DCT
1:22-cv-01026
Internet Media Interactive Corp v. Future US LLC
Key Events
Complaint
I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information
- Parties & Counsel:
- Plaintiff: Internet Media Interactive Corp. (Delaware)
- Defendant: Future US LLC (California) and Future US Holdings Inc. (Delaware)
- Plaintiff’s Counsel: Haller Law PLLC
- Case Identification: 1:22-cv-01026, D.D.C., 04/13/2022
- Venue Allegations: Plaintiff alleges venue is proper because Defendants have a regular and established place of business in the District of Columbia, conduct business there, and direct advertisements to its residents.
- Core Dispute: Plaintiff alleges that Defendants’ use of third-party URL shortening services in their social media marketing infringes a patent related to systems for accessing web locations via unique, multi-digit codes.
- Technical Context: The patent addresses early World Wide Web usability challenges by creating a simplified navigation method, akin to a telephone directory, to bypass the need for users to type long and complex URLs.
- Key Procedural History: The complaint states that key claim terms were previously construed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in a related proceeding on January 4, 2009. The asserted patent expired on August 30, 2016, and Plaintiff seeks damages for a five-month period from April 13, 2016, through the patent's expiration date.
Case Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1996-08-30 | '835 Patent Priority Date |
| 2000-04-11 | '835 Patent Issue Date |
| 2009-01-04 | Prior Claim Construction Ruling in District of Delaware |
| 2016-04-13 | Alleged Start of Damages Period |
| 2016-08-30 | '835 Patent Expiration Date |
| 2022-04-13 | Complaint Filing Date |
II. Technology and Patent(s)-in-Suit Analysis
U.S. Patent No. 6,049,835 - "System For Providing Easy Access To The World Wide Web Utilizing A Published List Of Preselected Internet Locations Together With Their Unique Multi-Digit Jump Codes"
- Patent Identification: U.S. Patent No. 6,049,835, "System For Providing Easy Access To The World Wide Web Utilizing A Published List Of Preselected Internet Locations Together With Their Unique Multi-Digit Jump Codes," issued April 11, 2000.
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: The patent's background describes early web navigation as cumbersome, requiring users to handle "a confusing string of subdirectories, files or executable commands" (URLs) which were "extremely difficult to work with" and involved an "error-prone, tedious and confusing entry" process ('835 Patent, col. 4:54-58, col. 7:13-15).
- The Patented Solution: The invention proposes a centralized system to simplify this process. A user consults a "published compilation," such as a printed book or a dedicated webpage, to find a preselected website and its associated "multi-digit jump code" ('835 Patent, col. 5:50-56). The user then accesses a special "JumpCity" website, enters the simple code, and software on that site automatically looks up the full URL and redirects the user to their desired destination, eliminating the need to type the long URL directly ('835 Patent, Abstract; col. 5:43-49).
- Technical Importance: The system aimed to make the web more accessible to non-technical users by abstracting away its underlying complexity, creating an experience analogous to changing channels on a television rather than operating a command-line interface ('835 Patent, col. 4:8-14, col. 5:1-7).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts independent method claim 11 ('835 Patent, col. 9:1-29; Compl. ¶15).
- The essential steps of claim 11 include:
- publishing a compilation of preselected Internet locations with an assigned unique multi-digit jump code for each location;
- providing a predetermined Internet location (e.g., a portal website) with means for capturing a jump code entered by a user;
- a user accessing the predetermined location and entering the jump code;
- receiving the entered jump code;
- converting the jump code to its corresponding full URL address; and
- automatically accessing the desired location using that URL.
- The complaint does not explicitly reserve the right to assert dependent claims.
III. The Accused Instrumentality
Product Identification
- The accused instrumentality is the method Defendants employ for promoting content from their website, www.gamesradar.com, through their social media account on Twitter, "@GamesRadar," which utilizes the third-party link shortening service Buffer (and its "buff.ly" domain) (Compl. ¶7, ¶15.b-e).
Functionality and Market Context
- The complaint alleges that Defendants publish posts on Twitter that contain shortened links, such as "buff.ly/1Mo22Ft" (Compl. ¶7, ¶15.b). When a user clicks this link, their browser is directed to the Buffer service. Buffer's system then interprets the alphanumeric code in the URL ("1Mo22Ft"), looks up the corresponding full destination URL for a page on gamesradar.com, and automatically redirects the user's browser to that final page (Compl. ¶15.c-g). These actions are alleged to be part of Defendants' standard promotional activities to drive traffic to their web properties (Compl. ¶15.d). No probative visual evidence provided in complaint.
IV. Analysis of Infringement Allegations
'835 Patent Infringement Allegations
| Claim Element (from Independent Claim 11) | Alleged Infringing Functionality | Complaint Citation | Patent Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| publishing a compilation of preselected Internet locations... | Defendants' publication of information and links in advertisements on Twitter or other online media. | ¶15a | col. 9:3-7 |
| ...said published compilation including a unique predetermined multi-digit jump code assigned to each... | The shortened alphanumeric codes (e.g., "1Mo22Ft") included in shortened URLs (e.g., buff.ly) created by the Buffer service. | ¶15b | col. 9:5-7 |
| providing a predetermined Internet location having an address published... comprising means for capturing a desired multi-digit jump code... | The link shortening service provider (Buffer), which operates at the published address (e.g., buff.ly) and is characterized as having means to capture the code. | ¶15c | col. 9:8-14 |
| accessing said predetermined Internet location and entering said desired multi-digit jump code into said predetermined Internet location | A user clicking the embedded "buff.ly" URL, an act for which Defendants are alleged to be vicariously liable. | ¶15d | col. 9:15-18 |
| receiving said multi-digit jump code entered into said predetermined Internet location... | The link shortening service (Buffer) receiving the code from the user's click, an act for which Defendants are alleged to be vicariously liable. | ¶15e | col. 9:19-22 |
| converting the received multi-digit jump code to a URL address corresponding to the desired preselected Internet location | The Buffer service converting the code to the full destination URL, an act for which Defendants are alleged to be vicariously liable. | ¶15f | col. 9:23-25 |
| automatically accessing said desired preselected Internet location using said URL address... | The Buffer service automatically redirecting the user's browser to the final destination URL, an act for which Defendants are alleged to be vicariously liable. | ¶15g | col. 9:26-29 |
- Identified Points of Contention:
- Scope Questions: The infringement theory raises the question of whether a series of individual social media posts constitutes a "compilation" as described in the patent, which focuses on a singular, curated publication like a book or a portal website (Compl. ¶15.a; '835 Patent, col. 5:50-56). Further, a question exists as to whether a user's single click on a hyperlink can satisfy the distinct claim steps of "accessing" a location and "entering" a code (Compl. ¶15.d).
- Technical Questions: A key question is whether an alphanumeric string (e.g., "1Mo22Ft") qualifies as a "multi-digit jump code," particularly in light of the complaint's reference to a prior construction requiring "more than one number" (Compl. ¶15.b). The viability of the infringement case also depends on whether Plaintiff can establish that Defendants are vicariously liable for the actions performed by end-users and the separate, third-party Buffer service, a legal question governed by the standard for divided infringement (Compl. ¶16).
V. Key Claim Terms for Construction
The Term: "a published compilation of preselected Internet locations"
- Context and Importance: This term is critical because the patent's embodiments describe a bounded, organized directory, such as a book or a single portal website. The infringement allegation, however, targets a decentralized stream of Twitter posts. The case may turn on whether a social media feed can be construed as a "compilation."
- Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The complaint cites a prior construction from another case defining a similar phrase as "a publicly accessible collection of information," which Plaintiff may argue is broad enough to cover a Twitter feed (Compl. ¶15.a).
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification repeatedly describes the compilation as a "printed publication or book" (e.g., element 110 in Fig. 1) or a single specialized website containing reviews, suggesting a more formally structured and cohesive collection than a series of tweets ('835 Patent, col. 5:50-61).
The Term: "multi-digit jump code"
- Context and Importance: The patent’s preferred embodiment consistently refers to a "four-digit jump code" consisting of numbers ('835 Patent, col. 6:9). The accused codes are alphanumeric (e.g., "1Mo22Ft"). The definition of "multi-digit" will be central to determining infringement.
- Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: Plaintiff may argue that in a computing context, "digit" can refer to any character in a string, and points to a prior construction of a similar phrase as a "code consisting of more than one number," which the accused code contains (Compl. ¶15.b).
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification's repeated use of "four-digit jump code" and the analogy to a "television channel selector" could support a narrower construction limited to purely numeric codes ('835 Patent, col. 5:44, col. 5:2-7).
VI. Other Allegations
- Indirect Infringement: The complaint advances a theory of direct infringement under a divided infringement framework, asserting that Defendants are vicariously liable for the claim steps performed by end-users and the third-party Buffer service (Compl. ¶16). Liability is predicated on allegations that Defendants direct or control the user's actions by conditioning a benefit (access to content) on the performance of the clicking step, and control Buffer's actions via a service agreement (Compl. ¶15.d, ¶15.e).
- Willful Infringement: The complaint does not include an allegation of willful infringement.
VII. Analyst’s Conclusion: Key Questions for the Case
- A central legal issue will be one of divided infringement: can the Plaintiff establish that Defendants exercised the requisite direction or control over both end-users and the independent Buffer link-shortening service to be held directly liable for a method whose steps are performed by three separate entities?
- A key claim construction question will be one of technological translation: can claim terms conceived in the 1990s to describe a system of manual code entry from a published directory (e.g., "published compilation," "entering... a code") be construed to read on the modern, integrated function of clicking a shortened URL on a social media feed?
- A critical procedural question will be the applicability of prior rulings: how will the court apply the 2009 claim constructions from a prior case, which addressed different technology, to the specific facts and accused instrumentality in this litigation?