US 5781889

Summary — US Patent 5,781,889 ("US5781889A")

Bibliographic data (from Google Patents record, fetched 2026-08-27)

Abstract (verbatim from record)

"A central management system manages a plurality of computer jukeboxes and communicates compressed digital data with each jukebox via a transmission link. The management system also includes a host computer that maintains a master set of compressed digital data representing a plurality of songs, song associated graphics, and song identity information. Each jukebox includes a storage unit that is capable of storing a subset of the master set and a processing circuit having a decompression circuit. The processing circuit controls the operation and flow of digital data into and out of the jukebox through the transmission link as well as a visual song information display, user song selection keys, a money detector, and an audio reproduction circuit coupled to a speaker system so as to provide audio output to users of the jukebox."

Independent claims — plain-language overview

The patent has 13 claims. There are two independent claims (claims 1 and 7); claims 2–6 depend from claim 1, and claims 8–13 depend from claim 7.

Claim 1 (standalone computer jukebox): A jukebox that stores songs as compressed digital data and can be updated over a communication link. It comprises:

• a communication interface for receiving compressed song data plus song-identity data;
• computer memory storing the received song data and identity data;
• a display showing prospective users which songs are stored (based on the identity data);
• a user-selection mechanism generating a signal for the chosen song;
• at least one speaker;
• a decompression means and a digital-to-analog converter between the decompressor and the speaker;
• a processor that, on selection, retrieves the corresponding compressed song data from memory, decompresses it, and converts it to an analog signal for playback; the same processor also responds to newly received compressed song/identity data by storing it in memory, thereby updating the song library.

Claim 7 (jukebox network): A network of multiple such computer jukeboxes (each having the components described in claim 1) plus a management station that updates each jukebox's library. The management station includes:

• a communication interface for transmitting/receiving compressed song data, song-identity data, and other compressed digital data;
• processing/control means for storing a master set of songs and identity data in a storage unit, compressing song data, and transmitting a subset of the compressed songs and their identity data to a jukebox to update its library;
• the station is "operative for selectively transmitting the song digital data and song identity data to different ones of the plurality of computer jukeboxes" — i.e., it can tailor updates to each jukebox individually.

Notable dependent-claim features: claim 2 adds song-usage (play-count) data transmission; claims 3–4 add compressed graphics data and an "attract mode" that displays song-associated graphics when no song is playing; claim 5 covers modem/RF/direct-communication-port interfaces; claim 6 adds a coin/bill detector and money-intake tracking. Claims 8–13 mirror these features for the network (remote vs. portable management station, usage-data collection for deciding song replacements, and money-intake reporting).

Litigation / CAFC 2026 docket search

• CAFC 2026 dockets: My searches for a CAFC 2026 appeal involving "5781889" returned no results. I have no authoritative evidence of any 2026 Federal Circuit proceeding for this specific patent number. Given the patent's status (expired 2010-06-15), a live 2026 appeal would be unusual; treat the absence of a docket as unconfirmed rather than definitive.
• Historical litigation: Google Patents flags the family as "has litigation," linking to a California Northern District Court case (3:09-cv-03001, per Unified Patents/Darts-ip litigation data), details of which I could not verify in this search. Separately, family-adjacent patents (e.g., US 6,397,189 and US 6,381,575 — note these are different patent numbers) were litigated in TouchTunes Music Corp. v. Rowe Int'l Corp., Arachnid, Inc., et al., No. 07 Civ. 11450 (S.D.N.Y.), where Arachnid's infringement counterclaims failed. I could not confirm in this search whether US 5,781,889 itself was asserted in that or any Federal Circuit appeal; do not conflate it with the " '189 patent" references in that case, which denote US 6,397,189.

Uncertainty notes

• The assignee history is somewhat murky in the record: "Original Assignee: Individual," current Google listing "Martin Automatic Inc.," with Arachnid, Inc. appearing in the assignment chain — I would verify against USPTO Assignment records before relying on it.
• No authoritative CAFC 2026 docket was located; that portion is unconfirmed.