Invalidity dossier
US 6014370
Apparatus for bridging between fibre channel networks and ATM network
Current assignee: NTT Inc
Added 9/23/2026, 4:28:49 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 6,014,370 A
Title: Apparatus for bridging between fibre channel networks and ATM network
Patent number: US 6,014,370 A
Application number: US09/252,033
Inventors: Shigehisa Komatsu, Kazuhiro Sato, Yuuichi Naruse
Original assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.
Current assignee (as listed): NTT Inc
Prior art date (assumed): 1998-02-20
Filing date: 1999-02-18
Publication/grant date: 2000-01-11
Legal status (as listed): Expired – Fee Related; anticipated expiration 2019-02-18
Purpose
The invention concerns an apparatus for bridging an ATM network with Fibre Channel networks to construct an FC/ATM composite network, plus a method for detecting abnormalities in the inter-network bridging apparatus and controlling Fibre Channel network initialization during recovery. Fibre Channel is described as a protocol group comprising FC-0 (physical), FC-1 (encoding/decoding), FC-2 (frame generation and control), FC-3 (common service control) and FC-4 (matching to protocols such as SCSI or IP). Frame transfer is controlled by sequences containing more than one frame; on an abnormal event, a terminal detecting it starts a command sequence to abort the offending sequence.
Plain-language scope
The supplied text describes a method with these steps: monitoring the Fibre Channel networks and the ATM network; sending an abnormal notification cell to the ATM network upon detecting an abnormal event in either; starting the Fibre Channel link initialization protocol upon detecting the abnormal event or receiving an abnormal notification cell; stopping that initialization protocol until an initialization-complete cell is received from the ATM network, while sending a series of initialization-start cells; and sending an initialization-complete cell upon receiving an initialization-start cell. The described aim is that opposing bridging apparatuses adjacent to the ATM network recognize the abnormal event and start Fibre Channel link initialization.
What the excerpt does not establish
The excerpt is partial and truncated mid-sentence. It does not include the claims, the full description, drawings, or any prior-art references or citations. It does not establish claim scope, validity, inventorship details beyond those listed, or ownership transfers. Nothing here addresses litigation or patentability.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:50:47 PM
Cases on file (0)
Specific litigation cases in our database that name US patent 6014370. The free-form analysis below may also discuss cases beyond this list.
No cases on file mention this patent. Upload a CSV or add a case manually in Admin → Manage litigation cases.
Litigation summary
Past and pending lawsuits — plaintiffs, defendants, jurisdictions, outcomes, and notable rulings.
Proceedings on file (0)
All PTAB activity →AIA trial proceedings (IPR / PGR / CBM) filed at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board against this patent. Sourced from the USPTO Open Data Portal and refreshed every six hours; each proceeding number deep-links to the PTAB E2E docket.
No PTAB proceedings on file. This patent has not been challenged via IPR, PGR, or CBM. The absence is itself a signal — well-asserted patents eventually attract IPRs. The LLM analysis below may surface filings the ODP feed hasn’t indexed yet.
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
Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.
Obviousness
Combinations of prior art that suggest the claimed invention would have been obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Extensions
Patent term adjustments, term extensions, continuations, divisionals, family members, and expiration dates.
Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.