From: friedman@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Noah Friedman)
Subject: [REQUEST] Looking for prior art for US Patent #4,455,025
Organization: Free Software Foundation, 675 Mass Ave. Cambridge, MA 02139
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 13:31:52 GMT

[I'm posting this announcement on behalf of the League for Programming
Freedom.  Please repost widely.]
 
A small family company in California is being sued by another company over
some electronic bingo game machines which allegedly infringe a couple of US
patents, one of which is #4,455,025 (the claims of the other patent will be
posted in another message, with a different reply-to address).  This patent
was filed for on September 11, 1981.  We are asking the net for any known
prior art earlier than this filing date (anything done afterward is of no
use).  This patent has some extremely broad claims, so probably any known
devices which are similar will help, but the closer any prior art is to the
exact patent claims, the better.  The patent claims are at the end of this
message.

The patent holder is said to have intimidated several other companies out
of the electronic bingo business.  Presently the patent holder is asking
for an injunction against the alleged infringer, which will cause them to
lose business (which they need to get revenue for fighting the lawsuit)
before the trial even begins. 
 
Please mail your prior art directly to lpf-patent-4455025@prep.ai.mit.edu.
Don't broadcast it on the net!  The reason not to tell everyone is that if
the patent holder finds out about the prior art, they may be able to
nullify it by asking for reexamination of the patent.  So send the prior
art to the LPF, and the LPF will give it to anyone who is seriously
interested in fighting the patent.

Please send prior art before the weekend of Saturday, Jan 23, if you can.
Anything sent after that will still be useful, but sending it sooner will
give the defendant more time to fight the injunction and to prepare more
adequately for the trial.

The defendants are also interested in finding expert witnesses familiar
with these sorts of electronic board games in the 1970s.  If you are
interested in helping, send mail to lpf-patent-4455025@prep.ai.mit.edu. 


Note that helping to fight this one particular lawsuit isn't going to solve
the general problem of software patents, though it will help a particular
defendant.  Stopping these sorts of lawsuits once and for all and ridding
the industry of software patents will require political action.  The LPF
encourages you to become a member.  For more information, mail
lpf@uunet.uu.net.


Patent claims for USPAT #4,455,025 below. 

    What is claimed is:

    1.  An electronic game board comprising a data input means including a 
keyboard and a remote data entry means, a data processing means including a
data storage, a data output means including a display, and data transmission
means;
    said data processing means being responsive to said data input means and
      storing in said data storage bingo card numbers and a bingo pattern 
      being played;
    said data output means being controlled by said data processing means and
      signaling the current status of a bingo game;
    said data input means inputting commands and data including called bingo 
      numbers;
    said called bingo numbers being independent of said bingo card numbers and
      said bingo pattern;
    said status being determined by said data processing means as a result of
      a mutual comparison of said called bingo numbers with said bingo card
      numbers and with said bingo pattern;
in combination with at least one tangible bingo card being played with the 
help of said electronic bingo game board; and
    said tangible bingo card bearing identification numbers and bingo numbers
      identical to said bingo card numbers stored in said data storage; and
    communication channel means operatively interconnecting remotely located
      means to said remote data entry means to deliver at least a portion of
      said commands and data from said remotely located means to said
      electronic game board via said remote data entry means.
    2.  The combination of claim 1, wherein said data input means, said data
processing means, and said data output means cooperatively provide a user of
said electronic bingo game board with a means for correcting the latest
erroneously entered data including said called bingo numbers while preserving
all the previously entered data.
    3.  The combination of claim 1, wherein said display continuously displays
as many bingo card shaped tabloids as there are bingo cards being played with 
the help of said electronic bingo game board; and said tabloids indicating
matches between said called bingo numbers and said bingo card numbers.
    4.  The combination of claim 1, wherein said bingo card numbers and said
bingo pattern stored in said data storage are derived by said data processing
means as a result of processing of said commands and data entered via said
data input means excluding said called bingo numbers.
    5.  The combination of claim 1, wherein said commands and data inputted 
via said data input means include at least one of said identification numbers.
    6.  The combination of claim 1, wherein said data input means include a 
means for reading of said tangible bingo cards.
    7.  The combination of claim 1, wherein said tangible bingo cards bear 
two equivalent sets of said identification numbers and said bingo numbers;
the first set presented in a form convenient for human perception and the
second set presented in a form convenient for machine reading.
    8.  The combination of claim 1, wherein said electronic bingo game board
has a means for aligning and retaining said tangible bingo card in a proper
working position.
    9.  The combination of claim 8, wherein said tangible bingo card overlays
said display while being in said working position.
   10.  The combination of claim 1, wherein said data processing means include
a means for generating pseudorandom bingo numbers; each of said pseudorandom
bingo numbers being generated separately in response to a command entered via
said data input means, and is being used in lieu of one of said called bingo
numbers, and is displayed, and transmitted.
   11.  The combination of claim 1, wherein said tangible bingo card is at
least partially transparent and exhibits said bingo numbers and said 
identification numbers.
   12.  The combination of claim 11, wherein said bingo card overlays said
display while in said working position.
   13.  The combination of claim 1 wherein said remotely located means 
comprises another said electronic game board functioning as a dealer's game
board.
   14.  In combination, a predetermined set of bingo cards, and an electronic
bingo game board for playing at least one bingo card out of said predetermined
set; said electronic bingo game board comprising:
    a data input means including a keyboard, a bingo card reader, and a remote
      data entry means,
    a data processing means including a storage means and a pseudorandom bingo
      numbers generating means, and
    a data output means including a display means and a data transmission means;
    said data processing means being responsive to said data input means and
      controlling said data output means based upon a number of factors relevant
      to a bingo game being played including results of comparisons between:
    bingo card numbers in said at least one bingo card, and
    called bingo numbers, and
    a bingo pattern being played; said data input means entering data 
      identifying said bingo game including:
    said bingo pattern, and
    said called bingo numbers and commands to generate pseudorandom bingo
      numbers in lieu of said called bingo numbers, and
    an alphanumerical identification number of said at least one bingo card and
      said bingo card numbers; said data output means displaying and 
      transmitting the information relevant to said bingo game including:
    a game completion message if a bingo is achieved, and
    an indication of the matches between said bingo card numbers and said called
      bingo numbers, and
    data entered via said data input means, and
    communication channel means operatively interconnecting remotely located
      means to said remote data entry means to deliver at least a portion of
      said data identifying said bingo game from said remotely located means
      to said electronic game board via said remote data entry means.
   15.  The combination of claim 14, in which said data processing means stores
and computes said bingo card numbers utilizing said pseudorandom bingo numbers
generating means including said keyboard.
   16.  The combination of claim 14 wherein said remotely located means 
comprises another said electronics game board functioning as a dealer's game
board.


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