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`UNITED STATES PATENT APPLICATION
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`. OF
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`JOHN C. HARVEY AND JAMES W. CUDDIHY
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`FOR
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`SIGNAL PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHODS
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`PMC Exhibit 2050
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
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`APPARATUS AND METHODS
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`5
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`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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`10 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
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`15
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`ONE COMBINED MEDIUM
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`THE SIGNAL PROCESSOR
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`20 SIGNAL DECODERS
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`THE SIGNAL PROCESSOR SYSTEM
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`INTRODUCTION TO THE SIGNALS OF THE INTEGRATED SYSTEM
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`COMMANDS,
`THE COMPOSITION OF SIGNAL INFORMATION
`INFORMATION SEGMANTS, AND PADDING BITS
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`MESSAGES, CADENCE
`30 THE ORGANIZATION OF MESSAGE STREAMS
`INFORMATION, AND END OF FILE SIGNALS
`59
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`DETECTING END OF FILE SIGNALS
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`THE NORMAL TRANSMISSION LOCATION
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`. . . . . . . . . . . .
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`OPERATING SIGNAL PROCESSOR SYSTEMS
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`INTRODUCTION
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`5 OPERATING SIGNAL PROCESSOR SYSTEMS
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`EXAMPLE #1
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`OPERATING s. P. SYSTEMS
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`EXAMPLE #1 (SECOND MESSAGE)
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`OPERATING s. P. SYSTEMS
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`EXAMPLE #1 (THIRD MESSAGE)
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`126
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`OPERATING s. P . SYSTEMS
`EXAMPLE #1 (A FOURTH MESSAGE) 134
`OPERATING SIGNAL PROCESSOR SYSTEMS . . . EXAMPLE #2
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`143
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`15 THE PREFERRED CONFIGURATION OF CONTROLLER, 39, AND SPAM-
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`CONTROLLER, 205C.
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`OPERATING s. P. SYSTEMS
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`EXAMPLE #3
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`20 OPERATING s. P. SYSTEMS
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`EXAMPLE #3
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`(SECOND MESSAGE)
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`181
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`OPERATING s. P. SYSTEMS
`EXAMPLE #3
`(THIRD MESSAGE)
`OPERATING SIGNAL PROCESSOR SYSTEMS . . . EXAMPLE #4
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`193
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`197
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`OPERATING s. P. SYSTEMS
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`EXAMPLE #4
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`(SECOND MESSAGE)
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`225
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`OPERATING s. P. SYSTEMS
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`EXAMPLE #4
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`(THIRD MESSAGE)
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`OPERATING SIGNAL PROCESSOR SYSTEMS
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`EXAMPLE #5.
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`OPERATING SIGNAL PROCESS OF SYSTEMS
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`SIGNAL RECORD TRANSFER
`........ 271.
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`PMC Exhibit 2050
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`IPR2016-00755
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`REGULATING THE RECEPTION AND USE OF PROGRAMMING
`(INCLUDING EXAMPLE # 6)
`278
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`OPERATING S. P. REGULATING SYSTEMS
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`EXAMPLE #7
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`MONITORING RECEIVER STATION RECEPTION AND OPERATION
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`288
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`312
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`AUTOMATING INTERMEDIATE TRANSMISSION STATIONS
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`AUTOMATING INTERMEDIATE TRANSMISSION STATIONS . . . EXAMPLE #8
`........ 340
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`AUTOMATING INTERMEDIATE STATION COMBINED MEDIUM OPERATIONS
`(INCLUDING EXAMPLE #9)
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`NETWORK CONTROL OF INTERMEDIATE GENERATING AND EMBEDDING
`EXAMPLE #10
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`AUTOMATING ULTIMATE RECEIVER STATIONS
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`MORE REGARDING THE PREFERRED CONTROLLER OF A SPAM DECODER
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`AUTOMATING U. R. STATIONS •.• REGULATING STATION ENVIRONMENT
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`AUTOMATING U. R. STATIONS •.. COORDINATING A STEREO SIMULCAST
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`AUTOMATING U. R. STATIONS •.• RECEIVING SELECTED PROGRAMMING
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`AUTOMATING U. R. STATIONS
`MORE ON EXAMPLE #7
`RECEIVING SELECTED PROGRAMMING AND COMBINING
`SELECTED URS MICROCOMPUTERS, 205, AUTOMATICALLY
`TO THE COMPUTER SYSTEM OF A SELECTED
`PROGRAMMING TRANSMISSION
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`CONTROLLING COMPUTER-BASED COMBINED MEDIA OPERATIONS
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`TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING PROGRAM INSTRUCTION SETS
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`AUDIO OVERLAYS AND OTHER OVERLAYS
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`AUTOMATING U. R. STATIONS
`EXAMPLES #9 AND #10 CONTINUED
`COORDINATING COMPUTERS, TELEVISION, AND PRINT
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`PREPROGRAMMING RECEIVER STATION OPERATING SYSTEMS
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`THE PREFERRED SPAM HEADER
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`A SUMMARY EXAMPLE #11 .•• AND THE GENERAL CASE
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`PMC Exhibit 2050
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
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`485507
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`tinuation application of Patent App.
`May 3, 199 which was a continuation of Patent
`849,226, filed March 10,
`which was a continuation
`of Patent App. 588,126, filed
`25, 1990, which was a
`continuation of Patent App. 096,
`, filed Sept. 11, 1987,
`which was a continuation-in-part
`P ent App. 829, 531,
`filed Feb. 14, 1986, which was a continua ·on of Patent app •
`317,519, filed Nov. 3, 1981.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`The invention relates to an integrated system of
`programming communication and involves the fields of computer
`processing, computer communications, television, radio, and
`other electronic communications; the fields of automating the
`handling, recording, and retransmitting of television, radio,
`computer, and other electronically transmitted programming;
`and the fields of regulating, metering, and monitoring the
`availability, use, and usage of such programming.
`For years, television has been recognized as a most
`powerful medium for communicating ideas. And television is
`so-called "user-friendly"; that is, despite technical
`complexity, television is easy for subscribers to use.
`Radio and electronic print services such as stock
`brokers' so-called "tickers" and "broad tapes" are also
`powerful, user friendly mass media.
`(Hereinafter, the
`electronic print mass medium is called, "broadcast print.")
`But television, radio, and broadcast print are only
`mass media. Program content is the same for every viewer.
`Occasionally one viewer may see, hear, or read information of
`specific relevance to him (as happens when a guest on a
`television talk show turns to the camera and says, "Hi, Mom"),
`but such electronic media have no capacity for conveying user
`specific information simultaneously to each user.
`For years, computers have been recognized as having
`unsurpassed capacity for processing and displaying user
`specific information.
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`PMC Exhibit 2050
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`IPR2016-00755
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`But computer processing is not a mass medium .
`Computers operate under the control of computer programs
`that are inputted by specific users for specific
`purposes, not programs that are broadcast to and
`5 executed simultaneously at the stations of mass user
`audiences. And computer processing is far less user
`friendly than, for example, television.
`Today great potential exists for combining the
`capacity of broadcast communications media to convey
`ideas with the capacity of computers to process and
`output user specific information. One such combination
`would provide a new radio-based or broadcast print
`medium with the capacity for conveying general
`information to large audiences -- e.g., "Stock prices
`rose today in neavy trading," -- with information of
`specific relevance to each particular user in the
`audience -- e.g., "but the value of your stock portfolio
`went down."
`(Hereinafter, the new media that result
`from such combinations are called "combined" media.)
`Unlocking this potential is desirable because
`these new media will add substantial richness and
`variety to the communication of ideas, information and
`entertainment. Understanding complex subjects and
`making informed decisions will become easier.
`To unlock this potential fully requires means
`and methods for combining and controlling receiver
`systems that are now separate -- television and
`computers, radio and computers, broadcast print and
`computers, television and computers and broadcast print,
`30 etc.
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`But it requires much more.
`To unlock this potential fully requires a
`system with efficient capacity for satisfying the
`demands of subscribers who have little receiver
`apparatus and simple information demands as well as
`subscribers who have extensive apparatus and complex
`demands.
`It requires capacity for transmitting and
`organizing vastly more information and programming than
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`any one-channel transmission system can possibly convey at
`one time. It requires capacity for controlling intermediate
`transmission stations that receive information and
`programming from many sources and for organizing the
`5 information and programming and retransmitting the
`information and programming so as to make the use of the
`information and programming at ultimate receiver stations as
`efficient as possible.
`To unlock this potential also requires efficient
`10 capacity for providing reliable audit information to (l)
`advertisers and others who pay for the transmission and
`performance of programming and (2) copyright holders, pay
`service operators, and others such as talent who demand,
`instead, to be paid. This requires capacity for identifying
`15 and recording (l) what television, radio, data, and other
`programming and what instruction signals are transmitted at
`each transmission station and (2) what is received at each
`receiver station as well as (3) what received programming is
`combined or otherwise used at each receiver station and (4)
`20 how it is received, combined, and/or otherwise used.
`Moreover, this system must have the capacity to ensure
`that programming supplied for pay or for other conditional
`use is used on~y in accordance with those conditions. For
`example, subscriber station apparatus must display the
`25 commercials that are transmitted in transmissions that
`advertisers pay for. The system must have capacity for
`decrypting, in many varying ways, programming and instruction
`signals that are encrypted and for identifying those who
`pirate programming and inhibiting piracy.
`It is the object of this invention to unlock this
`great potential in the fullest measure by means of an
`integrated system of programming communication that joins
`together all these capacities most efficiently.
`Computer systems generate user specific information,
`but in any given computer system, any given set of program
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`instructions that causes and controls the generation of user
`specific information is inputted to only one computer at a
`time .
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`Computer communications systems do transmit data
`5 point-to-multipoint. The Dataspeed Corporation division of
`Lotus. Development Corporation of Cambridge, Massachusetts
`transmits real-time financial data over radio frequencies to
`microcomputers equipped with devices called "modios" that
`combine the features of radio receivers, modems, and
`10 decryptors. The Equatorial Communications Company of
`Mountain View, California transmits to similarly equipped
`receiver systems by satellite. At each receiver station,
`apparatus receive the particular transmission and convert its
`data content into unencrypted digital signals that computers
`15 can process. Each subscriber programs his subscriber station
`apparatus to select particular data of interest.
`This prior art is limited. It only transmits data; it
`does not control data processing. No system is preprogrammed
`to simultaneously control a plurality of central processor
`20 units, operating systems, and pluralities of computer
`peripheral units. None has capacity to cause simultaneous
`generation of user specific information at a plurality of
`receiver stations. None has any capacity to cause subscriber
`station computers to process received data, let alone in ways
`25 that are not inputted by the subscribers. None has any
`capacity to explain automatically why any given information
`might be of particular interest to any subscriber or why any
`subscriber might wish to select information that is not
`selected or how any subscriber might wish to change the way
`30 selected information is processed.
`As regards broadcast media, systems in the prior art
`have capacity for receiving and displaying multiple images on
`television receivers simultaneously. One such system for
`superimposing printed characters transmitted incrementally
`35 during the vertical blanking interval of the television
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`scanning format is described in u. s. Patent to Kimura No.
`3,891,792. U.S. Patent to Baer No. 4,310,854 describes a
`second system for continuously displaying readable
`alphanumeric captions that are transmitted as digital data
`5 superimposed on a normal FM sound signal and that relate in
`program content to the conventional television information
`upon which they are displayed. These systems permit a viewer
`to view a primary program and a secondary program.
`This prior art, too, is limited. It has no capacity
`10 to overlay any information other than information transmitted
`to all receiver stations simultaneously. It has no capacity
`to overlay any such information except in the order in which
`it is received. It has no capacity to cause receiver station
`computers to generate any information whatsoever, let alone
`15 user specific information. It has no capacity to cause
`overlays to commence or cease appearing at receiver stations,
`let alone commence and cease appearing periodically.
`As regards the automation of intermediate transmission
`stat.ions, various so-called "cueing" systems in the prior art
`20 operate in conjunction with network broadcast transmissions
`to automate the so-called "cut-in" at local television and
`radio stations of locally originated programming such as so(cid:173)
`called "local spot" advertisements •
`Also in the prior art, U.S. Patent to Lambert No.
`25 4,381,522 describes a cable television system controlled by a
`minicomputer that responds to signals transmitted from
`viewers by telephone.
`In response to viewers' input
`preferences, the computer generates a schedule which
`determines what prerecorded, so-called local origination
`30 programs will be transmitted, when, and over what.channels.
`The computer generates a video image of this schedule which
`it transmits over one cable channel to viewers which permits
`them to see when they can view the programs they request and
`over what channels. Then, in accordance with the schedule,
`it actuates preloaded video tape, disc or film players and
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`transmits the programming transmissions from these players to
`the designated cable channels by means of a controlled video
`switch •
`This prior art, too, is limited. It has no capacity to
`5 schedule automatically or transmit any programming other than
`that loaded immediately at the play heads of the controlled
`video players. It has no capacity to load the video players
`or identify what programming is loaded on the players or
`verify that scheduled programs are played correctly. It has
`10 no capacity to cause the video players to record programming
`from any source. It has no capacity to receive programming
`transmissions or process received transmissions in any way.
`It has no capacity to operate under the control of
`instructions transmitted by broadcasters. It has no capacity
`15 to insert signals that convey information to or control, in
`any way, the automatic operation of ultimate receiver station
`apparatus other than television receivers.
`As regards the automation of ultimate receiver
`stations, in the prior art, U.S. Patent to Bourassin et al .
`20 No. 4,337,480 describes a dynamic interconnection system for
`connecting at least one television receiver to a plurality of
`television peripheral units. By means of a single remote
`keyboard, a viewer can automatically connect and disconnect
`any of the peripheral units without the need manually to
`·In
`25 switch systems or fasten and unfasten cabling each time.
`addition, using a so-called "image-within-image" capacity,
`the viewer can superimpose a secondary image from a second
`peripheral unit upon the primary image on the television
`display.
`In this fashion, two peripheral units can be viewed
`30 simultaneously on one television receiver. U.S. Patent to
`Freeman et. al. No. 4,264,925 describes a multi-channel
`programming transmission system wherein subscribers may
`select manually among related programming alternatives
`transmitted simultaneously on separate channels.
`This prior art, too, is limited. It has no capacity
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`for interconnecting or operating a system at any time other
`than the time when the order to do so is entered manually at
`the system or remote keyboard •
`It has no capacity for.acting
`on instructions transmitted by broadcasters to interconnect,
`5 actuate or tune syst.ems peripheral to a television receiver
`or to actuate a television receiver or automatically change
`channels received by a receiver. It has no capacity for
`coordinating the programming content transmitted by any given
`peripheral system with any other programming transmitted to a
`10 television receiver. It has no capac~ty for controlling two
`separate systems such as, for example, an automatic radio and
`television stereo simulcast. It has no capacity for
`selectively connecting radio receivers to radio peripherals
`such as computers or printers or speakers or for connecting
`15 computers to computer peripherals (except perhaps a
`television set) .
`It has no capacity for controlling the
`operation of decryptors or selectively inputting
`transmissions to decryptors or outputting transmissions from
`decryptors to other apparatus. It has no capacity for
`2o monitoring and maintaining records regarding what programming
`is selected or played on any apparatus or what apparatus is
`connected or how connected apparatus operate.
`The prior art includes a variety of systems for
`monitoring programming and generating so-called "ratings."
`25 One system that monitors by means of embedded digital signals
`is described in U.S. Patent to Haselwood, et al. No.
`4,025,851. Another that monitors by means of audio codes
`that are only "substantially inaudible" is described in U.S.
`Patent to Crosby No. 3,845,391. A third that automatically
`30 monitors a plurality of channels by switching sequentially
`among them and that includes capacity to monitor audio and
`visual quality is described in U.S. Patent to Greenberg No.
`4,547,804.
`This prior art, too, is limited. It has capacity to
`35 monitor only single broadcast stations, channels or units and
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`lacks capacity to monitor more than one channel at a time or
`to monitor the combining of media. At any given monitor
`station, it has had capacity to monitor either what is
`transmitted over one or more channels or what is received on
`5 one or more receivers but not both. It has assumed monitored
`signals of particular format in particular transmission
`locations and has lacked capacity to vary formats or
`locations or to distinguish and act on the absence of signals
`or to interpret and process in any fashion signals that
`10 appear in monitored locations that are not monitored signals.
`It has lacked capacity to identify encrypted signals then
`decrypt them. It has lacked capacity to record and also
`transfer information to a remote geographic location
`simultaneously.
`As regards recorder/player systems, many means and
`methods exist in the prior art for recording television or
`audio programming and/or data on magnetic, optical or other
`recording media and for retransmitting prerecorded
`programming. Video tape recorders have capacity for
`20 automatic delayed recording of television transmissions on
`the basis of instructions input manually by viewers. So(cid:173)
`called "interactive video" systems have capacity for locating
`prerecorded television programming on a given disc and
`transmitting it to television receivers and locating
`25 prerecorded digital data on the same disc and transmitting
`them to computers.
`This prior art, too, is limited. It has no capacity
`for automatically embedding signals in and/or removing
`embedded signals from a television transmission then
`30 recording the transmission. It has no capacity for
`controlling the connection or actuation or tuning of external
`apparatus. It has no capacity for retransmitting prerecorded
`programming and controlling the decryption of said
`programming, let alone doing so on the basis of signals that
`35 are embedded in said programming that contain keys for the
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`decryption of said programming. It has no capacity for
`operating on the basis of control signals transmitted to
`recorder/players at a plurality of subscriber stations, let
`alone operating on the basis of such signals to record user
`5 specific information at each subscriber station.
`As regards decoders and decryptors, many different
`systems exist, at present, that enable programming suppliers
`to restrict the use of transmitted programming to only duly
`authorized subscribers. The prior art includes so-called
`10 "addressable" systems that have capacity for controlling
`specific individual subscriber station apparatus by means of·
`control instructions transmitted in broadcasts. Such systems
`enable broadcasters to turn off subscriber station
`decoder/decryptor apparatus of subscribers who do not pay
`15 their bills and turn them back on when the bills are paid .
`This prior art, too, is limited. It has no capacity
`for decrypting combined media programming. It has no
`capacity for identifying then selectively decrypting control
`instructions embedded in unencrypted programming
`20 transmissions. It has no capacity for identifying
`programming transmissions or control instructions selectively
`and transferring them to a decryptor for decryption. It has
`no capacity for transferring the output of a decryptor
`selectively to one of a plurality of output apparatus. It
`25 has no capacity for automatically identifying decryption keys
`and inputting them to a decryptor to serve as the key for any
`step of decryption. It has no capacity for identifying and
`recording the identity of what is input to or output from a
`decryptor. It has no capacity for decrypting a transmission
`30 then embedding a signal in the transmission--let alone for
`simultaneously embedding user specific signals at a plurality
`of subscriber stations. It has no capacity for
`distinguishing the absence of an expected signal or
`controlling any operation when such absence occurs.
`Further significant limitations arise out of the
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`PMC Exhibit 2050
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 14
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`failure to reconcile aspects of these individual areas of
`art--monitoring programming, automating ultimate receiver
`stations, decrypting programming, generating the programming
`itself, etc.--into an integrated system. These limitations
`5 are both technical and commercial.
`For example, the commercial objective of the
`aforementioned monitoring systems of Crosby, Haselwood et .
`al., and Greenberg is to provide independent audits to
`advertisers and others who pay for programming transmissions.
`10 All require embedding signals in programming that are used
`only to identify programming. Greenberg, for example,
`requires that a digital signal be transmitted at a particular
`place on a select line of each frame of a television program.
`But television has only so much capacity for transmitting
`15 signals ou~side the visible image; it is inefficient for such
`signals to serve only one function; and broadcasters can
`foresee alternate potential for this capacity that may be
`more profitable to them. Furthermore, advertisers recognize
`that i~ the systems of Crosby, Haselwood and Greenberg
`20 distinguish TV advertisements by means of single purpose
`signals, television receivers and video tape recorders can
`include capacity for identifying said signals and suppressing
`the associated advertisements. Accordingly, no independent
`automatic comprehensive so-called "proof-of-performance"
`25 audit service has yet proven commercially viable.
`As a second example, because of the lack of a viable
`independent audit system, each service that broadcasts
`encrypted programming controls and services at each
`subscriber station one or more receiver/decryptors dedicated
`30 to its service alone. Lacking a viable audit system,
`services do not transmit to shared, common
`receiver/decryptors.
`These are just two examples of limitations that arise
`in the absence of an integrated system of programming
`35 communication .
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`PMC Exhibit 2050
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 15
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`It is an object of the present invention to overcome
`these and other limitations of the prior art •
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`5
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`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention consists of an integrated system
`of methods and apparatus for communicating programming. The
`term "programming" refers to everything that is transmitted
`electronically to entertain, instruct or inform, including
`television, radio, broadcast print, and computer programming
`10 as well as combined medium programming. The system includes
`capacity for automatically organizing multi-channel
`communications. Like television, radio, broadcast print, and
`other electronic media, the present invention has capacity
`for transmitting to standardized programming that is very
`15 simple for subscribers to play and understand. Like computer
`systems, the present invention has capacity for transmitting
`data and control instructions in the same information stream
`to many different apparatus at a given subscriber station,
`for causing computers to generate and transmit programming,
`20 and for causing receiver apparatus to operate on the basis of
`programming and information received at widely separated
`times.
`
`It is the further purpose of this invention to provide
`means and methods whereby a simplex point-to-multipoint
`25 transmission (such as a television or radio broadcast) can
`cause simultaneous generation of user specific information at
`a plurality of subscriber stations. One advantage of the
`present invention is great ease of use. For example, as will
`be seen, a subscriber can cause his own information to be
`30 processed in highly complex ways by merely turning his
`television receiver on and tuning to a particular channel.
`Another advantage of the present invention is its so-called
`"transparency"--subscribers see none of the complex
`processing taking place. Another advantage is privacy. No
`private information is required at transmitting stations, and
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`PMC Exhibit 2050
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 16
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`no subscriber's information is available at any other
`subscriber's station.
`It is the further purpose of this invention to provide
`means and methods whereby a simplex broadcast transmission
`5 can cause periodic combining of relevant user specific
`information and conventional broadcast programming
`simultaneously at a plurality of subscriber stations, thereby
`integrating the broadcast information with each user's own
`information. One advantage of the present invention is its
`10 use of powerful communication media such as television to
`reveal the meaning of the results of complex processing in
`ways that appear clear and simple. Another advantage is that
`receiver stations that_ lack said capacity for combining user
`specific information into television or radio programming can
`15 continue, without modification, to receive and display the
`conventional television or radio and without the appearance
`of any signals or change in the conventional programming.
`It is the further purpose of this invention to provide
`means and methods for the automation of intermediate
`20 transmission stations that receive and retransmit
`programming. The programming·may be delivered by any means
`including over-the-air, hard-wire, and manual means. The
`stations may transmit programming over-the-air (hereinafter,
`"broadcast") or over hard-wire (hereinafter, "cablecast").
`25 They may transmit singl~ channels or multiple channels. The
`present invention includes capacity for automatically
`constructing records for each transmitted channel that
`duplicate the logs that.the Federal Communications Commission
`requires broadcast station operators to maintain.
`It is the further purpose of this invention to provide
`means and methods for the automation of ultimate receiver
`stations, especially the automation of combined medium and
`multi-channel presen~ations. Such ultimate receiver stations
`may be private homes or offices or commercial establishments
`such as theaters, hotels, or brokerage offices .
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`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 17
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`It is the further purpose of this invention to provide
`means and methods for identifying and recording what
`television, radio, data, and other programming is transmitted
`at each transmission station, what programming is received at
`5 each receiver station, and how programming is used.
`In the
`present invention, certain monitored signals may be
`encrypted, and certain data collected from such monitoring
`may be automatically transferred from subscriber stations to
`one or more remote geographic stations.
`It is a further purpose of this invention to provide
`means and methods for recording combined media and/or multi-
`channel programming and for playing back prerecorded
`programming of such types.
`It is a further purpose of this invention to provide a
`15 variety of means and methods for restricting the use of
`transmitted communications to only duly authorized
`subscribers. Such means and methods include techniques for
`encrypting programming and/or instructions and decrypting
`them at subscriber stations. They also include techniques
`20 whereby the pattern of the composition, timing, and location
`of embedded signals may vary in such fashions that only
`receiving apparatus that are preinformed regarding the
`patterns that obtain at any given time will be able to
`process.the signals correctly •
`The present invention employs signals embedded in
`programming. Embedded signals provide several advantages.
`They cannot become separated inadvertently from the
`programming and, thereby, inhibit automatic processing. They
`occur at precise times in programming and can synchronize the
`operation of receiver station apparatus to the timing of
`programming transmissions. They can be conveniently
`monitored •
`In the present invention, the embedded signals contain
`digital information that may include addresses of specific
`receiver apparatus controlled by the signals and instructions
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`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 18
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`that;{dentify particular functions the signals cause
`addressed apparatus to perform.
`r/
`In programming transmissions, given signals may run
`__..-and repeat, for periods of time, continuously or at regular
`_,,r
`5 intervals. or they may run only occasionally or only once.
`They may appear in various and varying locations.
`In
`television they may appear on one line in ·the video portion
`of the transmission such as line 20 of the vertical interval,
`or on a portion of one line, or on more than one line, and
`1o they will probably lie outside the range of the television
`picture displayed on a normally tuned television set.
`In
`television and radio they may appear in a portion of the
`audio range that is not normally rendered in a form audible
`to the human ear.
`In television audio, they are likely to
`15 lie between eight and fifteen kilohertz.
`In broadcast print
`and data communications transmissions, the signals may
`accompany conventional print or data programming in the
`conventional transmission stream but will include
`instructions that receiver station apparatus are
`·20 preprogrammed to process that instruct receiver apparatus to
`separate the signals from the conventional programming and
`process them differently.
`In all cases, signals ma