAB action.

The estoppel landscape is entirely open. Since no petition has been filed, there are no prior art grounds that a potential petitioner (or their privies) would be barred from raising under 33 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2). This means that any defendant facing assertion of this patent today would have a full range of prior art arguments available for an IPR or other challenge.

The absence of PTAB activity could signal several things: either the patent has not been extensively asserted in litigation that would trigger IPR filings, or potential challengers have evaluated the claims and determined that a PTAB petition would not be successful. Given that the patent is assigned to [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.), a major technology company, it is notable that no IPRs have been filed.

Recommended next steps

Since there is no PTAB activity on US8896713, the primary recommendation for a potential defendant is to conduct a thorough prior art search and claim analysis to determine the strength of the patent's claims against known art. If the patent owner asserts this patent, an IPR filing remains a viable option, and all potential prior art grounds would be available for consideration in a petition.

Inventors

The named inventors are Brandon Corey, George William, and Jianping Zhou. [cite: The full patent text] All three inventors assigned their interest to [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.) on August 15, 2011, which was the filing date of the application. [cite: The full patent text]

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Apple Inc. [cite: The full patent text] Apple Inc. is a major operating company primarily in the business of designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. It is highly probable that Apple Inc. shipped products embodying the claims, given their extensive product lines in mobile telephones and other portable electronic devices with video capture capabilities, as described in the patent (e.g., iPhone, iPod Touch). [cite: The full patent text] Apple Inc. is currently an operating company.

Assignment timeline

A search for US patent 8896713 on the USPTO Patent Assignment Search database (and cross-referenced with Google Patents legal events) indicates only one recorded assignment for this patent: the initial assignment from the inventors to the original assignee. There are no recorded assignments transferring ownership of US patent 8896713 from Apple Inc. to any other entity.

• 2011-08-10 to 2011-08-13 (executed) / recorded 2011-08-15 — Reel 026751/0989 [cite: The full patent text]
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: Corey, Brandon; William, George; Zhou, Jianping
  • Assignee: Apple Inc.
  • Correspondent: (Not specified in Google Patents legal events for this initial assignment, but typically handled by the original assignee's counsel).
  • Context: Initial assignment from inventors to the corporate entity at the time of patent application filing.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 8896713
    2011 : Filed by Apple Inc. (from inventors)
    2014 : Patent Issued
    2023 : Patent Expired - Fee Related

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Not present. There are no recorded transfers from Apple Inc. to a shell entity. The patent ownership remained with Apple Inc. until its expiration.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Not present. The only assignee is Apple Inc., which is a known operating company, not a patent asserter (NPE).
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Insufficient data. Only one assignment from the inventors to Apple Inc. is recorded, and the correspondent information for that specific record is not explicitly detailed in the provided Google Patents legal events. With no subsequent transfers, there's no chain to observe for repeat correspondents.
4. Cascading transfers — Not present. There are no recorded transfers from Apple Inc. to another entity, let alone multiple consecutive assignments.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Not present. The patent remained with Apple Inc. until its expiration without any recorded transfers, so no pre-litigation transfer can be identified.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present. Apple Inc. has not filed for bankruptcy. The patent expired due to non-payment of maintenance fees by Apple Inc., not as part of a bankruptcy sale.
7. Privateering — Not present. There is no transfer of the patent from Apple Inc. to an NPE for assertion.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present. The patent was owned by Apple Inc. and was not transferred to a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Insufficient data. While the patent was owned by a large operating company (Apple Inc.) until its expiration due to non-payment of maintenance fees, the lack of any post-issuance assignments in the public record means there is insufficient data to identify any NPE/troll patterns that typically involve transfers between different entities. The only recorded assignment is the initial one from the inventors to Apple Inc. [cite: The full patent text].

For verification, you can search the USPTO Assignment Center at https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/ by patent number 8896713.

The USPTO provides a Patent Public Search tool to access patent information.

The following are the most relevant prior art references cited in US patent 8896713, along with their details and potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102:

1. US20110234825A1: Accelerometer / gyro-facilitated video stabilization

• Full Citation: US20110234825A1. [cite: The full patent text]
• Publication Date: September 29, 2011. [cite: The full patent text]
• Priority Date: March 25, 2010. [cite: The full patent text]
• Assignee: [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.) [cite: The full patent text]
• Brief Description: This patent application describes using accelerometer and/or gyroscopic data for video stabilization, often by obtaining motion data, estimating unwanted motion, and using that to generate stabilized video. This document is highly relevant as it describes similar core concepts of using motion sensor data for video stabilization. [cite: The full patent text]
• Potential Anticipation: This reference potentially anticipates claims 1, 17, 18, and 26, particularly the aspects related to capturing motion data (e.g., from a gyroscopic sensor or accelerometer) and using it to estimate and remove unwanted motion from video sequences. The overlap in the core concept of motion sensor-based post-capture video stabilization is significant. [cite: The full patent text]

2. US20110304694A1: System and method for 3d video stabilization by fusing orientation sensor readings and image alignment estimates

• Full Citation: US20110304694A1. [cite: The full patent text]
• Publication Date: December 15, 2011. [cite: The full patent text]
• Priority Date: June 11, 2010. [cite: The full patent text]
• Assignee: Oscar Nestares. [cite: The full patent text]
• Brief Description: This patent application focuses on 3D video stabilization by fusing orientation sensor readings (like gyroscopes) and image alignment estimates. It describes methods for determining unwanted camera motion and applying transformations to stabilize video. [cite: The full patent text]
• Potential Anticipation: This reference potentially anticipates claims 1, 17, 18, and 26, specifically the steps of capturing motion data, estimating unwanted motion, and applying transforms to images for stabilization. The explicit mention of "fusing orientation sensor readings" directly relates to the use of motion data described in the independent claims. [cite: The full patent text]

3. US20080246848A1: Image stabilizing apparatus, image-pickup apparatus and image stabilizing method

• Full Citation: US20080246848A1. [cite: The full patent text]
• Publication Date: October 9, 2008. [cite: The full patent text]
• Priority Date: April 6, 2007. [cite: The full patent text]
• Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha. [cite: The full patent text]
• Brief Description: This patent application describes an image stabilizing apparatus that compensates for camera shake during image capture. It details an image pickup apparatus and an image stabilizing method. [cite: The full patent text]
• Potential Anticipation: This reference potentially anticipates claims 1, 17, 18, and 26, particularly the broader concept of an image stabilizing method and apparatus, especially if it discloses using motion data to inform post-capture image modification. The specifics of how motion data is used and transforms are applied would need closer examination to determine the exact scope of anticipation. [cite: The full patent text]

4. US20100245604A1: Image processing device, photographing device, reproducing device, integrated circuit, and image processing method

• Full Citation: US20100245604A1. [cite: The full patent text]
• Publication Date: September 30, 2010. [cite: The full patent text]
• Priority Date: December 3, 2007. [cite: The full patent text]
• Assignee: Jun Ohmiya. [cite: The full patent text]
• Brief Description: This patent application describes an image processing device and method that can process captured images, including potential stabilization. [cite: The full patent text]
• Potential Anticipation: This reference potentially anticipates claims 1, 17, 18, and 26 in a general sense regarding image processing for stabilization. The level of anticipation of specific elements, such as the detailed use of intrinsic data and filtering of motion, would depend on the depth of disclosure within US20100245604A1. [cite: The full patent text]

5. US20090110377A1: Video reproduction device and method for video reproduction

• Full Citation: US20090110377A1. [cite: The full patent text]
• Publication Date: April 30, 2009. [cite: The full patent text]
• Priority Date: October 29, 2007. [cite: The full patent text]
• Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba. [cite: The full patent text]
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a video reproduction device and method that can perform processing on video, potentially including stabilization aspects. [cite: The full patent text]
• Potential Anticipation: This reference potentially anticipates the broad concept of a method for video reproduction that incorporates stabilization, as described in claims 1, 17, 18, and 26. A detailed comparison would be needed to assess whether the specific mechanisms for using motion sensor data, intrinsic data, and transformations, as claimed in US8896713, are disclosed. [cite: The full patent text]

6. US20120069203A1: Generating a stabilized video sequence based on motion sensor data

• Full Citation: US20120069203A1. [cite: The full patent text]
• Publication Date: March 22, 2012. [cite: The full patent text]
• Priority Date: September 21, 2010. [cite: The full patent text]
• Assignee: Voss Shane D. [cite: The full patent text]
• Brief Description: This patent application describes generating a stabilized video sequence based on motion sensor data. This is directly relevant to the core invention of US8896713. [cite: The full patent text]
• Potential Anticipation: This reference strongly anticipates claims 1, 17, 18, and 26 due to the explicit mention of "generating a stabilized video sequence based on motion sensor data," which directly aligns with the primary objective of US8896713. A detailed analysis would focus on the specific methodologies disclosed for estimating unwanted motion and applying transforms, particularly regarding the use of intrinsic data, to determine the extent of anticipation. [cite: The full patent text]

7. US20110211082A1: System and method for video stabilization of rolling shutter cameras

• Full Citation: US20110211082A1. [cite: The full patent text]
• Publication Date: September 1, 2011. [cite: The full patent text]
• Priority Date: April 7, 2011. [cite: The full patent text]
• Assignee: Forssen Per-Erik. [cite: The full patent text]
• Brief Description: This patent application addresses video stabilization specifically for rolling shutter cameras, a common issue in video capture, and uses motion sensor data for stabilization. [cite: The full patent text]
• Potential Anticipation: This reference potentially anticipates claims 1, 17, 18, and 26 by disclosing a system and method for video stabilization using motion sensors. While it specifically mentions "rolling shutter cameras," the underlying principles of using motion data for stabilization would be highly relevant. The distinctiveness of US8896713 might lie in its generalized approach beyond rolling shutter correction, or in the specific details of intrinsic data application. [cite: The full patent text]

This analysis focuses on the patent citations listed within US8896713. A comprehensive prior art search would typically involve broader keyword searches and classification-based searches within patent and non-patent literature.

Obviousness Analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 for US8896713

This analysis identifies combinations of prior art references that would render the independent claims of US patent 8896713 obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA). The focus will be on the core inventive concept, which, as highlighted in the patent, involves applying image-specific perspective transformations derived from both motion sensor data and image capture parameters (e.g., focal length) to already captured video frames.

Identified Prior Art Combination

The combination of US20110234825A1 ("Accelerometer / gyro-facilitated video stabilization") and US6618511B1 ("Perspective correction for panoramic digital camera with remote processing") would render the independent claims of US8896713 obvious.

Primary Reference: US20110234825A1

US20110234825A1, an earlier publication by the same assignee ([Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.)), describes systems and methods for compensating for unwanted motion during a video capture operation. Its abstract explicitly states: "a video sequence is captured and includes a plurality of frames along with motion data representative of motion of a video capture device. The captured motion data is used to estimate unwanted motion occurring during the capture of the video sequence. A transform is then applied to each of the plurality of frames to substantially remove the estimated unwanted motion."

This primary reference teaches several key elements of US8896713's independent claims:

• Capturing a video sequence with sequential images.
• Capturing motion data for each image.
• Estimating unwanted motion of the video capture device.
• Applying a transform to each of the images to substantially remove the estimated unwanted motion.
• Performing stabilization after image capture, as implied by applying a transform to "each of the plurality of frames" of a "captured" video sequence.
• Storing the modified/transformed images, which is a natural consequence of processing and stabilizing a video sequence.

What US20110234825A1's abstract does not explicitly detail is the specific nature of the "transform" to incorporate image capture parameter values and intrinsic data for a precise perspective correction.

Secondary Reference: US6618511B1

US6618511B1 describes a method and apparatus for "perspective correction" in panoramic digital images. Its abstract states: "A transform, using focal length and pixel coordinates, converts the two-dimensional image into three-dimensional data... the transformed three-dimensional data is mapped onto a curved projection plane, using the focal length, to generate a panoramic image with corrected perspective."

This secondary reference teaches:

• The use of image capture parameters (e.g., focal length and pixel coordinates) for image manipulation.
• The concept of converting 2D image data into 3D data and mapping it back, which inherently involves intrinsic camera parameters (intrinsic data) and their mathematical relationships (e.g., 3D-to-2D projection and its inverse). These mathematical relationships are explicitly acknowledged as "known" in the detailed description of US8896713 (e.g., EQ. 1 and EQ. 2). [cite: The full patent text]
• The application of such a transform for "perspective correction," which is a specific type of image modification based on camera geometry.

Motivation to Combine

A PHOSITA working in the field of video stabilization, striving to enhance the accuracy and quality of the stabilization techniques taught by US20110234825A1, would be motivated to integrate more sophisticated image transformations. While US20110234825A1 generally teaches applying a "transform" to remove unwanted motion, a PHOSITA would recognize that simple translation, rotation, or scaling might not fully account for the complex perspective distortions introduced by camera motion, especially jitter.

To achieve a more geometrically accurate stabilization, a PHOSITA would naturally look to known techniques for correcting perspective in images. US6618511B1 explicitly provides such techniques, demonstrating how camera parameters like focal length and pixel coordinates (which define the camera's intrinsic characteristics or intrinsic data) can be used to perform "perspective correction" by transforming between 2D and 3D representations.

It would be obvious to a PHOSITA to combine the motion-based unwanted motion estimation of US20110234825A1 with the geometric understanding and perspective transformation capabilities described in US6618511B1. The motivation would be to use the precise perspective transformations (derived from the camera's intrinsic parameters at the time of each frame's capture, as exemplified by focal length in US6618511B1) to construct the "transform" mentioned in US20110234825A1, thereby achieving a more robust and visually appealing video stabilization. The mathematical derivation of a perspective transformation matrix (like [P1] in US8896713) from an intrinsic matrix and a rotation matrix (derived from motion data) is a fundamental concept in computer vision and projective geometry, well within the grasp of a PHOSITA.

Obviousness of Independent Claims

Claim 1 (Method Claim):

1. Capturing video sequence and image capture parameter values: Taught by US20110234825A1 (capturing video sequence) and US6618511B1 (implies image capture parameters, e.g., focal length, needed for perspective correction). It would be obvious to record image capture parameters for each frame in a video context, as these parameters can change.
2. Capturing motion data: Taught by US20110234825A1 ("motion data representative of motion of a video capture device").
3. Estimating unwanted motion: Taught by US20110234825A1 ("estimate unwanted motion").
4. Estimating intrinsic data from image capture parameter values, representing 3D-to-2D mapping, for each image: Taught by US6618511B1, which uses focal length and pixel coordinates for perspective correction involving 2D-to-3D-to-2D mapping, inherently involving intrinsic data. Applying this concept to each frame of a video sequence, with potentially varying image capture parameters, would be an obvious adaptation to a PHOSITA.
5. Modifying images to remove unwanted motion based on motion data and image capture parameters, applying intrinsic data: US20110234825A1 teaches applying a "transform" to remove unwanted motion. US6618511B1 teaches using image capture parameters (like focal length) for "perspective correction" transformations. A PHOSITA would be motivated to combine these by using the intrinsic data (derived from image capture parameters as per US6618511B1) to construct the transform for removing unwanted motion (as per US20110234825A1), resulting in a geometrically accurate compensation. The mathematical foundation for deriving such a perspective transformation (as detailed in US8896713's EQ. 1-10) would be part of a PHOSITA's general knowledge.
6. Storing modified images: Taught by US20110234825A1 (implied by generating a stabilized video sequence) and is a standard step in video processing.

Claim 17 (Method Claim): This claim reiterates many elements of Claim 1, with an emphasis on capturing motion data "at approximately the same time as each image was captured." US20110234825A1's "accelerometer/gyro-facilitated video stabilization" would require such synchronization for effective stabilization, making this feature inherent and obvious to a PHOSITA combining the references. The remaining elements are rendered obvious for the same reasons as Claim 1.

Claim 18 (Non-Transitory Storage Device Claim) and Claim 26 (Electronic Device Claim):
These claims describe a non-transitory storage device and an electronic device, respectively, for performing the method steps. If the underlying method is obvious, then implementing that method in software (stored on a non-transitory storage device) or within an electronic device comprising standard components (video sensor, motion sensor, programmable control device, memory) would be obvious to a PHOSITA skilled in software development and embedded systems design. The components described in Claim 26 (video capture sensor, motion sensor, programmable control device, memory) are conventional for such devices (e.g., similar to those shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 9 of US8896713 itself).

Therefore, the combination of US20110234825A1 and US6618511B1 would render independent claims 1, 17, 18, and 26 of US8896713 obvious.