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UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
____________
Unified Patents Inc.,
Petitioner
v.
III Holdings 1, LLC
Patent Owner
IPR2015-____
Patent 7,702,781
____________
PETITION FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
Mail Stop PATENT BOARD, PTABCommissioner for PatentsP.O. Box 1450Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
II. MANDATORY NOTICES ............................................................................. 2
A. Real Party-in-Interest ............................................................................ 2
B. Related Matters ...................................................................................... 4
C. Identification of Lead and Back-Up Counsel........................................ 4
D. Service Information ............................................................................... 4
III. PAYMENT OF FEES ..................................................................................... 4
IV. REQUIREMENTS FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW ...................................... 4
A. Grounds for Standing ............................................................................ 4
B. Statement of Precise Relief Requested (37 C.F.R. 42.22(a))and Identification of Challenges (37 C.F.R. 42.104(b)) .................... 5
1. Ground .............................................................................................. 5
2. Citations to Exs. 1002-1005 ............................................................. 5
C. How the Construed Claims are Unpatentable under theStatutory Grounds identified in 37 C.F.R. 42.104(b)(2) andSupporting Evidence Relied upon to Support the Challenge ................ 6
D. Threshold Showing of Reasonable Likelihood That PetitionerWould Prevail With Respect To At Least One ChallengedClaim (35 U.S.C. 314(a)) Has Been Met ........................................... 6
V. FACTUAL BACKGROUND .......................................................................... 7
A. Declaration Evidence ............................................................................ 7
B. The State of the Art as of 2006 ............................................................. 8
C. The Challenged 781 Patent ................................................................ 12
VI. CLAIM CONSTRUCTION (37 C.F.R. 42.104(B)(3)) .............................. 14
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A. Support for claim construction ............................................................ 15
VII. THE GROUNDS SHOWING THAT PETITIONER HAS AREASONABLE LIKELIHOOD OF PREVAILING .................................... 20
A. The Prior Art Discloses Each Claimed Feature And One OfOrdinary Skill Would Be Led To Form This Combination ................ 20
1. Reasons to Combine Exs. 1002-1005. ........................................... 20
2. Prior Art Analysis .......................................................................... 24
3. The WS_FTP References (Exhibits 1002-1004) Disclose AnEquivalent To Claim 38s Means For Receiving AndMeans For Storing Elements ...................................................... 27
4. The Prior Art Was Publicly Available Before March 3, 2005 ....... 30
B. Element-By-Element Analysis Of Challenged Claims ....................... 30
[1a] 1. A method comprising: ................................................... 30
[1b] receiving by at least one computer, at a client deviceof a first entity, a selection by a user of a store ascommand at a graphical user interface (GUI)executing on said client device, the first entity beingat least one of an individual, the user, or a company; ......... 31
[1c] receiving by the at least one computer a selection ofa data file on said client device by the user for transferacross a network for storage at a remote storagefacility of a second entity, the user having anassociated login account with the second entity, thesecond entity being at least one of a network service
provider or an internet service provider (ISP); .................... 33
[1d] prompting by the at least one computer the user for afile name for said data file at said GUI; ............................... 34
[1e] associating by the at least one computer said filename with said data file; ...................................................... 35
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[1f] receiving by the at least one computer a parameterselection at said GUI, said parameter selectioncoupled to said account and coupled to a service levelagreement (SLA) between the first entity and thesecond entity, said parameter selection comprising ascheduled transfer time, an encryption selection, andat least one of: ...................................................................... 36
[1i] a compression level; or ....................................................... 41
[1j] a security level: .................................................................. 41
[1k] applying by the at least one computer said parameterselection to said data file;..................................................... 42
[1l] identifying by the at least one computer said SLA; ........... 43
[1m] determining by the at least one computer whether totransfer said data file based on enforcing said SLA; ........... 43
[1n] queuing, if transfer is determined to be permitted, bythe at least one computer said data file in a queue forscheduled upload transmission to said remote storagefacility of the second entity at said scheduled transfertime; and ............................................................................... 44
[1o] transferring, if transfer is determined to be permitted, by the at least one computer said data fileto said remote storage facility at said transfer timeautomatically without user interaction based on said
parameter selection. ............................................................. 45
[3a] 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein saidselection of at least one of said store as command orsaid data file comprises dragging and dropping of said
data file to an icon on said GUI. .......................................... 45
[4a] 4. The method according to claim 1, ................................. 46
[4b] wherein said SLA indicates a maximum size of datasaid first entity is permitted to store at said remotestorage facility. ..................................................................... 46
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[5a] 5. The method according to claim 1, ................................. 46
[5b] wherein said step of transferring said data filefurther comprises encrypting by the at least onecomputer said data file according to at least one ofsaid encryption level or said security level. ......................... 46
[6a] 6. The method according to claim 1, ................................. 47
[6b] wherein said step of transferring said data filefurther comprises at least one of compressing by the atleast one computer said data file according to saidcompression level or transferring said data filewherein said data file was previously compressed,wherein said compression comprises at least one ofMPEG, JPEG, TIFF, and/or PDF. ....................................... 47
[7a] 7. The method according to claim 1, ................................. 47
[7b] wherein said step of transferring said data filefurther comprises initiating by the at least onecomputer a connection over said network. .......................... 47
[8a] 8. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: .......................................................................... 48
[8b] receiving by the at least one computer a requestfrom the user to retrieve said data file from saidremote storage facility; ........................................................ 48
[8c] initiating by the at least one computer anauthentication sequence between said client deviceand said remote storage facility; and ................................... 48
[8d] receiving by the at least one computer said data file
from said remote storage facility to said client device. ....... 49 [9a] 9. The method according to claim 1, further
comprising: .......................................................................... 49
[9b] receiving by the at least one computer a searchrequest from the user for said remote storage facility; ........ 49
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[9c] initiating by the at least one computer a userauthentication sequence; ...................................................... 49
[9d] providing by the at least one computer a prompt tosaid user; .............................................................................. 50
[9e] receiving by the at least one computer search termsfrom said user; and ............................................................... 50
[9f] receiving by the at least one computer a results list ofone or more data files corresponding to said searchterms. .................................................................................... 50
[10a] 10. The method according to claim 9, furthercomprising............................................................................ 50
[10b] providing by the at least one computer said resultslist of one or more data files to said user ............................. 50
[11a] 11. The method according to claim 9, ............................. 50
[11b] wherein said results list of one or more data files isgenerated in response to the user entering at least oneof a date, a word, a letter sequence, a numbersequence, and/or a letter and number sequence at said
client device. ........................................................................ 51 [16a] 16. The method according to claim 1, further
comprising: .......................................................................... 51
[16b] providing by the at least one computer a request tosaid remote storage facility; ................................................. 51
[16c] initiating by the at least one computer anauthentication sequence; and ............................................... 51
[16d] authenticating the user by the at least onecomputer. ............................................................................. 52
[17a] 17. The method according to claim 16, whereinsaid step of initiating an authentication sequencefurther comprises: ................................................................ 52
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[17b] receiving by the at least one computeridentification information from the user; and ...................... 52
[17c] providing by the at least one computer saididentification information for comparison with storedidentification information. ................................................... 52
[21a] 21. A method comprising: ............................................... 52
[21b] receiving by at least one computer at a storagefacility service provider of a first entity, a scheduledupload transmission of a data file, ....................................... 52
[21c] based on a parameter selection, from a remoteclient device ofa second entity resulting from a
store as request from a user, ................................................ 53
[21d] the user having an account associated with the firstentity, ................................................................................... 53
[21e] the scheduled upload transmission determined to be permitted based on enforcement of an identifiedservice level agreement (SLA) between the first entityand the second entity, ........................................................... 53
[21f] the storage facility and the remote client devicecoupled to one another via at least one of: a networkservice provider or an internet service provider (ISP), ........ 54
[21g] the second entity being at least one of anindividual, the user, or a company, ...................................... 54
[21h] wherein said parameter selection is coupled to saidaccount and coupled to the SLA, ......................................... 54
[21i] wherein said parameter selection comprises ascheduled transfer time, an encryption selection and atleast one of: .......................................................................... 54
[21l] a compression level; or ..................................................... 54
[21m] a security level; and ........................................................ 54
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[21n] storing by the at least one computer said data fileon a storage device of said storage facility service
provider based on said parameter selection. ........................ 54
[23a] 23. The method according to claim 21, ........................... 55
[23b] wherein said SLA indicates a maximum size ofdata said second entity is permitted to store at saidstorage facility service provider. .......................................... 55
[26a] 26. The method according to claim 21 ............................ 55
[26b] wherein said receiving further comprises at leastone of compressing said data file according to saidcompression level or receiving said data file wherein
said data file was previously compressed, whereinsaid compression comprises at least one of MPEG,JPEG, TIFF, PDF, an audio format compression, avideo format compression or a data formatcompression. ........................................................................ 56
[27a] 27. The method according to claim 21, furthercomprising: .......................................................................... 56
[27b] receiving by the at least one computer a request at
said storage facility service provider to retrieve saiddata file; ............................................................................... 56
[27c] initiating by the at least one computer anauthentication sequence between said client deviceand said storage facility service provider; and .................... 56
[27d] transferring by the at least one computer said datafile from said storage facility service provider to saidclient device. ........................................................................ 57
[28a] 28. The method according to claim 21, furthercomprising: .......................................................................... 57
[28b] receiving by the at least one computer a searchrequest at said storage facility service provider; ................. 57
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[28c] initiating by the at least one computer a userauthentication sequence; ...................................................... 57
[28d] providing by the at least one computer a prompt tosaid client device; ................................................................. 57
[28e] receiving by the at least one computer search termsfrom said client device; and ................................................. 57
[28f] generating by the at least one computer a results listof one or more data files corresponding to said searchterms. .................................................................................... 58
[29a] 29. The method according to claim 28, furthercomprising............................................................................ 58
[29b] providing by the at least one computer said resultslist of one or more data files to said client device. .............. 58
[30a] 30. The method according to claim 28, ........................... 58
[30b] wherein said results list of one or more data files isgenerated in response to the user entering at least oneof a date, a word, a letter sequence, a numbersequence, and/or a letter and number sequence at said
client device. ........................................................................ 58 [35a] 35. The method according to claim 21, further
comprising: .......................................................................... 59
[35b] receiving by the at least one computer a request atsaid storage facility service provider; .................................. 59
[35c] initiating by the at least one computer anauthentication sequence; and ............................................... 59
[35d] authenticating by the at least one computer theuser. ...................................................................................... 60
Claim 38 .................................................................................... 60
VIII. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 60
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I. INTRODUCTION
Pursuant to the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 311-319, Unified Patents Inc.,
(Unified or Petitioner) hereby petitions the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to
institute inter partes review of claims 1, 3-11, 16, 17, 21, 23, 26-30, 35, and 38 of
U.S. Patent No. 7,702,781 to Devolites (the 781 Patent, Ex. 1001).
In short, the 781 Patent describes a method for transferring a data file from
a client to a remote storage facility. The client may specify a parameter, such as a
transfer time, so that the data file is transferred at the requested transfer time.
Additionally, the client may identify a service level agreement (SLA) that may
specify, for example, the amount of storage available to the client and that may be
used to verify that the client may send the file successfully. Ex. 1001, Abstract;
7:19-29.
The prior art relied upon hereinwhich was not before the Examiner
demonstrates that such features were well known before March 3, 2005, one year
before the 781 Patents earliest priority date. Three references that describe the
WS_FTP file transfer system and one document that describes an extension to the
WebDAV standard render obvious each of the challenged claims. None of the
challenged claims recite anything more than subject matter that was both well-
known and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
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II. MANDATORY NOTICES
Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 42.8(a)(1), Unified Patents provides the following
mandatory disclosures.
A. Real Party-in-Interest
Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 42.8(b)(1), Petitioner certifies that Unified Patents is
the real party-in-interest, and further certifies that no other party exercised control
or could exercise control over Unified Patents participation in this proceeding, the
filing of this petition, or the conduct of any ensuing trial.
Unified Patents was founded by intellectual property professionals over
concerns with the increasing risk of non-practicing entities (NPEs) asserting poor
quality patents against strategic technologies and industries. The founders thus
created a first-of-its-kind company whose sole purpose is to deter NPE litigation
by protecting technology sectors, like cloud storage, the technology area of the
781 Patent. Companies in a technology sector subscribe to Unifieds technology
specific deterrence, and in turn, Unified performs many NPE-deterrent activities,
such as analyzing the technology sector, monitoring patent activity (including
patent ownership and sales, NPE demand letters and litigation, and industry
companies), conducting prior art research and invalidity analysis, providing a
range of NPE advisory services to its subscribers, sometimes acquiring patents, and
sometimes challenging patents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office
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(USPTO). Since its founding, Unified is 100% owned by its employees;
subscribers have absolutely no ownership interest.
Unified has sole and absolute discretion over its decision to contest patents
through the USPTOs post-grant proceedings. Should Unified decide to challenge
a patent in a post-grant proceeding, it controls every aspect of such a challenge,
including controlling which patent and claims to challenge, which prior art to apply
and the grounds raised in the challenge, and when to bring any challenge.
Subscribers receive no prior notice of Unifieds patent challenges. After filing a
post-grant proceeding, Unified retains sole and absolute discretion and control over
all strategy decisions (including any decision to continue or terminate Unifieds
participation). Unified is also solely responsible for paying for the preparation,
filing, and prosecution of any post-grant proceeding, including any expenses
associated with the proceeding.
In the instant proceeding, Unified exercised its sole discretion and control in
deciding to file this petition against the 781 patent, including paying for all fees
and expenses. Unified shall exercise sole and absolute control and discretion of
the continued prosecution of this proceeding (including any decision to terminate
Unifieds participation) and shall bear all subsequent costs related to this
proceeding. Unified is therefore the sole real-party-in-interest in this proceeding.
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B. Related Matters
The 781 Patent has not been asserted in any litigations.
C. Identification of Lead and Back-Up Counsel
Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 42.8(b)(3), Petitioner provides the following
designation of counsel: Lead counsel is Michael L. Kiklis (Reg. No. 38,939) and
back-up counsel is Scott A. McKeown (Reg. No. 42,866).
D. Service Information
Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 42.8(b)(4), papers concerning this matter should be
served on the following:
Address: Michael L. KiklisOblon Spivak1940 Duke StreetAlexandria, VA 22314
Email: [email protected] Telephone: (703) 413-2707/(703)413-3000 (main)Fax: (703) 413-2220
III. PAYMENT OF FEES
The undersigned authorizes the Office to charge the required fees as well as
any additional fees that might be due to Deposit Account No. 15-0030.
IV. REQUIREMENTS FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
As set forth below and pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 42.104, each requirement for
inter partes review of the 781 patent is satisfied.
A. Grounds for Standing
Petitioner certifies pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 42.104(a) that the 781 Patent is
available for inter partes review and that Petitioner is not barred or estopped from
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requesting inter partes review challenging the patent claims on the grounds
identified herein.
B. Statement of Precise Relief Requested (37 C.F.R. 42.22(a)) andIdentification of Challenges (37 C.F.R. 42.104(b))
Petitioner requests inter partes review and cancellation of claims 1, 3-11, 16,
17, 21, 23, 26-30, 35, and 38 of the 781 Patent as being obvious under 35 U.S.C.
103 in view of the following printed publications, each of which is prior art
pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b):
i. WS_FTP Pro Users Guide, Software Version 8.0, Ipswitch, Inc.,
Lexington, MA, May 2003 (WSFTP8)(Ex. 1002);
ii. Ipswitch WS_FTP Professional Security Guide, Software Version 9.0,
Ipswitch, Inc., Lexington, MA, June 2004 (WSFTP9SEC)(Ex.
1003);
iii. Ipswitch WS_FTP Server Users Guide, Software Version 5.0, Ipswitch,
Inc., Lexington, MA, May 2004 (WSFTPSRV5)(Ex. 1004); and
iv. Quota and Size Properties for DAV Collections, draft-itef-webdav-
quota-06, February 2005. Available from:
https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-webdav-quota-06 (WebDAV
Quota)(Ex. 1005).
1. Ground
Claims 1, 3-11, 16, 17, 21, 23, 26-30, 35, and 38 are challenged under 35
U.S.C. 103 as being obvious in view of WSFTP8, WSFTP9SEC, WSFTPSRV5,
and WebDAV Quota (Exs. 1002-1005).
2. Citations to Exs. 1002-1005
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All citations to Exs. 1002-1005s page numbers are to each documents
internal page numbers, which sometimes differs from the exhibits page number.
C. How the Construed Claims are Unpatentable under the StatutoryGrounds identified in 37 C.F.R. 42.104(b)(2) and SupportingEvidence Relied upon to Support the Challenge
The challenged claims are to be construed as indicated in Section VI, below.
Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 42.104(b)(4), an explanation of how the challenged claims
are unpatentable under the statutory grounds identified above, including the
identification of where each element of the claim is found in the prior art, is
provided in Section VII, below, in the form of an analysis. Pursuant to 37 C.F.R.
42.104(b)(5), the appendix numbers of the supporting evidence relied upon to
support the challenges and the relevance of the evidence to the challenges raised,
including identifying specific portions of the evidence that support the challenges,
are provided in Section VII, below, in the form of an analysis.
D. Threshold Showing of Reasonable Likelihood That PetitionerWould Prevail With Respect To At Least One Challenged Claim(35 U.S.C. 314(a)) Has Been Met
Information presented in this Petition, including the unpatentability ground
detailed in Section VII, below, establishes a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner
will prevail with respect to at least one of the challenged claims. See 35 U.S.C.
314(a). Indeed, that section, supported by the Hutchinson declaration (Ex. 1006)
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demonstrates how the challenged claims are obvious in view of the relied upon
prior art.
V. FACTUAL BACKGROUNDA. Declaration Evidence
This Petition is supported by the declaration of Professor Norman
Hutchinson, Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia (attached as Ex. 1006).
Dr. Hutchinson offers his opinion with respect to the skill level of one of ordinary
skill in the art (Ex. 1006, 19-20), the content and state of the prior art (Ex. 1006,
21-30), claim construction (Ex. 1006, 15), the teachings and suggestions that
one of ordinary skill would understand based on WSFTP8, WSFTP9SEC,
WSFTPSRV5, and WebDAV Quota (Ex. 1006, pp. 24-90), the reasons for
combining the teachings from WSFTP8, WSFTP9SEC, WSFTPSRV5, and
WebDAV Quota (Ex, 1006, 31-36), and the manner in which one of ordinary
skill would combine those teachings (Ex. 1006, pp. 24-90). Dr. Hutchinson is an
Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia.
He has over twenty-five years of experience in distributed systems and has written
and lectured extensively on this topic. See Ex. 1006 .
This petition is also supported by a declaration from Ms. Jodi Gregory. Ms.
Gregory authenticates Exs. 1002-1005 and testifies that such exhibits were publicly
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available before March 3, 2005, one year before the earliest priority date of the
781 Patent. See Ex. 1007.
B. The State of the Art as of 2006As Dr. Hutchinson testifies, the elements of the challenged claims were well
known to those of ordinary skill in the art in the area of networked or distributed
file systems more than one year before the earliest priority date of the 781 Patent.
By the late 1980s and early 1990s, networks of individual computers had become
pervasive. Many systems were designed and deployed to take advantage of the
trend towards cheaper and more powerful computers that could be connected to a
communication network. Examples include LOCUS at UCLA and Cedar at
XEROX PARC in the early 1980s, the Network File System (NFS) developed by
Sun, the Andrew File System (AFS) developed at CMU, the Sprite networked
operating system developed at UC Berkeley, the Amoeba distributed operating
system developed at the Vrije University in the Netherlands, and many others. Ex.
1006, 21.
The systems listed above included a network file server, which could be
accessed via the network to which all the computers were connected. These
network file servers provided the ability for individual client computers to share
data with other computers by reading and writing files from the network file
server. Ex. 1006, 22.
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From this, Dr. Hutchinson concludes that information storage systems
accessible via a communication network by a collection of client computers were
well known at the time of the 781 Patent. Further, less integrated systems had
been developed in which users used standard network protocols to store and
retrieve files on shared file systems. Among the earliest uses of the Internet were
remote access to computers at other sites (Telnet) and sharing files between users
at different sites (FTP). The FTP protocol was specified originally in 1980 and
was updated in 1985. Since its inception, FTP has included the fundamental
features of the 781 Patent. Users of FTP client programs provide the credentials
necessary to access the desired server system, specify a number of parameters
controlling encryption, compression, and encoding of the data files, and can both
send files to and retrieve files from a file server. Over the decades, a number of
implementations of the protocol (both clients and servers) have been made
available both for free and for profit. FTP client and server programs have been
included in standard distributions of many flavors of the Unix and Linux operating
systems since the publishing of the protocol in 1985. Ex. 1006, 23.
By March 2005, there were a vast array of programs available for the
Windows, MacOS, and Linux operating systems that increased the ease with which
users could use the FTP protocol to transfer files between their client computers
and server computers. These programs include Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs)
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where users could use a number of interaction techniques including store as
menu selections as well as dragging-and-dropping to indicate the files they wished
to transfer either to or from file servers. One of the features that these many
graphical client programs added to the underlying FTP protocol was the ability to
schedule the transfer of files at a time in the future (where the underlying protocol
does not have this functionality). Examples of such programs include CuteFTP,
SmartFTP, FlashFXP, WS_FTP, WinSCP, Transmit, and FileZilla. Ex. 1006, 24.
WebDAV is another example of an Internet standard that supports clients
that access storage services across the network. From the very beginning of the
development of the World Wide Web, it was seen by its inventors as a medium for
both reading and writing information that was available remotely. In 1996 at a
World Wide Web Consortium meeting in San Mateo, California, the idea of a
standard that would allow users to author web documents in a distributed manner
was discussed. This led to the development of the WebDAV (Distributed
Authoring and Versioning on the Web) protocol standard, RFC 2518, which was
initially published in February 1999. The WebDAV standard specifies operations
that can be performed on remote files and collections of files to allow multiple
authors to cooperatively edit shared files. Ex. 1006, 25.
A number of implementations of the server side of the standard were soon
available, including Microsofts web server IIS (Internet Information Services) and
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the popular Apache web server. Client implementations were also widely
available as extensions to the file system in Microsoft Windows, Apple MacOS,
and Linux. Stand-alone client applications were also developed, including
applications that can use both the FTP and WebDAV protocol to access files on
remote storage services. Ex. 1006, 26.
Soon after the initial specification and implementation of the WebDAV
standard, a number of extensions were considered, among them a proposal to
support quota and size properties for collections (i.e., folders or directories which
may contain other files and collections). This standardization effort published its
first draft in October 2002. This draft went through a number of relatively small
changes over the next 4 years, with the penultimate draft in February of 2005, the
ultimate draft in April 2005, and the publishing of the proposed standard in
February 2006. This extension allows clients to access information concerning the
space available to them on the server to enhance[s] the client experience, because
the client has a chance of managing its files to avoid running out of allocated
storage space. Ex. 1006, 27.
Dr. Hutchinson relies upon three published documents that describe the
WS_FTP application in his declaration: WSFTP8 (Ex. 1002), WSFTP9SEC (Ex.
1003), and WSFTPSRV5 (Ex. 1004). The WS_FTP application consists of two
primary components: a client program known as WS_FTP Professional (or
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WS_FTP Pro), and a server program known as WS_FTP Server. The WSFTP8
and WSFTP9SEC documents describe the client program and the WSFTPSRV5
document describes the server program. While the programs are of use
individually, a complete system where users store and retrieve files from file
servers would use both the client and server components. The client program has
been available since at least 1996 (the first edition of the Users Guide is dated
May 1996), and the server since 2000 (the first edition of the Server Users Guide
is dated September 2000). These client and server application programs included
many of the features found in the 781 Patent. Ex. 1006, 28.
The nature of the interaction between the client wishing to store and retrieve
files from a remote storage service and the server which implements that service is
very similar whether the client uses the FTP or WebDAV protocol to communicate
with the server. In every case, the client must identify itself to the server using
some authentication scheme, and then send requests to the server to either store or
retrieve files. When files are being communicated between the client and the
server, a number of parameters control the nature of that communication. In FTP,
the files can be sent in a number of modes: ASCII, Binary, and Compressed.
Further the files can be encrypted using a number of different technologies
including SSL, SSH, and PGP. Ex. 1006, 29.
C. The Challenged 781 Patent
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The 781 Patent describes a system for remotely storing data files, and more
particularly a client application of a remote storage facility that is capable of
transferring data files to and from a remote storage facility across a network. The
client of the remote storage facility may use a number of interaction techniques to
identify a file to be stored at the remote storage facility or retrieved from the
remote storage facility. Additionally, the client may allow the user to select a
number of parameters that influence how the data file is transferred to the remote
storage facility. These parameters may be related to how the data file should be
retained at the remote storage facility, indexing of the contents of the data file,
compression of the data file, encryption of the data file, or the timing of the
transfer of the data file to the remote storage facility. When the data file is to be
transferred, the client may consult a service level agreement (SLA) between the
client and the storage facility to determine whether and how to transfer the file.
The client may also retrieve previously stored data files. The 781 Patent further
describes the remote storage facility and the steps that it takes to interact with the
client to accomplish the aims of the user using the client application. All of the
features of the challenged claims were well known for years before the earliest
priority date of the 781 patent. Ex. 1006, 14.
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VI. CLAIM CONSTRUCTION (37 C.F.R. 42.104(B)(3))
Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 42.204(b)(3), the claims subject to inter partes review
shall receive the broadest reasonable construction in light of the specification of
the patent in which [they] appear[]. See 42 C.F.R. 100(b). For the purposes of
this petition, the Petitioner adopts the plain meaning for all claim terms. The
Petitioner proposes a specific construction for one claim term and two means-plus-
function claim elements:
Claim Term Proposed constructionService Level Agreement(SLA) (claims 1, 4, 21,23, 38)
Any information accessible to the client applicationthat may permit or prevent the transfer of a data file
Means for receiving(claim 38)
Function: receiving by at least one computer at astorage facility service provider of a first entity, ascheduled upload transmission of a data file, basedon a parameter selection, from a remote client
device of second entity resulting from a store asrequest from a userStructure: software code in the memory of acomputer at a storage facility service provider that,when executed by the computer processor, receivesa data file over a network connection that may bewired or wireless and run by an NSP or an ISP
Means for storing (claim38)
Function: storing by the at least one computer saiddata file on a storage device of said storage facilityservice provider based on said parameter selectionStructure: software code in the memory of acomputer that, when executed by the computer
processor, stores the data file on some storagedevice based on a parameter selection
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A. Support for claim constructionService Level Agreement (SLA) (claims 1, 4, 21, 23, 38) - The term Service
Level Agreement (abbreviated SLA) appears in independent claims 1, 21, 38 as
well as dependent claims 4 and 23. The Specification discloses that the SLA is a
broad concept:
[M]ay include, e.g., but not limited to, an agreement that may indicate
the amount of bandwidth available to the user, the number of data
files a user may be allowed to transfer to the remote storage facility
106, the maximum size and/or amount of storage available to a user
for storing data files, the amount of storage available and/or used by
the user, and/or other data transmission or storage agreements, as will
be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Ex. 1001, at 7:21-29; 2:1-3.
The patent further discloses that the purpose of the SLA is that it may permit or
prevent the transfer and/or storage of the data file:
The SLA may permit transfer and/or storage of the data file, or may
prevent the transfer if transferring the data file would violate the SLA.
Ex. 1001, at 7:29-32.
Claim 4 specifically restricts the term SLA to indicating a maximum size of data
that the first entity is permitted to store at the remote storage facility. Ex. 1001, at
cl. 4. The doctrine of claim differentiation dictates that SLA should be interpreted
to include not only maximum data size, but also other permissions or restrictions as
well. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the broadest reasonable
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interpretation of this term is therefore any information accessible to the client
application that may permit or prevent the transfer of a data file. Ex. 1006, 15.
Means for receiving (claim 38) This claim element is a means-plus-function
claim element. The function follows: receiving by at least one computer at a
storage facility service provider of a first entity, a scheduled upload transmission of
a data file, based on a parameter selection, from a remote client device of second
entity resulting from a store as request from a user. This claim specifically states
that the storage facility is coupled to the client device via at least one of a network
service provider (NSP) or an internet service provider (ISP). The patent describes
at various locations the means for receiving a request from the client computer by
the remote storage facility:
The remote storage facility 106 may be coupled to the network 104
through a connection 112. The connection 112 may be a wired and/or
wireless connection to the network 104. The client 102, the
connection 110, the network 104, the connection 112, and the remote
storage facility 106 may permit the transfer of data files between the
client 102 and the remote storage facility 106. Ex. 1001, at 4:60-65.
In 312, the transmission software application 212 of the client 102
may initiate a connection with the remote storage facility 106 across
the network 104 at the transfer time. Alternatively, the connection
may already be setup and the transfer for may commence according to
the parameter selection of 308. Once the connection is setup, the
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transmission software application 212 may transfer the data file from
the queue to the network 104 for transport to the remote storage
facility 106. From 312, flow diagram 300 may continue with 314.
In 314, the remote storage facility 106 may receive and store the data
file. Ex. 1001, at 7:34-44; see also Fig. 3.
At a client, a user selection of a "store as" command may be received
at a graphical user interface (GUI) application program from a user
selecting a data file for transfer across a network for storage at a
remote storage facility. Ex. 1001, at 4:2-6; see also 4:24-29; 3:5-9
This structure is very general. The patent discloses only that the remote storage
facility may be coupled to the network via a connection that may be wired or
wireless. All communication with the remote storage facility is accomplished via
this network connection. Based on this description, one of ordinary skill would
understand that the structure that corresponds to the claimed function is software
code in the memory of a computer at a storage facility service provider that, when
executed by the computer processor, receives a data file over a network connection
that may be wired or wireless and run by an NSP or an ISP. Ex. 1006, 15.
The 781 Patent describes the way in which the means for receiving
function works relative to Fig. 3. Ex. 1001, at 5:54-7:60; Fig 3. One of ordinary
skill in the art would therefore understand that the way in which the means for
receiving is performed is that software executed by a processor and residing in the
memory of a computer at a storage facility service provider receives a scheduled
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upload transmission of a data file over a wired or wireless network run by an NSP
or ISP based on a parameter selection responsive to a store as request. The result
of the means for receiving claim element is that a data file is received by the
remote storage facility. Ex. 1006, 15.
Means for storing (claim 38) : The function for this limitation follows: storing
by the at least one computer said data file on a storage device of said storage
facility service provider based on said parameter selection. The patent describes
the means for storing by the remote storage facility of the data file as follows:
In a further alternative embodiment, the fee may be charged to a
network service provider. The RSF 106 in an exemplary embodiment
may include, e.g., but not limited to, a secure storage facility including
physical and information security, may include any of a number of
well-known conventional technologies including, raised floor, rack-
mounted, redundant, RAID or mirrored, fault tolerant, mass storage
system, which may include, e.g., but not limited to, webservers,
application servers, database servers, traffic balancing technologies,
archival technologies, public/private key encryption, security and
cryptography devices, authentication services, and search engine
servers, etc. Ex. 1001, at 5:21-31.
See also Ex. 1001, at 5:1-8; 7:43-44; step 314 in Fig. 3; 7:50-55. One of ordinary
skill in the art would understand that the structure described by the patent is very
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general because the remote storage facility may include any kind of computers and
networks and any kind of storage devices:
[S]torage device 510 (which may include a read only memory (ROM),a hard disk, a flash memory or other non-volatile memory, a
redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID), a storage area network
(SAN), a direct access storage device (DASD), and/or small computer
system interface (SCSI) or other storage subsystem controller-
controlled storage device) Ex. 1001, at 10:35-45.
Based on this description, one of ordinary skill would understand that the structure
that corresponds to the claimed function is software code in the memory of a
computer that, when executed by the computer processor, stores the data file on
some storage device based on a parameter selection. The parameter selection
includes (per the wherein clause in the claim) a scheduled transfer time, an
encryption selection and at least one of (1) an administrative parameter, (2)
indexing information, (3) a compression level, or (4) a security level. Ex. 1006,
15.
The 781 Patent is essentially silent on the way in which the means for
storing function is accomplished. One of ordinary skill would therefore
understand that any way of storing a data file into a storage device is substantially
the same as the (unspecified) way that the 781 Patent stores a data file as long as it
is based on a parameter selection as defined in the claim. The result of the means
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for storing claim element is that a data file is stored by the remote storage facility.
Ex. 1006, 15.
VII. THE GROUNDS SHOWING THAT PETITIONER HAS AREASONABLE LIKELIHOOD OF PREVAILING
A. The Prior Art Discloses Each Claimed Feature And One OfOrdinary Skill Would Be Led To Form This Combination
1. Reasons to Combine Exs. 1002-1005.Dr. Hutchinsons prior art analysis relies upon three published references
describing the WS_FTP Professional FTP client application and WS_FTP Server
application and one published document describing the WebDAV extensions
supporting quotas to demonstrate that the challenged claims are obvious. All three
of the WS_FTP publications describe members of the WS_FTP family of products
produced by the same company, Ipswitch, Inc. Anyone investigating remote
storage facilities accessed via a network who was aware of one of the WS_FTP
applications would have been aware of the other products sold by the same
company that are used in the same general problem domain. Ex. 1006, 31.
The WS_FTP Professional client application is described in the WSFTP8
(Ex. 1002) and WSFTP9SEC (Ex. 1003) documents. One of ordinary skill would
combine these two references because they describe the same application program,although different versions. One of ordinary skill would understand that the
features available in version 8 of the application would all still be available in the
next version, version 9, of the application. Both versions 8 and 9 of the WS_FTP
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Professional application were available before the critical date of March 3, 2005.
One of the primary features added in WS_FTP Professional version 9 was support
for PGP data file encryption. For ease of reference, this petition will refer to the
WS_FTP Professional client as including both the WSFTP8 (Ex. 1002) and
WSFTP9SEC (Ex. 1003) documents. Ex. 1006, 32.
The WS_FTP Server application is described in the WSFTPSRV5 (Ex.
1004) document. One of ordinary skill would combine this reference with the two
references that describe the WS_FTP Professional client application because the
server application complements the client application to provide a complete FTP
system. One wishing to implement a complete remote storage service including
both client and server would naturally be led to and consider the complementary
applications provided by a single vendor. Ex. 1006, 33.
The WebDAV quota and size properties for DAV collections are described
in the WebDAVQuota (Ex. 1005) document. One of ordinary skill would combine
this reference with the references that describe the WS_FTP Professional and
WS_FTP Server applications because one of ordinary skill would be aware of both
the FTP protocol and the WebDAV protocol as they are directed to the same
problem: data transfer. Further, one of ordinary skill would be aware that these
two protocols provided very similar functionality: Both protocols allow clients to
store and retrieve files from storage services over the network. Both protocols
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require users using a client application to authenticate themselves to the server
before accessing files. One of ordinary skill would further see that the extensions
to WebDAV that define quota and size properties for DAV collections allows the
user experience to be enhanced by allowing the user to manage its files to avoid
running out of allocated storage space and would consider it to be a desirable
feature of the WS_FTP product. In fact, adding this feature to the WS_FTP
product is a predictable variation that is well within the skill level of one of
ordinary skill in the art. Ex. 1006, 34.
The problem of running out of allocated storage space was an age-old
problem that users had to face well before March 2005. This problem has an
extremely limited number of solutions: (1) the client can attempt the file transfer
knowing that it may fail or (2) the client may check with the server to ensure the
transfer will be successful before it is attempted. Both solutions are highly
predictable and one of ordinary skill in the art would have a reasonable expectation
of success. The WS_FTP Server application follows the first approach. The
WS_FTP Server application allows the storage service administrator to specify
global quotas for files, disk space, and bandwidth, or quotas for an individual user.
Ex. 1004, pp. 37-38. The establishment of quotas forms a Service Level
Agreement (SLA) between the user and the service. Requests from clients to store
files on the server that attempted to exceed these quotas would fail, but that failure
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would not be detected until after the request was attempted and the complete
contents of the file had been transferred to the server. This would expend needless
processing time and network resources and increase network congestion because
the file transfer is attempted even though it will ultimately fail. Ex. 1006, 35.
One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that a much more efficient
waythe second approachis to check the available space on the server before
attempting the file transfer. This more efficient alternative of enforcing restrictions
on the storage space that a user could consume provides information to the client
concerning the amount of space that was available to him, allowing the client to
discover for himself that an attempt to store a large file would fail before ever
expending the computing resources to do so, thus conserving computing and
network resources and reducing network congestion. To do this, the conditions of
the SLA between the service and the user would be made available to the client
application executing on the users behalf. With access to the terms of the SLA,
the client could examine the SLA and discover for itself that an attempt to store a
file that was too large was doomed to fail. This second approach is followed by
the WebDav extensions (Ex. 1005). Ex. 1006, 35.
One skilled in the art would be aware of these two alternative ways of
enforcing quotas on the users use of the storage services resources: the FTP
technique of the client attempting to store files and discovering that one had
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exceeded ones quota by having the server return an error indication, and the
WebDAV technique of giving the client access to the SLA so that it could
determine for itself whether to attempt to store a large file. One skilled in the art
would readily see the advantage of discovering the failure early, before the entire
content of the large file had been transferred to the server, and would therefore be
motivated to combine the WebDAV technique of providing information to the
client with the FTP protocol as described in Exs. 1002-1004. Ex. 1006, 36.
2. Prior Art AnalysisThe WS_FTP Professional application discloses many of the features of the
781 Patent claims. For example:
a. It is an application with a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a
user to select a store as command, select a data file to be stored, and
select a name for the data file to be stored on a remote storage facility.
See Ex. 1002, pp. 2-3, 5-6, 25, 41.
b. It allows a number of parameters to be selected by the user that
control the manner in which the file is transferred to the remote
storage facility, including controlling when the file should be
transferred, whether and how the file has been or should be
compressed, and whether the file should be encrypted. See Ex. 1002,
pp. 17-19, 45, 47, 53, 73, 102-103; Ex. 1003, p. 15-17; Ex. 1004, pp.
37-38.
c. It is capable of initiating a network connection to the remote storage
facility, of authenticating the user, and transferring the file in a
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manner consistent with the parameters that have been specified by the
user. See Ex. 1002, pp. 17-19, 45, 47, 53, 73, 102-103.
d. It supports dragging-and-dropping as an interaction technique for
the user to indicate that a file is to be transferred to the remote storage
facility. See Ex. 1002, pp. 5-6, 25, 27.
e. It supports the user requesting that it retrieve a data file from the
remote storage facility. It then authenticates the user to the remote
storage facility, requests that the data file be sent by the remote
storage facility and receives the transmitted data file from the remote
storage facility. See Ex. 1002, pp. 3, 14.f. It supports the user requesting that it search the remote storage facility
for data files. It then gathers search terms from the user, authenticates
the user to the remote storage facility, sends the search terms and
receives the resulting list of data files from the remote storage facility,
and displays the resulting list to the user. See Ex. 1002, pp. 63-67;
Ex. 1006, 37.
The WS_FTP Server application also discloses many of the features of the
781 Patent claims. For example:
a. It is an application that implements a storage facility that can be
operated by a service provider. It receives requests to upload data
files from client applications such as the WS_FTP Professional
application. It authenticates the user using information provided bythe client application and stores the received data file on a storage
device of the storage facility. See Ex. 1004, pp. 1-2, 105.
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b. It is capable of receiving previously compressed data files including
data files compressed using the JPEG and ZIP compression
techniques. See Ex. 1004, pp. 1, 28.
c. It is capable of receiving requests to retrieve data files from client
applications, initiating an authentication sequence between the client
application and itself, and transferring the requested data file to the
client application. See Ex. 1004, p. 100, 104.
d. It is capable of receiving requests to search the storage facility, of
initiating an authentication sequence between the client application
and itself, and generating a list of data files as a result of the search. Itcan provide this list of data files to the client application. See Ex.
1004, p. 102, 105; Ex. 1006, 38.
The WebDAV Quota document combined with the WS_FTP Professional
application disclose additional claimed features. For example:
a. The combination is capable of retrieving the details of the service
level agreement (SLA) between the user and the storage facility
concerning the amount of data that the user may store in the storage
facility. See Ex. 1005, p. 3-5.
b. The combination is capable of using information from the SLA to
determine whether to permit the storing of a data file in the storage
facility. See Ex. 1005, p. 3.
The combination of the WS_FTP Pro Users Guide (Ex. 1002), the WS_FTP
Professional Security Guide (Ex. 1003), the WS_FTP Server Users Guide (Ex.
1004) and the WebDAVQuota (Ex. 1005) disclose all features of the challenged
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claims and one of ordinary skill would be strongly motivated to combine these
references as Dr. Hutchinson has done. Ex. 1006, 39.
3. The WS_FTP References (Exhibits 1002-1004) Disclose AnEquivalent To Claim 38s Means For Receiving And MeansFor Storing Elements
Exhibits 1002-1004 (the WS_FTP references) disclose an equivalent to the
means for receiving and means for storing claim elements of claim 38. See also
claims 21 and 38 in VII(B) infra .
Means for receiving : The WS_FTP references disclose the same function
as the means for receiving limitation because WS_FTP Server allows client
devices to connect to the server and upload files, where the uploaded files may
have been scheduled and the uploading is based on a parameter selection at the
client device responsive to a store as command. See Ex. 1004, pp. 1, 105; Ex.
1002, pp. 17-19, 25, 41, 45, 47, 53; Ex. 1003, pp. 15-17; see also Ex. 1004, pp.
100, 102-103. The WS_FTP references disclose the same structure as the means
for receiving limitation because the structure of WS_FTP Server is software code
in computer memory of a storage facility service provider that when executed by
the computer processor receives a data file over a network connection that is run
by an ISP. See Ex. 1004, p.1; Ex. 1002, p. 1. Moreover, the WS_FTP references
perform the claimed function in the substantially the same way as the means for
receiving limitation because WS_FTP Server is software executed by a processor
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and resident in the memory of a computer at a storage facility service provider that
receives a transmission of a data file over a network connection run by an ISP,
where the transmission of the data file may be scheduled and based on a parameter
selection and responsive to a store as request. See Ex. 1004, pp. 1, 105; Ex. 1002,
pp. 1, 17-19, 25, 41, 45, 47, 53; Ex. 1003, at 15-17; see also Ex. 1004, pp. 100,
102-103. Lastly, the WS_FTP references achieve the same result because the data
file is received by WS_FTP Server which is run at the storage facility. See Ex.
1004, pp. 1, 105; Ex. 1006, 40.
This element includes additional limitations that one of ordinary skill would
not consider to be a part of the means for receiving limitation but which are
nevertheless disclosed by the WS_FTP prior art. This limitation follows: the user
having an account associated with the first entity, the scheduled upload
transmission determined to be permitted based on enforcement of an identified
service level agreement (SLA) between the first entity and the second entity, the
storage facility and the remote client device coupled to one another via at least one
of: a network service provider or an internet service provider (ISP), the second
entity being at least one of an individual, the user, or a company. These
limitations are disclosed by the prior art because WS_FTP Server supports user
accounts and SLAs between the users and the ISP. See Ex. 1004, pp. 1-2, 105; Ex.
1006, 40.
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Means for storing : The WS_FTP references disclose the same function of
the means for storing limitation because WS_FTP Server stores files that are
uploaded in the server computers file system based on a parameter selection. See
Ex. 1004, pp. 1, 100, 105; Ex. 1002, pp. 47, 53, 73; Ex. 1003, pp. 15, 16-17; Ex.
1004, pp. 100, 102-103. The WS_FTP references disclose the same structure as
the means for storing limitation because the structure of WS_FTP Server is
software code in computer memory that when executed by the computer processor
causes the computer to store the received data file on a storage device of the server
computer based on a parameter selection. See Ex. 1004, pp. 1, 100, 105; see also
claim elements 1k and 21n in VII(B). Moreover, the WS_FTP references
perform the claimed function in the substantially the same way as the means for
receiving limitation because as described above, the 781 Patent is essentially
silent on the way in which the means for storing function is accomplished, and
therefore any way is substantially the same as that in the 781 Patent. The
WS_FTP references disclose one way that is substantially the same as the way in
which the means for storing element works because it stores the data file onto a
storage device based on a parameter selection. Ex. 1004, p. 105; Ex. 1002, pp. 47,
53, 73; Ex. 1003, pp. 15, 16-17; Ex. 1004, pp. 100, 102-103; see also elements 1k
and 21n in the below analysis and Dr. Hutchinsons claim chart. Lastly, the
WS_FTP references achieve the same result because WS_FTP Server stores the
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received data file on a storage device on the server computer which is at the remote
storage facility. See Ex. 1004, pp. 1, 100, 105. Ex. 1006, 40.
4. The Prior Art Was Publicly Available Before March 3, 2005Both Dr. Hutchinson as well as Jodi Gregory testify as to the public
availability of references 1002-1005. Ex. 1006, 41-42; Ex. 1007.
B. Element-By-Element Analysis Of Challenged ClaimsThe below analysis consists of testimony from Dr. Hutchinson (in italics) as
well as quotes from and citations to Exs. 1002-1005.
[1a] 1. A method comprising:
WSFTP8 discloses the operation of WS_FTP Pro Version 8.0, a PC
client application that allows a user to transfer files to and from a
remote FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or SFTP server on the Internet.
Ex. 1006, p. 36.
A vast store of software applications, games, images, and other types
of files are available on FTP and SFTP sites all over the world. A site
is a computer system (host) that uses an Internet protocol called
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol.)
FTP and SFTP offers fast and accurate transfers of large files or
collections of files between computers on the Internet. Ex. 1002, p. 1.
WS_FTP Pro turns your PC into a client, allowing it to communicate
with virtually all types of FTP sites. When your PC is connected to the
Internet (via a modem or local area network), WS_FTP Pro can
connect to any system that has a valid Internet Address and is running
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an FTP server program. Once connected to an FTP site, you can copy
files to and from your local PC or another FTP site. Ex. 1002, p. 2.
[1b] receiving by at least one computer, at a client device of a first entity, a
selection by a user of a store as command at a graphical user interface (GUI)executing on said client device, the first entity being at least one of anindividual, the user, or a company;
WSFTP8 discloses that WS_FTP Pro includes a graphical user
interface (GUI) that allows the user to execute a variety of commands.
Ex. 1006, p. 36.
The Classic interface is a standard Windows application that looks
similar to a two-paned window. When your PC (the Local System)
connects to an FTP server (the Remote System), the WS_FTP Pro
Classic interface displays a window with your PCs files and folders
on the left and the FTP sites files and folders on the right. With the
contents of both systems displayed, you can easily locate files on one
system and transfer them to a specific folder on the other system.
The Classic interface looks similar to this:
Ex. 1002, p. 5.
The second interface of WS_FTP Pro is the Explorer interface. The
Explorer interface uses the same software engine as the Classic
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interface, but it lets you copy and move files within a system that has
the same look and feel as Windows Explorer.
The WS_FTP Pro Explorer interface looks similar to one of the
following:
Ex. 1002, pp. 5-6.
The store as command is called upload in WS_FTP Pro and is
used to transfer a file from a local computer to an FTP Site. Ex. 1006,
p. 38.
Transferring means moving or copying files or folders between
computers. If you transfer a file from your computer (local system) to
an FTP Site (remote system) it is called an upload. Ex. 1002, p. 25.
Select a file or folder and click the Upload or Download Arrow to
transfer it.
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Ex. 1002, at 25.
Another store as command in WS_FTP Pro is Batch mode. In
Batch mode, the user first selects the batch mode command and then
selects the file or files to be transferred. Ex. 1006, pp. 38-39; Ex.
1002, p. 41.
[1c] receiving by the at least one computer a selection of a data file on saidclient device by the user for transfer across a network for storage at a remotestorage facility of a second entity, the user having an associated login accountwith the second entity, the second entity being at least one of a network serviceprovider or an internet service provider (ISP);
Receiving . . . a selection . . . for storage at a remote storage facility ofa second entity
WSFTP8 discloses selecting a data file for transfer to a remote FTP
site across the Internet. Ex. 1006, p. 39; see [1b].
The user having an associated login account with the second entity
WSFTP8 discloses a user having an associated login account.
WSFTP8 discloses supplying a user ID and password to log onto an
FTP site. Ex. 1006, p. 39.
The FTP process begins when a connection is made between an FTP
client and an FTP site. After establishing communication, the clientlogs on with a user ID and password. The user ID and password
identify you to the site.
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Ex. 1002, p. 3.
WSFTP8 discloses configuring a Site Profile including a User ID and
Password. Selecting a configured site and pressing the Connect
button causes WS_FTP to connect to the site by logging in using the
configured User ID and Password. Ex. 1006, p. 40; Ex. 1002, pp. 11-
12.
The second entity being . . . an internet service provider (ISP)
WSFTP8 discloses that the second entity, the provider of the remote
storage facility, may be an ISP (Internet Service Provider) that
designates the computer system that will store the data file. Ex. 1006,
p. 41.
WS_FTP Pro also allows you to upload files -- that is, copy files from
your PC to other computers. For example, you would upload files if
you need to place your Web pages on a computer system designated
by your ISP (Internet Service Provider), or if you want to store a
picture of something you want to sell through an online auction site.
Ex. 1002, p. 1.
[1d] prompting by the at least one computer the user for a file name for said
data file at said GUI;WSFTP8 discloses GUI dialogs that prompt the user to select a file
(shown with a file name) to transfer. Selecting a local file selects the
local and remote file names used for the transfer. The remote file
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name is the base file name of the local file combined with the path of
the selected remote directory. Ex. 1006, p. 41.
Uploading a File
1. Select the directory you want to upload the file to in the Remote
System list.
2. In the Local System list, select the file you want to upload.
3. Click the upload transfer arrow. It is the one that looks similar to: -->
4. When the file is uploaded, it will appear in the Remote System list.
Ex. 1002, p. 14; see also Ex. 1002, p. 14.
Use the Batch Mode.
You can use the Batch Mode to add requests to the Transfer Manager
(Classic Interface only.)
Batch mode (Classic Interface only)
1. Connect to an FTP server.
2. Click the Batch Mode button.
3. Select a file or files and click the transfer arrow . The file will be placed in the FTP Transfer Manager. Ex. 1002, p. 41.
WSFTP8 allows the user to select the file name of the selected data
file. Ex. 1006, p. 42; see also Ex. 1002, p. 83 (renaming files).
[1e] associating by the at least one computer said file name with said data file;
WSFTP8 discloses associating the local file name with the data file
when the data file is selected as the file to upload. The remote file
name is associated with the combination of the base file name of the
data file with the path of the remote directory or with a new file name
specified by the user. Ex. 1006, pp. 42-3; see [1d].
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[1f] receiving by the at least one computer a parameter selection at said GUI,said parameter selection coupled to said account and coupled to a service levelagreement (SLA) between the first entity and the second entity, saidparameter selection comprising a scheduled transfer time, an encryption
selection, and at least one of:Receiving . . . a parameter selection at said GUI
WSFTP8 discloses receiving parameter selections when defining and
scheduling a file transfer task. Ex. 1006, p. 43; see [1b].
WSFTP8 discloses receiving parameter selections that define a site
profile, including Site Options that control how WS_FTP Pro
connects to a specific remote server and how it performs once aconnection is made. The Site Options are used for file transfer tasks
that execute under a connection established using the site profile. The
Site Options include the host name or IP address of the remote server
and the User ID (user name) password for the account given to the
user (first entity) by the FTP site administrator or owner (second
entity). Ex. 1006, p. 43.
For most FTP connections, WS_FTP Pro uses site profiles to store
information it needs to establish the connection with the Server. These
profiles control how WS_FTP Pro connects to the remote server, and
how it performs once the connection is made. Site profiles are created
and maintained on the Connect to Remote Host dialog. Ex. 1002, p.
17.
Said parameter selection coupled to said account
See Ex. 1002, pp. 18-19 (Host Info Dialog of Site Options).
Coupled to [SLA] between the first entity and the second entity
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The Quota and Size Properties for DAV Collections document
(WebDAVQuota) discloses associating file quotas with users or
collections. Ex. 1006, p. 44.
WebDAV servers based on [RFC2518] have been implemented and
deployed with quota restrictions on collections and users, so it makes
sense to standardize this functionality to improve user experience and
client interoperability. This specification requires WebDAV because
it requires PROPFIND support and relies on the WebDAV definition
of collections and properties, including the definitions for live and
protected properties (see section 1.4.2 of [RFC3253] for the definition
of protected properties).
The reasons why WebDAV servers frequently have quotas enforced
are the same reasons why any storage system comes with quotas. Ex.
1005, p. 3; see also p. 1 (abstract).
The approach to meeting the requirements and scenarios outlined
above is to define two live properties. This specification can be met
on a server by implementing both DAV:quota-available-bytes and
DAV:quota-used-bytes on collections only. Ex. 1005, pp. 3-4.
Name: quota-available-bytes
Namespace: DAV:
Purpose: Indicates the maximum amount of additional storage
available to be allocated to a resource.DTD:
The DAV:quota-available-bytes property value is the value in octets
representing the amount of additional disk space beyond the current
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allocation that can be allocated to this resource before further
allocations will be refused. It is understood that this space may be
consumed by allocations to other resources. Ex. 1005, p. 4.
WebDAV Client applications can retrieve the quota-available-bytes
property from a server using the PROPFIND operation defined by
WebDAV (RFC2518). WebDAV Client applications use the value of
this property to determine the remaining space that may be used to
store data files by the user. WSFTPSRV5 discloses global and per-
user disk quotas controlling the maximum number of bytes a user can
consume on the FTP hosts drives. Ex. 1006, pp. 45-46.
You can set user global quotas for files, disk space, and bandwidth
(the quotas apply to each user on the FTP host) or per individual user
or user group. A user quota setting overrides a global (or host) quota
setting as long as the user quota setting is not zero.
To set a global value for the FTP host, or for a user group:
1. In the left pane, expand the FTP host, then select the appropriate quotatype: Quota Limits (for file quota or disk space quota) or Bandwidth
Allocation .
To set global Quota Limits:
o o In the Max disk space box, enter the maximum number of
bytes a user can consume on the FTP hosts drives.To set the maximum number of files, maximum amount of disk space,
or maximum bandwidth on a per user basis:
1. In the left pane, expand the FTP host. Select Users. The users list
appears in the right pane.
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2. Select the user and click Edit . The User Options dialog appears.
3. In each users properties, set the quotas for the user.
Note: This setting overrides a global quota setting. Ex. 1004, pp. 37-
38.
Scheduled transfer time
WSFTP8 discloses using the Transfer Manager and Scheduler to
schedule items for transfer at a specified date, time, and frequency. A
scheduled item is added to the Scheduler. Ex. 1006, p. 47; see [1b].
How to...
Schedule a transfer
To schedule a transfer from the Transfer Manager:
1 Select a request, file, or folder.
2 From the Transfers menu, select Schedule.
3 In the Schedule Item Properties dialog, the date, time, and frequency
of the transfer.
4 Click OK to add the item to Scheduler. Ex. 1002, p. 43.
The WS_FTP Pro Scheduler lets you create FTP tasks or jobs for
transfers that you need to perform repeatedly or manually at a
particular time. Each task can consist of any number of uploads and
downloads of files and folders. Ex. 1002, p. 73; See also id. (Using the
Scheduler); see also p. 74 (Examples); see also p. 75 (Updating a Web
Site on a Nightly Basis).
Encryption selection
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WSFTP8 discloses using encryption to encrypt the data file during
transfer if the site profile for the remote site is configured to use an
SSL or SSH connection. Ex. 1006, p. 50.
SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is a protocol for encrypting and decrypting
data sent across direct internet connections. When a client makes an
SSL connection with a server, all data sent to and from that server is
encoded with a complex mathematical algorithm that makes it
extremely difficult to decode anything that is intercepted. Ex. 1002, p.
45.
To make an SSL connection with a server configured for SSL.
1. Create a site profile and select either FTP/Implicit SSL or FTP/SSL
(AUTH SSL) when asked for the server type. Ex. 1002, p. 47; see
also p. 53 (SSH; How to make an SSH connection).
WSFTP9SEC discloses configuring a site to enable PGP mode to
encrypt transferred files automatically each time files are uploaded to
the site. Ex. 1006, p. 51.
PGP is a key-based encryption method used to encrypt files so that
only their intended recipient can receive and decrypt them. PGP is
used widely to secure e-mail communications, but its technology can
also be applied to FTP.
PGP works by using two cryptographic keys to secure files. A Public
Key is used to encrypt the file so that only its corresponding Private
Key can decrypt it.
Note : Unlike SSL and SSH, PGP is not a type of connection, but a
method of encrypting a file prior to uploading it. As such, PGP Mode
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can be used in conjunction with standard FTP, SSL or SSH
connections. Ex. 1003, p. 15; see also pp. 16-17 (How to Enable PGP
Mode; How to Enable PGP Mode for a Site by Default).
[1i] a compression level; or
WSFTPSRV5 discloses that an FTP client (such as WS_FTP Pro) can
choose between normal transfers and using compression for data file
transfers. WSFTPSRV5 discloses the standard commands (defined by
the RFC 959 official specification for FTP) that an FTP client (such
as WS_FTP Pro) issues to an FTP server, such as the MODE
command that specifies the data transfer mode using a single Telnetcharacter code. The disclosed codes include C Compressed,
which indicates a compressed transfer mode. Ex. 1006, p. 53.
The standard commands that an FTP client (such as WS_FTP Pro)
issues to an FTP server are listed here with a brief explanation that has
been adapted from RFC 959. The command syntax is presented using
BNF (Backus-Naur Form) notation where applicable. Ex. 1004, p.100.
MODE (TRANSFER MODE)
MODE
The argument is a single Telnet character code specifying the data
transfer mode. The following codes are assigned for transfer modes: S
- Stream, B - Block, C - Compressed. The default transfer mode isStream. Ex. 1004, pp. 102-103.
[1j] a security level:
A user using WS_FTP Pro can specify the desired level of security by
choosing between the various forms of encryption that are supported
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in the WS_FTP Pro application. Ex. 1006, p. 54; see Encryption
Selection, [1f].
[1k] applying by the at least one computer said parameter selection to said
data file;The parameter selection consists of a scheduled transfer time, an
encryption selection, and at least one of an administrative parameter,
indexing information, a compression level, or a security level. The
WS_FTP Pro application supports a scheduled transfer time, an
encryption selection, a compression level, and a security level. Ex.
1006, p. 54
Scheduled transfer time
WSFTP8 discloses applying the scheduled transfer time to determine
when to transfer the data file. Ex. 1006, p. 54.
The WS_FTP Pro Scheduler lets you create FTP tasks or jobs for
transfers that you need to perform repeatedly or manually at a
particular time. Each task can consist of any number of uploads and
downloads of files and folders. Ex. 1002, p. 73.
The WS_FTP Pro Scheduler will run the task at the time you schedule
it to run, or you can make the task run on demand by using the Run
Now option. Ex. 1002, p. 73; see [1f].
Encryption selection and security level
WSFTP8 discloses encrypting file data during a transfer to a siteconfigured for SSL or SSH. Ex. 1006, p. 54; see Ex. 1002, p. 47 (How
to make an SSL connection); p. 53 (SSH; How to make an SSH
connection).
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WSFTP9SEC discloses encrypting the data file using a Public Key for
transfers to a site configured for PGP. Ex. 1006, p. 55; Ex. 1003, pp.
15-17.
Compression level
WSFTPSRV5 discloses that an FTP client (such as WS_FTP Pro) can
choose between two compression levels. Ex. 1006, p. 57; see [1i].
[1l] identifying by the at least one computer said SLA;
The Quota and Size Properties for DAV Collections document
(WebDAVQuota) discloses associating file quotas with users or
collections. Ex. 1006, p. 57; See SLA, [1f].[1m] determining by the at least one computer whether to transfer said datafile based on enforcing said SLA;
The Quota and Size Properties for DAV Collections document
(WebDAVQuota) discloses a collection of properties that a WebDAV
client application can use to determine whether to transfer a data file
based on enforcing a Service Level Agreement between the client and
the server. Ex. 1006, p. 57.
The client accesses the DAV:quota-available-bytes property from the
server using the PROPFIND WebDAV request, and if it is less than
the size of the data file, then the transfer is not permitted. Id.
WebDAV servers based on [RFC2518] have been implemented and
deployed with quota restrictions on collections and users, so it makes
sense to standardize this functionality to improve user experience and
client interoperability. This specification requires WebDAV because
it requires PROPFIND support and relies on the WebDAV definition
of collections and properties, including the definitions for live and
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protected properties (see section 1.4.2 of [RFC3253] for the definition
of protected properties).
The reasons why WebDAV servers frequently have quotas enforced
are the same reasons why any storage system comes with quotas. Ex.
1005, p. 3.
The approach to meeting the requirements and scenarios outlined
above is to define two live properties. This specification can be met
on a server by implementing both DAV:quota-available-bytes and
DAV:quota-used-bytes on collections only. Ex. 1005, pp. 3-4.
Name: quota-available-bytes
Namespace: DAV:
Purpose: Indicates the maximum amount of additional storage
available to be allocated to a resource.
DTD:
The DAV:quota-available-bytes property value is the value in octets
representing the amount of additional disk space beyond the current
allocation that can be allocated to this resource before further
allocations will be refused. It is understood that this space may be
consumed by allocations to other resources. Ex. 1005, p. 4; see also
p. 6 (Request; Response); see SLA, [1f].
[1n] queuing, if transfer is determined to be permitted, by the at least onecomputer said data file in a queue for scheduled upload transmission to saidremote storage facility of the second entity at said scheduled transfer time;and
WSFTP8 discloses queuing a file transfer task to upload a data file to
a remote site at the scheduled transfer time. Ex. 1006, p. 59
Ex. 1002, p. 73 (Using the Scheduler); see [1f].
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[1o] transferring, if transfer is determined to be permitted, by the at least onecomputer said data file to said remote storage facility at said transfer timeautomatically without user interaction based on said parameter selection.
WebDAVQuota discloses blocking a requested file transfer if the
transfer is determined to be disallowed, based on file size and the
available storage resources on the server. Otherwise, the requested
file transfer is allowed. Ex. 1006, p. 60; see [1f].
WSFTP8 discloses running an upload file transfer task at a scheduled
transfer time to transfer the data file to the remote site automatically
without user interaction based on the configured file transfer task and
site profile parameters. Ex. 1006, p. 60; see [1b], [1f], [1k] and [1n].
[3a] 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said selection of at least oneof