What the patents claim
Claim 1 of US 9,532,164 recites two non-browser apps on a mobile device. When map-able content in the first app is activated, a mapping component invokes the second app, a mapping application, and transmits the content to an online mapping service that communicates with it.
The later patents add GPS position and driving directions (’980), touching text beside a map icon (’145), and typed location text with points of interest (’177).
What we found
BlackBerry’s US 9,298,838 and US 7,970,807 (priority July 2006) show a message containing a link that carries a server address and a map location. Selecting it invokes the registered mapping application to display the map. That covers the two apps, the user interface, the invocation from activated content and the mapping application.
TomTom’s US 7,606,663 (priority February 2003) exports an address from the contacts app to a separate navigation app, which uses it as a destination.
Neither appears in the ’164 citation record. The examiner did consider several link-to-map references (Bowman, Farkas, Kreitler, Kreft and a Yahoo filing), so the new references need to add something those did not.
Why it matters to the defendants
From the file history, the ’164 was allowed because the first app’s mapping component sends the content to an online mapping service. In BlackBerry’s design, the link carries the server address but the mapping application contacts the server. TomTom geocodes on the device. So the hand-off itself is old, and the allowed element is where a validity challenge will be decided. For the ’980, the BlackBerry and TomTom references cover the hand-off, and GPS and online directions are known in the mobile-map art generally.
The answer in Patent Mechanics
The search as it appears in the app, abridged.
| Reference | Assignee | Priority | Citation record | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 9,298,838 | BlackBerry | 2006 | Not cited | Strong |
| US 7,606,663 | TomTom | 2003 | Not cited | Partial |
| US 8,972,181 | Nokia | 2004 | Not cited | Partial |
| Element | Claim language (abridged) | ’838 | ’663 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1[a-c] | Two non-browser apps; first app’s user interface | ✓ | ✓ |
| 1[d] | Activated map-able content invokes the second app | ✓ | ✓ |
| 1[e] | Second app is a mapping application | ✓ | ✓ |
| 1[f] | Mapping component sends the content to an online mapping service | ? | – |
References
| Reference | Title | Priority | Covers | Gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 9,298,838 | Providing map locations in user applications (BlackBerry) | 2006-07-07 | Link in a message invokes the registered mapping app; URL holds a server address and location | Mapping app, not the first app, contacts the server |
| US 7,606,663 | Exchanging data between resident applications (TomTom) | 2003-02-26 | Contacts app exports an address to a separate navigation app | Local geocoding; no online mapping service |
| US 8,972,181 | Navigation and connectivity programs with personal information management (Nokia) | 2004-09-28 | Messaging transfers a contact location to a separate navigation app | No online mapping service |
Limits of this analysis
- First-pass reading of claims and abstracts, plus the ’164 file history; the ’980, ’145 and ’177 file histories were not read.
- The ’164 is a continuation-in-part, so any claim that depends on later-added matter would have a later effective date and a wider pool of prior art.
“Not cited” means the reference does not appear in the examiner or applicant citations of the patent or its family in our index. This article is research, not legal advice, and makes no finding that any claim is invalid.
You can do what’s written in this article, and a lot more, today on Patent Mechanics. Try it with a 7-day free trial, no credit card required.