Invalidity dossier
US 6973623
Added 9/23/2026, 10:32:33 PM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 6973623 B2
Title: System and method for client refresh mode selection
Patent number / application: US 6973623 B2; Application US09/881,458
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation (original assignee; the source notes listed assignees may be inaccurate and that no legal analysis was performed)
Inventors: Alex D. Little; John E. Lynde, III; Mark E. Molander
Key dates: Priority/filing date 2001-06-14; publication of US 2002/0194359 A1 on 2002-12-19; granted 2005-12-06; adjusted expiration 2023-07-20. Legal status listed as "Expired – Fee Related."
Purpose (from the source): The invention relates generally to providing a flexible refresh capability to clients, and more particularly to integrating multiple refresh functions inline with a visible refresh button control. Refresh controls keep clients updated with data from a remote server, but existing controls in programs such as Notes™, Internet Explorer™, and Netscape Communicator™ are prominently displayed manual toolbar buttons.
Plain-language scope (from the supplied text): The disclosure describes three selectable refresh modes offered via a refresh menu (manual refresh, manual override, and auto refresh selections), plus a preferences screen for setting triggers. Manual mode refreshes when the user presses the refresh icon. Manual override mode stays manual until trigger levels are reached (for example, waiting a specific time interval or a period of user inactivity), then moves to auto refresh. Auto mode refreshes when auto-mode triggers are reached—for example, refreshing once a certain percentage of displayed information has changed. A client issues a refresh request over a network (such as the Internet) to a server, receives refreshed data, and updates the display; the screen may update only when a threshold amount of data is no longer current. Figures describe screen diagrams, a client/server system diagram, a mode hierarchy, setup and mode flowcharts, a preference screen, and an information handling system.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6973623/en
What the excerpt does not establish: It does not provide the full claim text or claim scope, complete figures/flowchart details, the complete specification, or any prior-art analysis. It also does not establish validity, enforceability, litigation, or ownership transfers, and the listed assignee status is expressly an assumption by the source.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:33:17 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
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.