Invalidity dossier
US US6098106
Added 4/28/2026, 2:16:39 PM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
A concise summary of US Patent US6098106 is as follows:
Title: Method for controlling a computer with an audio signal
Assignee: Digital Convergence.com Inc.
Inventors:
- Jeffry Jovan Philyaw
- David Kent Mathews
- Brad Maxwell Smith
- Paul Scovell Adams
Filing Date: September 11, 1998
Issue Date: August 1, 2000
Abstract:
The patent describes a method for controlling a computer, specifically a web browser, using an analog audio signal. This signal contains a trigger and a product identifier. Proprietary software on the computer is activated by the trigger, launches the web browser, and extracts the product identifier. It then combines the product identifier with a server address (URL) to create an appended data string. This string is automatically sent to an advertiser reference server, which cross-references the product identifier to an advertiser's server URL. This new URL, along with a request for product information, is returned to the computer's web browser, which is then redirected to the advertiser's server to display the relevant product information.
Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:
This patent contains one independent claim.
Independent Claim 1: This claim outlines a method for a user to retrieve information using a personal computer connected to a network. The core of the method involves a broadcast program that has a "routing signal" with routing information embedded within it. This signal is extracted from the broadcast, and the personal computer is then controlled to use this routing information to find and retrieve specific information from a storage location on the network for the user. In simpler terms, an audio or video broadcast can contain a hidden code that, when detected by a computer, automatically directs the computer's browser to a specific website or online content without the user having to type in an address.
A search of the dockets for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) for the year 2026 did not yield any specific results for US Patent US6098106. It is important to note that this does not definitively mean no litigation has ever occurred concerning this patent, only that no relevant cases were found for the specified year in the searched dockets.
Generated 4/28/2026, 8:18:55 PM