US 9965233

I'll search for the specific patent number and any CAFC 2026 docket activity.

Let me get more detail on the claims and check for any CAFC activity specific to this patent.

Based on my searches (Google Patents, USPTO/PTAB records via ptacts.uspto.gov, uspto.report, Flexiworld's own patent page, and Unified Patents litigation data), here is the requested summary. Note: I found no CAFC/Federal Circuit 2026 docket entries for this patent — my CAFC-specific searches returned no results, so I cannot confirm any 2026 appeal activity.

US Patent 9,965,233 B2 ("9965233")

• Title: Digital content services or stores over the internet that transmit or stream protected or encrypted digital content to connected devices and applications that access the digital content services or stores
• Assignee: Flexiworld Technologies, Inc. (Google Patents lists "Flexiworld Technologies Inc"; family records show Portland, OR)
• Inventors: William Ho Chang; Christina Ying Liu (both of Vancouver, WA, per related family records)
• Application No.: 09/992,413
• Filing date: November 18, 2001 (priority date: November 20, 2000)
• Issue date: May 8, 2018
• Legal status: Expired – Lifetime (adjusted expiration listed as 2025-08-28 on Google Patents)
• Abstract (as published): "Digital content services provided over the Internet for transmitting or streaming protected digital content to information apparatus or output devices are herein disclosed and enabled." (per Flexiworld's patent page; consistent with the Google Patents abstract)
• Primary classification: G06F 3/12 (digital output to print unit); also H04L 63/04 (network security/encryption), G06Q 20/32 (wireless payments), H04L 67 (network services), etc.

Independent claims — plain-language overview

Per PTAB petition documents (IPR2023-00846, Lexmark v. Flexiworld, challenging this patent), claims 1, 18, 27, 47, and 50 are the independent claims. I obtained full text for claim 1 from Flexiworld's "Sample Claim" and PTAB exhibits; I could not retrieve authoritative full text for claims 18, 27, 47, or 50 in my searches, so their summaries below are flagged as uncertain.

• Claim 1 (method of operating a digital content service): The claim covers a server-side method for an Internet digital content service where one or more servers (separate from the user's device) do the following: (a) receive security/authentication information from the user's device and authenticate the user; (b) receive payment or subscription information; (c) receive a "device object" describing the device(s) (identification, address, capability, model, brand, and/or registration info); (d) provide pointers/references to available digital content at the servers for user selection; (e) receive back a pointer to the user's selected content; (f) retrieve the selected content; (g) generate output data by applying an encoding operation and an encryption scheme to at least part of the content, making the content at least partly device-dependent for rendering; and (h) transmit the generated output data to the device for rendering — with transmission conditioned on successful authentication and receipt of payment/subscription info, and the output data being device-dependent and related to the received device object. In essence: a secure, authenticated, paid Internet content service that streams/transmits encrypted, device-dependent output to a user's connected device without requiring a local driver.
• Claims 18, 27, 47, 50: Identified as independent claims in the PTAB petition, but I do not have their verbatim text from an authoritative source in my search results. Based on the patent family pattern, these are likely additional method and/or system claims directed to related aspects (e.g., server systems, output systems/devices receiving and rendering the protected content). This is inference, not verified text — treat as uncertain.

Litigation / post-grant activity (context)

• PTAB: IPR2022-01114 and IPR2023-00846 (Lexmark International, Inc. v. Flexiworld Technologies, Inc.) — both listed as settled (IPR2023-00846 had an institution decision Nov. 14, 2023).
• District court: Multiple cases listed (Texas Eastern 2:25-cv-00960, 2:22-cv-00225, 2:26-cv-00229; Texas Western 6:21-cv-00680, 6:21-cv-00767; Kentucky Eastern 5:22-cv-00110).
• CAFC 2026: No docket found in searches for this specific patent number — I cannot confirm any pending 2026 Federal Circuit appeal.

Sources: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US9965233](/patent/US9965233)/en · https://www.flexiworld.com/patent/us-9965233/ · https://uspto.report/patent/grant/9,965,233 · https://ipverse.greyb.com/ptab-web/cases/case-details/IPR2023-00846 · https://portal.unifiedpatents.com (litigation/PTAB listings) · ptacts.uspto.gov petition exhibits (IPR claim charts).