Invalidity dossier
US 5818447
System and method for in-place editing of an electronic mail message using a separate program
Current assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
Added 9/23/2026, 3:52:45 PM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 5,818,447
Title: System and method for in-place editing of an electronic mail message using a separate program
Patent number: US5818447A
Application number: US08/660,019
Inventors: Richard J. Wolf; Srinivasa R. Koppolu; Suryanarayanan Raman; Steven J. Rayson
Original assignee: [Microsoft Corp.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Microsoft%20Corp.) (current assignee listed as Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC)
Priority/filing date: 1996-06-06
Publication (grant) date: 1998-10-06
Legal status listed: Expired – Lifetime (anticipated expiration 2016-06-06)
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US5818447/en
Purpose: The patent addresses the gap between simple text email and full-featured word processors. Email was largely limited to plain text and conventions like emoticons and bold; word processors offered rich formatting and powerful editing features, but adding email capabilities to word processors made messages dependent on a compatible word processor on the recipient's side. The invention instead lets a user view and edit an email message inside the email client using a separate, full-featured word processing program.
Plain-language scope: A container object (a "mail note") is invoked by the email client and provides an email-related user interface plus a view port. A server object associated with a program module, such as a word processor, renders the message body in that view port. The container object mediates between the program module and the email client, translating message data between the message store format and the program module's format, retrieving header, body, and attachment data, and displaying a mail note with command region, header region, and body region. On sending, it extracts body data (and attachment data) from the program module, optionally removes formatting codes, builds a message item, and transmits it.
What the excerpt does not establish: It contains no claims text, no detailed description of specific embodiments, no drawings content, and no information on litigation, ownership transfers, validity, or prior art beyond the listed dates and assignee entries.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:51:17 PM
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Litigation summary
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Proceedings on file (0)
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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
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
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