Invalidity dossier
US 8997637
Dual bladder system and method for treatment and reduction of microbial content in fluids by means of high pressure
Current assignee: Individual
Added 9/23/2026, 7:45:19 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 8,997,637 B2
Title: Dual bladder system and method for treatment and reduction of microbial content in fluids by means of high pressure
Patent number / application: US 8,997,637 B2; Application US 13/271,618; Publication US 2013/0095225 A1
Inventor: Elend S. LeBaron
Assignee: Listed as "Individual" (original assignee: Individual)
Key dates (as listed):
- Priority date: 2011-10-12 (assumed, not a legal conclusion)
- Filing date: 2011-10-12
- Publication of application: 2013-04-18
- Grant/publication of US 8,997,637 B2: 2015-04-07
- Legal status: Active; adjusted expiration 2032-09-12 (status is an assumption, not a legal conclusion)
Purpose: The invention relates to a system and method for reducing or eliminating microbial content in fluids, particularly edible fluids, using high pressure. It addresses high pressure processing (HPP), also called Ultra High Pressure (UHP), in which fluids are subjected to elevated pressures of about 30,000 psi to 150,000 psi for a period of time, with or without heating, to minimize, kill, or inactivate microbial organisms including bacteria, yeasts, molds, some bacterial spores, and viruses. HPP is described as preserving food quality, freshness, and extended shelf life, and as suited to thermally sensitive fluids because it can run at ambient or lower temperatures and is thought to have minimal effect on low molecular weight compounds such as flavors, vitamins, and pigments. High-acid products (pH below about 6.0) may be stored at ambient temperatures, while some low-acid foods (pH above about 7.5) may require refrigeration.
Plain-language scope: A high pressure housing has an interior space containing dual bladders. One bladder is filled with fluid to be treated, subjected to high pressure to reduce microbial content, then drained by pressure from the second bladder being filled with the fluid to be treated, in alternating sequence. Prior art keywords listed include bladder, fluid, pressure, valve, and container.
What the excerpt does not establish: It does not provide the full claims, complete description, drawings, examples, or the identity/significance of cited prior art. It does not establish litigation, ownership transfers, validity, or claim scope. The provided text is excerpted.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:41:51 PM
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Litigation summary
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Proceedings on file (0)
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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
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.