Invalidity dossier
US 5857190
Added 9/20/2026, 5:19:06 AM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US5857190A
Title: Event logging system and method for logging events in a network system
Patent number / application: US5857190A; Application US08/675,463
Inventor: Matt Brown
Original assignee: Microsoft Corp (assignment recorded 1996-10-15 from inventor Brown). Current assignee listed as Adeia Technologies Inc (Google's listing notes assignees may be inaccurate).
Dates: Priority/filing 1996-06-27; granted/publication 1999-01-05; anticipated expiration 2016-06-27. Status: Expired – Lifetime.
Purpose: The patent addresses logging events in an interactive entertainment network system (ITV). Stated reasons for logging include monitoring system operation, detecting system errors, and deriving statistical data such as viewer usage and shopping patterns. A stated need is an event logging system for the interactive television environment that offers global, centralized logging at the headend, allows logging facilities to be relocated within the headend without disrupting logging, and handles a very large number and high frequency of events from many television units.
Plain-language scope (per the supplied text): A headend (22) is connected via a distribution network to user interface units (26), e.g., set-top boxes controlling TVs. Each unit has a processor running a log application program interface (log API) that decides whether an event is loggable, using event filter criteria in shared memory. An event configuration manager at the headend configures those criteria over the network, using a protocol such as SNMP. A logging service at the headend is preferably a callable object; log APIs call and bind to it via remote procedure calls (RPC), with COM-based implementation mentioned. Multiple databases (preferably ODBC-compliant, such as SQL servers) store event information, some at the headend and some remote (e.g., a merchant's database); a service string store correlates event kinds to databases, and a database management application routes event information. A method for logging events is also described, with FIGS. 1–6.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US5857190](/patent/US5857190)/en
What the excerpt does not establish: It does not provide the full claims, complete specification, drawings, or prosecution history; therefore the precise legal scope of the claims cannot be determined from it. It does not verify current assignee accuracy, validity, enforceability, or prior art. Classifications and legal-status entries are Google's listings, described as assumptions, not legal conclusions.
Generated 10/1/2026, 10:02:49 PM
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Litigation summary
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PTAB challenges
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Assignment history
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Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
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