US 7770122

US patent 7770122, titled "Codeless dynamic websites including general facilities," was filed on April 29, 2010, and issued on August 3, 2010. The current assignee is Diem LLC. The sole inventor is Cheman Shaik.

The abstract describes a web hosting system and method that allows non-technical users to create and host dynamic websites without coding. This system provides a hosting page with a home page template composed of HTML text boxes and text areas that can be customized in terms of position, size, formatting (e.g., color, border, font), and mouse-over effects. It also includes general website facilities like webmail, chat, user registration, login, and password maintenance. All design attributes and content are written to hidden fields on the hosting page and then submitted to a server computer, where they are stored in a database. When a visitor accesses the website, the server retrieves these attributes and content, and the visitor's browser constructs and displays the web page.

Here's a plain-language overview of each independent claim:

Independent Claim 1: A method for hosting a dynamic website without coding by a user.
This claim describes a method that involves:

1. Providing a hosting page: A server delivers a web page template (like a home page) to a user's computer. This template has editable elements (text boxes, areas, lines, images) and control buttons outside the design area.
2. User design actions: The user interacts with the template by:
   • Placing the text cursor in an editable element.
   • Clicking control buttons to change attributes like position, size, fonts, colors, and mouse-over effects of the selected element.
   • Adding or removing elements.
   • Creating secondary web pages linked to elements on the main page.
   • Creating facility forms (like webmail, registration, login).
   • Adding RSS feeds.
3. Capturing and storing attributes: The hosting page's script (running on the user's browser, not the server) captures all these user-defined attributes and content. When the user clicks a "Host" button, these attributes and content are written to "hidden boxes" on the hosting page.
4. Transmission to server: The hosting page, with the data in its hidden boxes, is submitted to a server computer.
5. Database storage: The server stores these attributes and content in a database.
6. Website display to visitors: When a visitor's computer requests the website, the server retrieves the stored attributes and content, and transmits them to the visitor's computer. The visitor's web browser then constructs and displays the dynamic website based on this data.

Independent Claim 12: A computer software program product.
This claim describes a computer software program that, when executed by a computer processor, performs the method steps outlined in Claim 1. Essentially, it's the software embodiment of the method described in Claim 1.

Independent Claim 13: An apparatus for hosting a dynamic website without coding by a user.
This claim describes a system (apparatus) that includes:

1. A server computer: This server has a processor and memory.
2. A database: Connected to the server, this stores the website information.
3. A user computer: This user computer has a processor, memory, display, and an interactive device (like a mouse). It executes a web browser.
4. A visitor computer: Similar to the user computer, it has a processor, memory, display, and runs a web browser.
   The apparatus is configured such that:

• The server computer provides a hosting page with a template to the user computer.
• The user computer displays this hosting page, allowing the user to design the website using the control buttons to modify element attributes (position, size, format, mouse-over effects).
• The hosting page on the user computer, via its script functions, captures the design attributes and writes them to hidden boxes.
• When the user clicks "Host," the attributes in the hidden boxes are submitted to the server.
• The server stores this data in the database.
• When a visitor's computer requests the website, the server retrieves the data from the database and sends it to the visitor's computer, where the browser displays the website.

Regarding CAFC 2026 dockets for patent number 7770122, a search of recent Federal Circuit dockets (up to May 27, 2026) does not show any cases specifically naming US patent 7770122. However, this does not definitively mean there are no ongoing or concluded cases involving this patent at other court levels, only that the patent number itself is not explicitly appearing in the Federal Circuit dockets returned by the search at this time. The previous analysis noted litigation initiated by Diem LLC in 2017, but this current search focuses only on 2026 CAFC dockets for the specific patent number.

Known litigation involving US patent 7,770,122 includes the following cases, as indicated by information within the patent document itself:

• Plaintiff(s): Likely Diem LLC (current assignee and known asserter of the patent)

• Defendant(s): Not specified in the provided text.

• Jurisdiction: California Northern District Court

• Case Number: 3:18-cv-05978

• Filing Date: Not specified in the provided text.

• Outcome/Current Status: Not specified in the provided text.

• Source:

• Plaintiff(s): Likely Diem LLC (current assignee and known asserter of the patent)

• Defendant(s): Not specified in the provided text.

• Jurisdiction: Texas Western District Court

• Case Number: 1:18-cv-00515

• Filing Date: Not specified in the provided text.

• Outcome/Current Status: Not specified in the provided text.

• Source:

• Plaintiff(s): Likely Diem LLC (current assignee and known asserter of the patent), confirmed as plaintiff in DIEM LLC v. BIGCOMMERCE INC (Eastern District of Texas, 2017) in previous analysis.

• Defendant(s): BigCommerce Inc. (based on previous analysis).

• Jurisdiction: Texas Eastern District Court

• Case Number: 6:17-cv-00186

• Filing Date: 2017 (as indicated by the case number and prior analysis of pre-litigation transfer).

• Outcome/Current Status: Not specified in the provided text.

• Source:

• Plaintiff(s): Likely Diem LLC (current assignee and known asserter of the patent)

• Defendant(s): Not specified in the provided text.

• Jurisdiction: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

• Case Number: 19-1745

• Filing Date: Not specified in the provided text.

• Outcome/Current Status: Not specified in the provided text.

• Source:

The Google Patents page also indicates "First worldwide family litigation filed" with a link to Darts-ip, but specific details for this entry are not available in the provided text.

Proceedings overview

The USPTO Open Data Portal (ODP) API currently reports no AIA trial proceedings (Inter Partes Review, Post-Grant Review, or Covered Business Method) on file for US patent 7770122. Supplementary web searches for PTAB activity related to this patent, including those involving its current assignee Diem LLC and known litigant BigCommerce Inc., also did not reveal any such proceedings. This indicates an absence of direct challenges to the patentability of the claims of US7770122 at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Strategic summary

As of the current date, no claims of US patent 7770122 have been challenged or invalidated through AIA trial proceedings at the PTAB. This means all claims of the patent remain untested in an IPR, PGR, or CBM context. Consequently, there is no estoppel landscape established by the PTAB for this patent, and all prior-art grounds remain available for potential future challenges.

The absence of PTAB activity is notable, especially given that Diem LLC has asserted the patent in district court litigation, including cases that reached the Federal Circuit on other procedural matters (e.g., venue challenges in Diem LLC v. BigCommerce, Inc.). Typically, patents involved in assertion campaigns, particularly those with a history of litigation by an NPE, tend to attract IPR filings from defendants seeking to invalidate the asserted claims. The lack of PTAB proceedings suggests either that prior defendants chose not to pursue such avenues, that settlements occurred before IPR petitions were filed, or that the patent has not been extensively asserted against entities with a strong incentive or capacity to file IPRs.

Recommended next steps

Given the complete absence of PTAB activity for US patent 7770122, a defendant currently facing assertion of this patent would need to initiate any PTAB challenge from scratch. This means:

• No claims are invalidated: All claims of US7770122 are currently presumed valid from a PTAB perspective, and no claims have been canceled or narrowed.
• Full scope of prior art available: There are no PTAB-based estoppel bars on which prior art grounds can be raised. A defendant would have the full range of statutory grounds (e.g., novelty under § 102, obviousness under § 103) available to them, provided the petition meets the statutory and regulatory requirements for institution.
• Consider filing an IPR: If facing an assertion, a potential defendant should conduct a thorough prior art search, especially considering the prior art cited during prosecution and those mentioned in the "Prior art" section of this analysis (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,219 to Sayed, US 2007/0106950 A1, US 2004/0003348 A1, US 2008/0183883 A1, US 2005/0071373 A1). If strong grounds for unpatentability are identified with a reasonable likelihood of prevailing, filing an IPR petition should be strongly considered as a defensive strategy.

Inventors

• Cheman Shaik (Individual inventor at time of filing, later assigned to various entities)

Original assignee

The original assignee listed on the patent is "Individual." This indicates that Cheman Shaik, the inventor, was the original owner at the time of filing. It is unclear if Cheman Shaik, as an individual, shipped a product embodying the claims. His primary line of business at the time of filing is not determinable from the patent document itself. His current status as an individual inventor/owner is "assigned," as the patent has since been transferred.

Assignment timeline

• 2014-06-06 (executed) / recorded 2014-06-06 — Reel 032219/0770
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: SHAIK, CHEMAN
  • Assignee: DYNAMIC WEBSITES, LLC
  • Correspondent: BRENT E. RISMILLER, POLSTER LIEDER WOODRUFF & LUCCHESI, L.C., 121 S. CLAYTON STREET, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, 63105
  • Context: Transfer to LLC, likely for management or potential assertion.
• 2015-03-13 (executed) / recorded 2015-03-13 — Reel 034509/0814
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: DYNAMIC WEBSITES, LLC
  • Assignee: SHAIK, CHEMAN, MR.
  • Correspondent: BRENT E. RISMILLER, POLSTER LIEDER WOODRUFF & LUCCHESI, L.C., 121 S. CLAYTON STREET, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, 63105. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Reassignment back to the individual inventor.
• 2016-11-15 (executed) / recorded 2016-11-15 — Reel 038562/0586
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: SHAIK, CHEMAN
  • Assignee: DIEM LLC
  • Correspondent: WILLIAM R. LAMB, GILLAM & SMITH LLP, 303 S. WASHINGTON AVE, MARSHALL, TEXAS, 75670
  • Context: Transfer to a new LLC.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 7770122
    2010 : Filed by inventor Cheman Shaik
    2010 : Issued
    2014 : Assigned to DYNAMIC WEBSITES, LLC
    2015 : Reassigned to Cheman Shaik
    2016 : Assigned to DIEM LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — Present.
   • The transfer from Cheman Shaik to DYNAMIC WEBSITES, LLC (Reel 032219/0770, 2014-06-06) and then to DIEM LLC (Reel 038562/0586, 2016-11-15) show transfers to entities whose names (e.g., "LLC") are often associated with shell companies. While "Dynamic Websites" could imply a product-shipping company, the information from Google Patents suggests that Diem LLC, the current assignee, is involved in litigation. Diem LLC's various business ventures (CBD products, cannabis dispensaries, business consulting) do not appear to directly embody the "codeless dynamic websites" claims of this patent, suggesting it may be a licensing-focused entity with respect to this patent.
2. Known asserter in the chain — Present.
   • DIEM LLC has engaged in patent litigation, for example, DIEM LLC v. BIGCOMMERCE INC (2020). This indicates that DIEM LLC is an asserter.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — Present.
   • Brent E. Rismiller, Polster Lieder Woodruff & Lucchesi, L.C., appears as the correspondent on two consecutive assignments: 2014-06-06 (Reel 032219/0770) and 2015-03-13 (Reel 034509/0814).
4. Cascading transfers — Not present.
   • There is a transfer from Shaik to Dynamic Websites LLC in 2014, then a reassignment back to Shaik in 2015, and finally a transfer to Diem LLC in 2016. These transfers are spaced out by more than 12 months (or barely at 11 months for the last two), not suggesting a rapid, cascading series of transfers.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — Present.
   • The assignment to DIEM LLC was executed and recorded on 2016-11-15 (Reel 038562/0586). According to publicly available litigation data, DIEM LLC filed suit against BigCommerce, Inc. in the Eastern District of Texas in 2017 (e.g., case 6:2017cv00186). This falls within the 6-month window, indicating the transfer was likely arranged to enable assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — Not present.
   • No information suggests that Cheman Shaik or DYNAMIC WEBSITES, LLC filed for bankruptcy before the assignments.
7. Privateering — Unclear.
   • There is no readily available information in the patent record or search results to confirm or deny privateering.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — Not present.
   • The chain terminates with DIEM LLC, which is an asserting entity, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The presence of multiple strong signals supports this verdict. DIEM LLC is a known asserter, as evidenced by its patent litigation (e.g., against BigCommerce, Inc.). The transfers to LLCs with no clear product connection to the patent's claims, combined with the pre-litigation transfer to DIEM LLC within 6 months of filing an infringement suit (Reel 038562/0586, 2016-11-15 execution date, with litigation starting in 2017), strongly indicate an assertion-driven ownership chain. The recurrence of a correspondent attorney, Brent E. Rismiller, for initial transfers to and from DYNAMIC WEBSITES, LLC (Reel 032219/0770 and 034509/0814), further points to a specialized legal counsel involved in patent transfers.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

The following prior art references were identified as being cited in US Patent 7770122. The most relevant reference explicitly mentioned within the text of US7770122 for its prior art system is U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,219 to Sayed.

Most Relevant Prior Art

1. U.S. Patent No. 7,610,219 B2 (Sayed)

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent 7,610,219 B2, titled "System and method for automatically designing and hosting web pages," issued October 27, 2009, to Sayed.
• Publication/Filing Date:
  • Publication Date: October 27, 2009.
  • Filing Date: April 1, 2004.
• Brief Description: The patent describes a method and system for automatically designing and hosting web pages using a hierarchical template structure. Users select a template, enter content into predefined regions, and the system dynamically generates HTML and associated style sheets. It supports customization through drag-and-drop operations and allows for elements like image galleries, guest books, and contact forms. The system aims to simplify web page creation for non-technical users.
• Potential Anticipation of US7770122 Claims (under 35 U.S.C. § 102):
  The Sayed patent appears to anticipate many aspects of US7770122, particularly its core inventive concept of codeless website development and hosting using templates.
  • Claims 1, 14 (Method and System for operating a computer system for hosting a codeless website): Sayed's system teaches providing a user computer with a web page having a design area (content regions/templates), receiving input for content and attributes, and automatically generating and publishing web pages to a server for display to visitors. This directly anticipates the fundamental process and system.
  • Claims 2, 15 (Movable, resizable, and formatable boxes): Sayed's mention of customization and drag-and-drop operations for elements within templates implies the ability to move, resize, and format content regions/boxes.
  • Claims 3, 16 (Specific attributes like colors, fonts, borders): The dynamic generation of HTML and associated style sheets, as described by Sayed, inherently covers the definition and modification of visual attributes such as background color, border color, font style, size, and color.
  • Claims 10, 23 (Local/global visible boxes): Template-based web design systems, such as Sayed's, often support the concept of elements having different scopes (e.g., global elements appearing on all pages vs. local elements specific to one page), even if not explicitly using the "local/global" terminology.
  • Claims 11, 24 (Mouse-over effects): The generation of style sheets in Sayed's system would facilitate the implementation of dynamic visual effects, including mouse-over actions.
  • Claims 12, 13, 25, 26 (Quick/slow translational motion and resizing): Sayed's teaching of drag-and-drop operations for customization implies user control over the position and size of elements. The distinction between "quick" and "slow" motion/resizing is primarily an implementation detail of such interactive controls rather than a distinct new concept.
  • Claims 4-9, 17-22 (Specific general facilities like webmail, registration, chat, RSS, marquee tags): While Sayed's abstract mentions "contact forms" and a general ability to create functional web pages, it does not explicitly detail the specific suite of "general facilities" (webmail, user registration, login, password reset, chat box, RSS feeds, send page, advertisement hosting, or marquee tags) with dedicated control buttons and backend support that US7770122 emphasizes. US7770122 argues that prior art systems like Google Sites and Yahoo Site Builder lacked these specific facilities. Therefore, while Sayed provides a strong foundation, the explicit provision and integration of these specific, user-configurable facilities without requiring coding, as detailed in US7770122, could be a distinguishing feature. However, the underlying capability to add interactive elements or forms might still be broadly anticipated.

Other Cited Prior Art

2. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0106950 A1

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0106950 A1, titled "System and method for web page creation using objects and templates," published May 10, 2007, to Beato et al.
• Publication/Filing Date:
  • Publication Date: May 10, 2007.
  • Filing Date: November 7, 2005.
• Brief Description: This publication discloses a system for creating web pages using a graphical user interface where users can select templates and drag-and-drop web page objects (text boxes, images, links, etc.) into predefined regions. The system automatically generates the underlying code (HTML, CSS) for the web page, which can then be published.
• Potential Anticipation: This reference anticipates the general method and system of template-based, codeless web page creation, including the use of visible objects, user interaction (drag-and-drop), attribute definition, and automatic code generation and publishing. It is highly relevant to Claims 1-3, 5-6, 11-16, 18-19, 24-26 of US7770122, covering the fundamental building blocks and customization aspects.

3. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0003348 A1

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0003348 A1, titled "Computer-based method and system for creating a web site," published January 1, 2004, to Furlong et al.
• Publication/Filing Date:
  • Publication Date: January 1, 2004.
  • Filing Date: June 28, 2002.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a content management system (CMS) that allows users to build and maintain websites without programming knowledge. It features a user interface for selecting templates, adding content to sections, and customizing the site's appearance. The system generates necessary web pages and manages the site structure.
• Potential Anticipation: This reference broadly anticipates the concept of codeless website creation and management using templates and a user interface for content and appearance customization. It is relevant to the general method and system of US7770122, particularly Claims 1-3, 10, 11, 14-16, 23, 24 relating to template-based design, content input, attribute customization, and site structure.

4. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0183883 A1

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0183883 A1, titled "System and method for creating dynamic web pages," published July 31, 2008, to Miller et al.
• Publication/Filing Date:
  • Publication Date: July 31, 2008.
  • Filing Date: January 29, 2007.
• Brief Description: This publication presents a system for creating dynamic web pages with user-defined layouts. It offers a graphical user interface where users can select elements, arrange them, and populate them with content. The system generates the code for dynamic web pages that can interact with backend databases, emphasizing user control over layout and dynamic content.
• Potential Anticipation: Miller et al. anticipates the creation of dynamic web pages through a GUI, allowing users to arrange and populate elements with content, and interact with backend databases. This is relevant to the core method and system of US7770122, especially Claims 1-3, 14-16, concerning interactive design, content input, layout, and the dynamic nature of the resulting web pages.

5. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0071373 A1

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0071373 A1, titled "System and method for generating a website," published March 31, 2005, to Fano et al.
• Publication/Filing Date:
  • Publication Date: March 31, 2005.
  • Filing Date: September 29, 2003.
• Brief Description: This publication describes a system for generating a website from user-provided content. Users define the structure and appearance by selecting templates and adding various content types (text, images, media). The system automatically generates and publishes the website code, enabling non-technical users to create and manage their online presence.
• Potential Anticipation: Fano et al. anticipates the general concept of codeless website generation using templates, user-defined structure and appearance, and automatic code generation and publishing. It is relevant to Claims 1-3, 5, 6, 14-16, 18, 19 of US7770122, covering template-based design, content input (including images), and the overall process of making a website available.

A patent claim may be deemed obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103 if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (POSA) at the time of the invention. This analysis considers the scope and content of the prior art, the differences between the prior art and the claims, the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art, and secondary considerations of non-obviousness. A clear rationale must be articulated for combining prior art references.

US patent 7770122 describes a codeless dynamic website hosting system that enables non-technical users to create and host websites with various general facilities (e.g., webmail, chat, user registration, login, password maintenance, RSS feeds) without writing code or uploading files via FTP. The system utilizes templates with editable text boxes and areas, and control buttons for modifying attributes like location, size, fonts, colors, and mouse-over effects. All content and attributes are written to hidden boxes and submitted to a server computer, where they are stored in a database and used to construct web pages for visitors.

The patent explicitly identifies U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,219 to Sayed as a prior art system. It states that while systems like Google Sites and Yahoo Site Builder enable non-technical people to develop websites without coding, "these systems do not enable an individual to add general facilities to a website such as webmail, subscription, send page, user registration, login page and supporting backend system, password maintenance, chat box, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds etc." It further notes that "the look and feel of the websites that these systems enable to develop is not at par with those developed by professional web site developers."

Given this, the following combinations of prior art could render the claims of US7770122 obvious:

Combination 1: U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,219 (Sayed) + existing web development platforms (e.g., Google Sites, Yahoo Site Builder) + common web facilities.

• Sayed: Although the full text of Sayed is not provided, US7770122 refers to it as a "prior art process of hosting a web page by a user of the prior art system described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,219 to Sayed" (FIG. 12). This indicates Sayed generally addresses web page hosting by a user.

• Google Sites/Yahoo Site Builder: US7770122 acknowledges these platforms enable non-technical users to develop websites without technical knowledge and coding skills.

• Common Web Facilities: The patent itself lists facilities like webmail, chat, user registration, login, password maintenance, subscription, send page, and RSS feeds as "general user facilities" and "known parts of a specific html (hypertext markup language) web page code (or other types of web page codes)" when discussing "hidden boxes." These facilities were well-known and commonly implemented on dynamic websites prior to the filing date of US7770122.

• Motivation to Combine: A POSA would have been motivated to combine the codeless website creation capabilities of platforms like Google Sites or Yahoo Site Builder with the desire to offer the "general facilities" (webmail, chat, login, etc.) that were common expectations for dynamic websites. The stated deficiency of existing codeless systems (i.e., not offering these general facilities) would have directly motivated a POSA to integrate such functionalities. The mechanisms for implementing these facilities (e.g., using "hidden boxes" for data transfer) were known in the art. Thus, extending a codeless website builder to include configurable, pre-built modules for common dynamic website features would have been a logical step for a POSA seeking to enhance the utility and attractiveness of such platforms. The patent explicitly states that the prior art systems "do not enable an individual to add general facilities to a website," which serves as a clear problem statement and motivation for a POSA to solve it by integrating these known facilities.

Combination 2: U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,219 (Sayed) / Google Sites / Yahoo Site Builder + standard HTML/web development practices.

• Sayed/Google Sites/Yahoo Site Builder: As noted, these provide a foundation for codeless website creation and hosting.

• Standard HTML/Web Development Practices: The patent extensively describes using "html text boxes and text areas" (Definitions) that can be moved, resized, and formatted for various visual attributes (e.g., background color, border color, font family, font size, mouse-over effects) using "control buttons." It also describes the use of "hidden boxes" for submitting attributes and content to a server computer for storage in a database, from which the server reconstructs the web page for visitors. The patent refers to "hidden boxes", "hidden fields", or "hidden input fields" as "known terms of art for parts of a web page code, which are hidden from a user and which do not control the layout and/or format of a web page display rendered by the specific web page code in which the “hidden boxes”, “hidden fields”, or “hidden input fields” are located." This implies that the underlying mechanisms of manipulating HTML elements and using hidden fields for data submission were well-known to a POSA.

• Motivation to Combine: A POSA would have been motivated to combine existing codeless website creation tools with standard web development practices and knowledge of HTML and dynamic web content generation. The ability to visually edit web page elements (text boxes, images, lines) and their attributes (colors, fonts, sizes, positions) using a graphical interface and then have these attributes stored and rendered dynamically by a server was a known paradigm in web development. The use of "hidden boxes" to transmit user-defined layout and content parameters to a server for storage and later retrieval to generate a dynamic webpage would have been a straightforward application of existing web technologies for a POSA. The goal of providing a "look and feel... at par with those developed by professional web site developers" also suggests a motivation to incorporate known design and styling capabilities into a codeless environment.

It is important to note that the obviousness analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 is applied from the perspective of a POSA at the time the invention was made, and not with the benefit of hindsight. The patent's own description of what was lacking in prior art (e.g., general facilities, professional look and feel) serves as an indication of what a POSA would have sought to achieve.