US 9667751

US Patent 9667751, titled "Data feed acceleration," was issued to Realtime Data LLC. The inventors listed are James J. Fallon, Paul F. Pickel, Stephen J. McErlain, and II Carlton J. Melone. The patent was filed on September 14, 2015, and issued on May 30, 2017.

The abstract of US9667751 describes a system and method for accelerating the transmission of broadcast data, such as financial data and news feeds, over a communication channel. This acceleration is achieved through data compression and decompression, which provides secure transmission, effectively increases communication bandwidth, and reduces latency. The patent also notes that encoders associated with particular fields within data packets can be selected to compress those specific fields.

Here's a plain-language overview of the independent claims:

• Independent Claim 1: This claim describes a method for accelerating real-time financial data over a communication channel. It involves receiving a real-time financial data stream, compressing it in real-time using a compression rate that increases the effective bandwidth of the communication channel, and then transmitting the compressed data. The acceleration is achieved when the total time for compression, transmission, and decompression is less than the time it would take to transmit the uncompressed data. The method also specifies that the real-time financial data stream contains multiple types of financial data, and the compression involves selecting a compression algorithm from a plurality of available algorithms based on the type of financial data.
• Independent Claim 12: This claim is similar to Claim 1 but focuses on a system rather than a method. It describes a system for accelerating real-time financial data, comprising a receiver configured to receive the data stream and a processor configured to perform the real-time compression and transmission as outlined in Claim 1. The system also includes a means for selecting a compression algorithm based on the type of financial data.
• Independent Claim 13: This claim describes a method for accelerating data transmission where the "acceleration" is defined by the relationship: [Time to Compress + Time to Transmit Accelerated + Time to Decompress] < [Time to Transmit without Compression]. The method involves receiving an input data stream, compressing the data stream in real-time at a compression rate that increases the effective bandwidth, and transmitting the compressed data. The compression is described as being content-dependent using one or more state machines with compression tables built from a-priori knowledge of the data stream.
• Independent Claim 14: Similar to Claim 13, this claim describes a system for accelerating data transmission based on the defined acceleration relationship. It includes a receiver, a processor configured to perform the real-time compression and transmission, and a mechanism for content-dependent compression using state machines and compression tables derived from a-priori knowledge of the data stream.

Regarding CAFC 2026 dockets for patent number 9667751, a search of the CAFC 2026 dockets did not return any specific results for patent number 9667751. Previous litigation relating to this patent family, including cases in the Delaware District Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, and PTAB cases have been noted, but there is no specific mention of activity in CAFC dockets for 2026.

US Patent 9667751, titled "Data feed acceleration," has been involved in several litigation cases.

Here is a list of known litigation involving US Patent 9667751:

• Realtime Data LLC v. Array Networks Inc.

  • Plaintiff(s): Realtime Data LLC
  • Defendant(s): Array Networks Inc., Fortinet, Reduxio, Panzura, Aryaka
  • Jurisdiction: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (initially District of Delaware)
  • Case Number: 21-2251 (Federal Circuit)
  • Filing Date: Realtime filed suit against Fortinet and Reduxio in November 2017, against Panzura in August 2018, and against Aryaka in December 2018.
  • Outcome/Status: The Federal Circuit vacated and remanded an earlier district court ruling that had dismissed five patents, including the '751 patent, for lack of subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Following remand, the district court again found the patents invalid for claiming patent-ineligible subject matter in a May 4, 2021 written opinion. The district court's decision was based on the finding that the patents were directed to an abstract idea and that the technologies and methods used were well-known and routine.

• Various cases filed in Delaware District Court: There are numerous entries indicating litigation filed in the Delaware District Court concerning the patent family of US9667751B2. These include cases such as:

  • 1:18-cv-01200
  • 1:18-cv-01621
  • 1:17-cv-00925
  • 1:17-cv-01543
  • 1:17-cv-01544
  • 1:17-cv-01635
  • 1:17-cv-01676
  • 1:17-cv-01750
  • 1:17-cv-01769
  • 1:18-cv-00653
  • 1:18-cv-01163
  • 1:18-cv-01164
  • 1:18-cv-01197
  • 1:20-cv-01498
  • 1:18-cv-01201
  • 1:18-cv-01198
  • 1:18-cv-01199
  • 1:18-cv-01202
  • 1:18-cv-01267
  • 1:18-cv-01491
  • 1:18-cv-01540
  • 1:18-cv-01544
  • 1:18-cv-01566
  • 1:20-cv-01497
  • 1:18-cv-01964
  • 1:18-cv-01995
  • 1:18-cv-02017
  • 1:18-cv-02062
  • 1:19-cv-00031
  • 1:19-cv-00279
  • 1:19-cv-00357
  • 1:19-cv-00394
  • 1:19-cv-00395
  • 1:19-cv-00492

• PTAB case IPR2018-00549:

  • Outcome/Status: Settlement

• US case filed in U.S. Supreme Court:

  • Case Number: 23-498

• Various cases filed in Texas Eastern District Court:

  • 6:18-cv-00283
  • 6:18-cv-00182

• US case filed in Massachusetts District Court:

  • 1:18-cv-12188

• Various cases filed in California Central District Court:

  • 2:17-cv-07690
  • 2:19-cv-06160

• Various cases filed in California Northern District Court:

  • 3:18-cv-00574
  • 3:19-cv-01504

• US case filed in Colorado District Court:

  • 1:17-cv-02479

• Various cases filed in Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit:

  • 19-2198
  • 19-2201
  • 19-2202
  • 19-2204
  • 21-2251
  • 21-2291

Please note that for many of the listed cases from Unified Patents, the specific plaintiffs, defendants, and detailed outcomes are not immediately available without further investigation into each individual case entry. The provided information largely reflects the existence of litigation related to US9667751B2 in the specified jurisdictions.

Proceedings overview

One Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceeding has been filed against US patent 9667751. This IPR was ultimately denied institution due to settlement between the parties. This gives a defendant facing assertion of this patent the knowledge that no claims have been invalidated by the PTAB.

IPR2018-00549 — Unified Patents, LLC v. Realtime Data, LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2018-03-27
• Status: Terminated (Settlement) and Denied Institution [cite: IPR2018-00549 Unified Patents Portal]
• Judge panel: Information regarding the specific judge panel is not publicly available for this pre-institution denial due to settlement.
• Petition grounds: Unified Patents, LLC challenged claims 1-20 of US9667751. The specific prior art and statutory bases (§ 102 / § 103) are typically detailed in the petition, but the institution decision itself would not detail the merits since it was denied due to settlement. [cite: IPR2018-00549 Unified Patents Portal]
• Institution decision: Denied Institution on 2018-09-24 [cite: IPR2018-00549 Unified Patents Portal]. The denial of institution was a result of the parties' settlement, as indicated by the "Settlement" sub-status. This means the PTAB did not make a merits-based decision on the patentability of the challenged claims.
• Final Written Decision: Not issued, as institution was denied.
• Settlement / termination: The proceeding was terminated due to a settlement between Unified Patents, LLC and Realtime Data, LLC [cite: IPR2018-00549 Unified Patents Portal]. The specific terms of the settlement are confidential.
• Appeal: No appeal to the Federal Circuit regarding a Final Written Decision, as no FWD was issued.
• Defensive value: This proceeding indicates that Unified Patents, LLC, a defensive aggregator, initiated a challenge against this patent. However, the case settled before institution, meaning the PTAB did not rule on the patentability of the claims. While the claims were not invalidated, the fact of a settlement suggests that the patent owner likely made concessions. A defendant could infer that the patent owner was motivated to avoid a PTAB decision on the merits.

Strategic summary

All 20 claims of US9667751 remain UNTESTED by the PTAB on the merits, as the only IPR filed (IPR2018-00549) was denied institution due to settlement. No claims have been canceled or sustained by the PTAB.

Regarding the estoppel landscape, since IPR2018-00549 was denied institution due to settlement, there is typically no statutory estoppel under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) for the petitioner (Unified Patents, LLC) or its privies concerning the grounds raised or that reasonably could have been raised. This means that a different defendant, not in privity with Unified Patents, could potentially still assert any prior art grounds against the patent in a new IPR or district court litigation.

A pattern signal here is the involvement of Unified Patents, LLC, a defensive aggregator. Their business model involves challenging patents they deem problematic for their members. The settlement of this IPR before institution suggests a strategic move by both parties, likely with the patent owner aiming to avoid a potentially adverse institution decision and subsequent FWD. This particular patent (US9667751) was also part of broader litigation concerning Section 101 eligibility, reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied certiorari on January 8, 2024, leaving the lower court's dismissal of claims under § 101 intact for Realtime Data's portfolio. However, this § 101 challenge was a district court and Federal Circuit matter, not a PTAB AIA trial proceeding regarding prior art.

Recommended next steps

There are no active PTAB proceedings pending for US9667751. The single IPR filed, IPR2018-00549, was terminated by settlement and denied institution on 2018-09-24. No PTAB-issued Final Written Decision exists for this patent.

For a defendant currently facing assertion of this patent, the absence of an adverse PTAB ruling on patentability under §§ 102/103 means the claims are technically "hardened" in the sense that they haven't been successfully challenged at the PTAB. However, the settlement of an IPR by a defensive aggregator like Unified Patents could imply a strategic decision by the patent owner rather than a strong assertion of patentability on the merits. Potential defendants should consider a new IPR petition if new and strong prior art is available, particularly given that the previous IPR did not result in a merits decision on patentability, thus avoiding estoppel for non-parties. Also, the patent's involvement in a § 101 eligibility challenge (though not a PTAB proceeding) where a district court's dismissal was affirmed by the Federal Circuit could indicate vulnerability to eligibility challenges in district court.

Inventors

• James J. Fallon
• Paul F. Pickel
• Stephen J. McErlain
• Carlton J. Melone II

Employer at the time of filing: Realtime Data LLC.

Original assignee

Realtime Data LLC.
It is unclear whether Realtime Data LLC shipped a product embodying the claims. Their primary line of business appears to be data compression and acceleration technologies. Their current status is operating, as they are listed as the current assignee.

Assignment timeline

• 2017-04-10 (executed) / recorded 2017-04-10 — Reel 039474/0971
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: FALLON, JAMES J., MCERLAIN, STEPHEN J., PICKEL, PAUL F., MELONE, CARLTON J.
  • Assignee: REALTIME DATA LLC
  • Correspondent: GORDON AND REES, LLP, ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, SUITE 1000, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, 94111.
  • Context: Internal reorg (assignment from inventors to company)

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9667751
    2015 : Application filed by Realtime Data LLC
    2017 : Assigned to REALTIME DATA LLC
         : Patent granted

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The patent remains with Realtime Data LLC, the original assignee and apparent operating company.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Realtime Data LLC is not a publicly known NPE.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. Only one assignment record is available.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. Only one assignment record is available.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. While the patent family has litigation, the assignment (2017-04-10) occurred before the earliest listed litigation filing (2017-08-04, for case 2:17-cv-07690 in California Central District Court). However, without knowing the exact date the decision to litigate was made, it's difficult to definitively classify as "pre-litigation transfer."
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. No indication of bankruptcy for Realtime Data LLC.
7. Privateering — not present. No evidence found of an operating company transferring to an NPE for assertion.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent is not assigned to a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Insufficient data. While the patent is involved in litigation, the provided assignment records only show the assignment from the inventors to the original assignee, Realtime Data LLC (Reel 039474/0971, recorded 2017-04-10). There are no subsequent assignments recorded to indicate a transfer to a shell entity or a known NPE. Therefore, there is not enough information to confidently classify this patent as an NPE assertion.

USPTO Assignment Center search for US 9667751: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/#!/patent/9667751

US Patent 9667751, titled "Data feed acceleration," was granted on May 30, 2017, from an application filed on September 14, 2015. The patent generally describes systems and methods for accelerating data transmission, particularly for broadcast data like financial information and news feeds, by using real-time data compression and decompression to increase effective bandwidth and reduce latency. [cite: The entire patent document, specifically the "Publication date", "Filing date" and "Abstract" fields.]

The patent explicitly incorporates several other patents and patent applications by reference. These directly related documents are the most relevant prior art for US9667751.

Here's an analysis of the most relevant prior art cited within US9667751:

1. U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,024

• Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,024, issued on Feb. 27, 2001. [cite: The entire patent document, specifically the "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS" and "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" sections.]
• Publication/Filing Date: Issued Feb. 27, 2001. The filing date is Oct. 3, 2000, for U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/237,571, which 6,195,024 claims benefit from.
• Brief Description: This patent is titled "Content Independent Data Compression Method and System." It describes a compression system that uses multiple different encoders to compress an input data stream, selecting the best compressed block based on compression ratios, regardless of the data content. [cite: The entire patent document, specifically the "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" section, under the sub-heading "a content-independent data compression system".]
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent directly informs the "content-independent" compression aspects discussed in US9667751. Claims in US9667751 that relate to employing multiple encoders and selecting an optimal compressed block, or switching between compression schemes based on efficiency, could potentially be anticipated. Specifically, methods described in US9667751 that switch to a content-independent scheme when a content-dependent scheme's efficiency drops (as mentioned in the "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" section), or generally employing a plurality of different encoders for optimal compression (FIG. 5 and its description), would find this patent highly relevant.

2. U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,424

• Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,424, issued on Oct. 30, 2001. [cite: The entire patent document, specifically the "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS" and "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" sections.]
• Publication/Filing Date: Issued Oct. 30, 2001. The filing date is Oct. 3, 2001, for U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/969,987 which 6,309,424 claims benefit from.
• Brief Description: US9667751 explicitly states that the concept of "acceleration" may be applied to the storage and retrieval of data to any memory or storage device using the compression methods disclosed in 6,309,424. [cite: The entire patent document, specifically the "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" section, under the sub-heading "a fundamental premise".] While the full text of 6,309,424 is not provided here, its description in US9667751 implies it covers data compression methods applicable to data storage and retrieval.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Claims in US9667751 that broadly cover data compression for accelerating data handling, especially those not strictly limited to network transmission but also encompassing storage and retrieval, could be anticipated by 6,309,424.

3. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/016,355

• Full Citation: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/016,355, filed on Oct. 29, 2001. [cite: The entire patent document, specifically the "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS" and "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" sections.]
• Publication/Filing Date: Filed Oct. 29, 2001.
• Brief Description: This application is referenced in US9667751 in relation to applying the concept of "acceleration" to data storage and retrieval, and also mentions a compression system employing both content-dependent and content-independent schemes. [cite: The entire patent document, specifically the "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" section, under the sub-heading "a fundamental premise" and "a compression system".]
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Claims in US9667751 pertaining to the combination of content-dependent and content-independent compression schemes, or to the application of acceleration to data storage and retrieval, could be anticipated by this application.

4. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/481,243

• Full Citation: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/481,243, filed on Jan. 11, 2000. [cite: The entire patent document, specifically the "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS" and "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" sections.]
• Publication/Filing Date: Filed Jan. 11, 2000.
• Brief Description: This application is cited in US9667751 as disclosing "storage acceleration techniques." [cite: The entire patent document, specifically the "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" section, under the sub-heading "a fundamental premise".]
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Any claims in US9667751 related to accelerating data storage or retrieval processes through compression or similar techniques would find this application relevant.

5. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/266,394

• Full Citation: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/266,394, filed on Mar. 11, 1999. [cite: The entire patent document, specifically the "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS" and "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" sections.]
• Publication/Filing Date: Filed Mar. 11, 1999.
• Brief Description: Similar to Ser. No. 09/481,243, this application also discloses "storage acceleration techniques." [cite: The entire patent document, specifically the "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" section, under the sub-heading "a fundamental premise".]
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Claims in US9667751 that cover methods or systems for accelerating data storage and retrieval, particularly through compression, could be anticipated by this application.

It is important to note that the patent 9667751 itself provides the most explicit description of these prior art documents and their relevance, particularly within the "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" section, where it discusses the background and how its inventions build upon or incorporate aspects of these earlier filings.

Under 35 U.S.C. § 103, a patent claim is considered obvious if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. The earliest priority date for US patent 9667751 is October 3, 2000, derived from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/237,571.

The "Prior Art" for this analysis will be drawn from the documents explicitly referenced and incorporated by reference within the US9667751 patent text that predate this priority date. These references provide a basis for determining what was known or obvious to a PHOSITA at the time of the invention.

Identified Prior Art References:

From the "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS" and "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS" sections of US9667751, the following commonly owned patents and patent applications are incorporated by reference and have filing dates prior to October 3, 2000:

1. US Pat. No. 6,195,024 ("Content Independent Data Compression Method and System") - Filed March 11, 1999 (from its Google Patents page). This corresponds to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/266,394, also filed March 11, 1999.
2. US Pat. No. 6,309,424 ("System and method for accelerating the transfer and storage of data") - Filed January 11, 2000 (from its Google Patents page). This corresponds to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/481,243, also filed January 11, 2000.

These two patents (US6195024 and US6309424), along with their underlying application disclosures, form the primary basis for the obviousness analysis, as they are explicitly described in US9667751 as disclosing fundamental aspects of the current invention, such as compression methods and storage acceleration techniques.

The Invention of US9667751 (in brief):
US9667751 discloses systems and methods for "data feed acceleration," particularly for broadcast data like financial data and news feeds. The core concept involves using real-time data compression and decompression over a communication channel to increase effective bandwidth and reduce latency. A key aspect is that the total time for compression, transmission, and decompression is less than the time for transmitting uncompressed data (Equation). The patent describes both content-dependent statistical compression (e.g., Huffman or Arithmetic encoding with state machines) and content-independent compression, and the ability to combine or switch between them. It also covers security features (like virtual encryption or encrypted tables), field-specific compression, and robust handling of packetized data streams.

Obviousness Combination: US6309424 + US6195024

A person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) in data communication, compression, and financial data systems would find the claimed invention of US9667751 obvious by combining the teachings of US6309424 and US6195024.

1. Teachings of US6309424:
US6309424 describes a "system and method for accelerating the transfer and storage of data" by rapidly compressing and decompressing data in real-time or faster. This acceleration is explicitly achieved when the total time for compression, transfer/storage, and decompression is less than the uncompressed transfer/storage time. The patent notes its suitability for "financial data over networks or to storage devices" and that the compression algorithm utilizes a "state machine model for character encoding and a plurality of state tables." This reference directly teaches the core concept of "data acceleration" as defined in US9667751 (Equation), its application to financial data over networks, and the use of state-machine based compression.

2. Teachings of US6195024:
US6195024 discloses a "content independent data compression method and system" that achieves an optimal compression ratio regardless of the input data content. It operates by compressing an input data stream with multiple different encoders and then generating an encoded data stream by selectively combining compressed data blocks from these encoders based on their achieved compression ratios. US9667751 itself describes this method in detail and states that it "may be used in addition to, or in lieu of, the statistical based compression schemes".

3. Motivation to Combine:
A PHOSITA would have been motivated to combine the teachings of US6309424 and US6195024 to enhance the acceleration of data feeds, particularly for financial information.

• Addressing Data Variability: The background of US9667751 explicitly acknowledges a "fundamental problem within the current art is the high latency and poor compression due to the use of generic data compression algorithms on financial data and news feeds," further noting that "data types and content format is constantly changed within the financial industry". While US6309424 provides a general acceleration framework for financial data using state machines (a form of content-dependent compression), a PHOSITA seeking to improve robustness and maintain optimal compression across variable or rapidly changing financial data formats (like the "abrupt changes, such as the recent switch to decimalization" mentioned in US9667751's background) would naturally look for a solution like the content-independent compression of US6195024.
• Optimizing Performance: US6195024's ability to achieve "optimal compression ratio for an encoded stream regardless of the data content" would be a desirable feature to integrate into US6309424's data acceleration system. This combination would directly address the problem of poor compression efficiency in existing systems, ensuring that high compression ratios and thus greater effective bandwidth and reduced latency are consistently achieved, even with diverse data types.
• Explicit Disclosure in US9667751: US9667751 itself provides the motivation, stating that a compression system "may employ both a content-dependent scheme and a content-independent scheme". It also describes an adaptive mechanism to switch to a content-independent scheme or modify tables "when the efficiency of a content-dependent scheme falls below a predetermined threshold based on, e.g., a change in the data structure of the data stream". This internal disclosure effectively outlines the motivation for a PHOSITA to combine these two known techniques for improved data acceleration.

Obviousness of Other Features:

• Security (Virtual Encryption / Encrypted Tables): Given that US6309424 already pertains to financial data over networks, a PHOSITA would recognize the inherent need for data security. The idea of using the complexity of efficient compression as a form of "virtual encryption" or encrypting critical components like client-side decompression tables would be a straightforward engineering decision for a skilled artisan concerned with protecting sensitive financial information in transit.
• Field-Specific Compression: US6309424 teaches state-machine based compression. For structured data like financial feeds, a PHOSITA would readily appreciate that optimizing compression for specific, known fields (e.g., stock symbols, prices, timestamps, message sequence numbers) would yield better compression ratios. Concepts like encoding differences for sequential values (time, sequence numbers) or using variable-length codes for common values, as detailed in US9667751, are common compression optimizations when the data structure is known. The provision of a "data field specific compiler" in US9667751 would be an obvious way to automate the creation of such optimized compression algorithms for different data feeds.
• Packet-to-Packet Independence: US9667751 states that its system has "no packet-to-packet data dependency" to handle UDP/Multicast operations where packet delivery order or guarantee is absent. The state machine approach, as disclosed in US6309424 and elaborated in US9667751 (where encoding is based on a-priori knowledge and context within a block/packet), inherently supports this if each compressible unit is self-contained. Designing such a system to be robust against network conditions for real-time applications would be an expected design choice for a PHOSITA.

Therefore, the combination of US6309424 and US6195024, along with the common general knowledge in the art regarding data security and compression optimization for structured data, would render the claims of US9667751 obvious to a PHOSITA.