PTAB

IPR2026-00111

Meta Platforms Inc v. SitNet LLC

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Petition
petition

1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: Multi-Dimensional Information Network for Situational Awareness
  • Brief Description: The ’815 patent discloses methods and systems for creating a temporary, event-based social network, termed a "Situational Network" or "SitNet." The system allows participants to interact and exchange information related to a specific event or situation, such as a storm, using conventional computer networking technology.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground 1: Claims 1-30 are obvious over Kraft, Nguyen, and Altman.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Kraft (Patent 7,747,648), Nguyen (Application # 2005/0033615), and Altman (Application # 2007/0281690).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that Kraft disclosed the foundational system: a "world model" network comprising interrelated entity models for real-world things like a "person" (user node) or an "event" (event node). However, Kraft lacked specific event-planning and location-based functionalities. Petitioner asserted that Nguyen supplied the missing event management features, teaching a system for organizing events, sending invitations, and tracking RSVP responses. To add dynamic location awareness, Petitioner contended Altman taught a location-based social network that uses GPS on mobile devices to connect users to nearby people, places, and events. The combination allegedly met the limitations of independent claims 1, 11, 21, and 26 by mapping Kraft's network to the claimed "multi-dimensional information network," adding Nguyen's invitation and response tracking for the "roll call" feature, and incorporating Altman's GPS-based location to create a "projection" of user devices selected based on their distance from an event.
    • Motivation to Combine: A Person of Ordinary Skill in the Art (POSA) would combine Nguyen’s event planning tools into Kraft’s network to add useful, well-known functionality like sending invitations and tracking responses. A POSA would then incorporate Altman’s dynamic, GPS-based location services to improve upon Kraft's static location data, thereby enabling the system to identify and invite users who are actually physically proximate to an event.
    • Expectation of Success: A POSA would have a reasonable expectation of success because all three references described using conventional network servers, databases, and client devices, making their integration predictable.

Ground 2: Claims 1-24 and 26-29 are obvious over Wong, Burfeind, and Crowley.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Wong (Application # 2008/0103784), Burfeind (Application # 2007/0233635), and Crowley (Application # 2006/0270419).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued this combination also disclosed all key limitations. Wong provided the basic social network of nodes (users, objects) and connections, which served as the claimed "multi-dimensional information network." Burfeind taught a system for scheduling location-specific events, where an organizer could create an event and manually invite contacts, with an organization device acting as a central server (the event node). Crowley improved upon Burfeind by teaching "location-based social software" that automatically invites users who are geographically proximate to an event. The combination allegedly established an event node (Burfeind's organization device within Wong's network), created a projection of users based on proximity (Crowley), and transmitted "roll call" style invitations (Burfeind's invitations as automated by Crowley).
    • Motivation to Combine: A POSA would be motivated to add the well-known event-organizing capabilities of Burfeind into Wong's general-purpose social network. Recognizing the inefficiency of Burfeind’s manual invitation process, a POSA would then integrate Crowley’s automated, location-based invitation feature to enable more dynamic and "spontaneous socializing," an explicitly stated goal of Crowley.
    • Expectation of Success: The combination involved applying known techniques (event organization and location-based messaging) to a known system (a social network) to yield the predictable result of a location-aware, event-based social network.

Ground 3: Claims 25 and 30 are obvious over Wong-Burfeind-Crowley in view of Altman.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Wong (Application # 2008/0103784), Burfeind (Application # 2007/0233635), Crowley (Application # 2006/0270419), and Altman (Application # 2007/0281690).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: This ground specifically targeted claims 25 and 30, which require identifying users based on "participation travel history." Petitioner argued that while the base combination of Wong-Burfeind-Crowley taught identifying users based on current location, it did not explicitly teach using their travel or location history. Altman was introduced to supply this missing element, as it disclosed a data store that includes user location histories and frequently visited areas.
    • Motivation to Combine: A POSA would be motivated to incorporate Altman's teaching on user location history into the Wong-Burfeind-Crowley combination. This would allow the system to identify potential invitees not just by their current proximity, but also based on their past interest in events in a particular region, making event targeting more effective.
    • Expectation of Success: Adding a location history feature to the existing database of the primary combination was argued to be a predictable integration of known data-tracking techniques.

4. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requests institution of inter partes review (IPR) and cancellation of claims 1-30 of Patent 12,238,815 as unpatentable.