Cygnus Systems, Inc., the holder of the '850 patent, has asserted the patent in litigation against Google, Microsoft and Apple alleging their use of document preview icons - thumbnails - in their operating systems and browsers. If successful in this action, this patent may be asserted against other operating systems and browsers.
The '850 patent claims continuation from a patent application filed June 12, 1998.
WHAT'S NEEDED: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
Prior Art
Patents and Published Patent Applications Filed in the U.S. Prior to June 12, 1998
February 4th, 2009
Although this patent application was filed on June 8, 2001, it claims continuation from a patent application file June 12, 1998, resulting in an earliest date of invention of June 12, 1997. While it is possible that the invention did not occur until after June 12, 1997, finding relevant prior art before that date assures it application. Such prior art may include patents issued before June 12, 1997, and/or published patent applications that were filed in the U.S. prior to June 12, 1997.
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