US 9542571

Here's a concise summary of US Patent 9542571:

US Patent 9542571

• Title: System and method of owner application control of electronic devices
• Assignee: Malikie Innovations Ltd (Current, as of June 2023). Original Assignee: BlackBerry Ltd.
• Inventors: Neil P. Adams, Michael G. Kirkup, Herbert A. Little, Russell N. Owen
• Filing Date: May 18, 2015 (Application number US14/715,227)
• Issue Date: January 10, 2017
• Abstract: Systems and methods for owner application control of an electronic device are provided. Owner application control information is stored on the electronic device and/or one or more remote servers. This information is consulted to determine if required applications are available for execution. If not, missing required applications are downloaded and installed, potentially transparently to the user. If required applications are not available, the device can be functionally disabled, in whole or in part, until they are installed.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1 (Method of owner application control on a device): This claim describes a method where an electronic device stores owner control information, which includes a list of applications deemed "required" for the device's full operation. When the device receives an operation request, it checks if all applications on this required list are available for execution. If any required application is missing or unavailable, at least one operation of the device is disabled until all required applications are available.

• Claim 11 (System for owner application control): This claim describes a system that includes a storage unit for owner control information with a "required list" of applications. It also features instructions (stored on a computer-readable medium) to determine if a required application is available, an application loader module to download and install missing required applications from an external source, and operation control instructions to disable certain device functions until the application loader finishes installing the missing application.

• Claim 19 (Method for designating owner control of application operations): This claim outlines a method for an owner to specify application controls. It involves receiving information about operations linked to a specific application, creating an authorization record based on this, and storing it. Then, the method involves identifying which electronic devices are subject to owner control, associating these devices with the stored authorization records, and finally communicating those records to the relevant electronic devices.

Uncertainty and Legal Status:
As of April 26, 2026, the patent US9542571B2 is listed as "Expired - Fee Related".

According to available information, the patent family for US9542571 has been involved in litigation:

• A PTAB (Patent Trial and Appeal Board) case, IPR2026-00007, was filed and is noted as a "Settlement".
• A US case was filed in the Washington Western District Court (case number 2:24-cv-01490).
• The first worldwide family litigation was filed in 2003-12-10, as shown in the "Priority claimed from US10/732,132" entry.