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`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`In re Inter Partes Reexamination of:
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`Victor Larson et al.
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`US. Patent No. 7,418,504
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`Issued: August 26, 2008
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`For: AGILE NETWORK PROTOCOL FOR SECURE
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`COMMUNICATIONS USING SECURE
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`DOMAIN NAMES
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`Mail Stop Inter Partes Reexam
`Commissioner for Patents
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`PO. Box 1450
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`Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
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`VVVVVVVVVVV
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`Control No.: 95/001,788
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`Group Art Unit: 3992
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`Examiner: Roland Foster
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`Confirmation No.: 5823
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`PATENT OWNER’S RESPONSE TO
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`OFFICE ACTION OF DECEMBER 29: 2011
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`Page 1 of 65
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`VIRNETX EXHIBIT 2017
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`Apple v. VirnetX
`Trial |PR2014-00485
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`VIRNETX EXHIBIT 2017
`Apple v. VirnetX
`Trial IPR2014-00485
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`Page 1 of 65
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`Control No. 95/001,788
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`I.
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`INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1
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`A.
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`Applicable Legal Standards ................................................................................... 2
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`The Law of Anticipation ............................................................................ 2
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`The Law of Obviousness ........................................................................... 2
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`The Law of Inherency ................................................................................ 3
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`B.
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`Background of the ’504 Patent .............................................................................. 3
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`II.
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`CLAIMS 1-60 ARE PATENTABLE ................................................................................ 5
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`The Rejections Based on Solana and/or Reed Are Improper Because
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`Neither Reference Has Been Shown to Be Prior Art (Grounds 1-8, 11, 15,
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`19, 24, 28, and 33) ................................................................................................. 5
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`A Reference Is a “Printed Publication” Only When the Requisite
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`Showing Is Made ....................................................................................... 6
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`Requester Failed to Satisfy Its Duty to Disclose Any Evidence of
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`Publication and Is Presumed to Have None ............................................... 6
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`Requester’s Bare Contention of Publication Is Inadequate ....................... 7
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`B.
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`The Rejections Based on the RFC Documents (Grounds 2, 5-8, 10, 13-20,
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`and 22-35) Are Improper Because the RFC Documents Have Not Been
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`Shown to Be Prior Art ............................................................................................ 8
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`Independent Claims 1, 36, and 60 Are Patentable over the Cited Art
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`Applied in the Rejections of These Claims (Grounds 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21,
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`25, and 30) ........................................................................................................... 10
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`Independent Claims 1, 36, and 60 Are Patentable over Solana
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`(Ground 1) ................................................................................................ 10
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`Overview of Solana ..................................................................... 10
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`Solana Does Not Disclose the Elements of Independent
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`Claim 1 ......................................................................................... 11
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`Solana Does Not Disclose “a Domain Name
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`Service System Configured to .
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`Names and Corresponding Network Addresses” ............. 11
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`Solana Does Not Disclose “a Domain Name
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`Service System Configured to .
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`for a Network Address” ................................................... 13
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`Solana Does Not Teach “a Domain Name Service
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`System Configured to .
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`that the Domain Name Service System Supports
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`Establishing a Secure Communication Link” .................. 15
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`Page 2 of 65
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`_ii_
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`Control No. 95/001,788
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`c)
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`Solana Does Not Disclose the Elements of Independent
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`Claims 36 and 60 ......................................................................... 16
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`Independent Claims 1, 36, and 60 Are Patentable over Solana in
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`View of RFC 2504 (Ground 5) ................................................................ 16
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`Independent Claims 1, 36, and 60 Are Patentable over Provino
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`(Ground No. 9) ......................................................................................... 18
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`Overview of Provino .................................................................... 18
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`Provino Does Not Disclose Each and Every Element of
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`Independent Claims 1, 36, and 60 ................................................ 19
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`Independent Claims 1, 36, and 60 Are Patentable over Provino in
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`View of RFC 2230 (Ground 13) .............................................................. 22
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`Independent Claims 1, 36, and 60 Are Patentable over Provino in
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`View of RFC 2504 (Ground 17) .............................................................. 23
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`Independent Claims 1, 36, and 60 Are Patentable over Beser
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`(Ground 21) .............................................................................................. 24
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`Overview of Beser ....................................................................... 24
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`Beser Does Not Disclose “a Domain Name Service System
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`Configured .
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`Name Service System Supports Establishing a Secure
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`Communication Link” ................................................................. 25
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`Independent Claims 1, 36, and 60 Are Patentable over RFC 2230
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`(Ground 25) .............................................................................................. 26
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`Overview of RFC 2230 ................................................................ 27
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`RFC 2230 Does Not Disclose Each and Every Element of
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`Independent Claim 1 .................................................................... 27
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`A KX Resource Record Is Not “an Indication that
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`Establishing a Secure Communication Link” .................. 28
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`The Alleged Establishment and Use of an IPsec
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`Security Association Is Not “an Indication that the
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`Establishing a Secure Communication Link” .................. 29
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`RFC 2230 Discloses a Conventional Domain Name
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`Service System Distinguished by the ’504 Patent ........... 30
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`Independent Claims 1, 36, and 60 Are Patentable over RFC 2538
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`(Ground 30) .............................................................................................. 31
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`Overview of RFC 2538 ................................................................ 32
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`RFC 2538 Does Not Disclose Each and Every Element of
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`Independent Claims 1, 36, and 60 ................................................ 32
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`Page 3 of 65
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`- iii -
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`Dependent Claims 2-35 and 37- 59 Are Patentable over the Cited
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`References (Grounds 1-35) .................................................................................. 34
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`Dependent Claims 5, 23, and 47 Are Patentable over the Cited References ....... 34
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`Rejections Based on Solana (Grounds 1, 2, 5, and 6) .............................. 35
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`Rejections Based on Provino (Grounds 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, and 18) .......... 35
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`Dependent Claims 8 and 9 Are Patentable over the Cited References ................ 36
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`Rejections Based on Solana (Grounds 1 and 5) ....................................... 37
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`Rejections Based on Provino (Grounds 9, 13, and 17) ............................ 37
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`Rejections Based on Beser (Ground 23) .................................................. 38
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`Rejections Based on RFC 2230 (Ground 27) .......................................... 39
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`Rejections Based on RFC 2538 (Ground 32) .......................................... 40
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`Dependent Claims 16, 17, 27, 33, 40, 41, 51, and 57 Are Patentable over
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`the Cited References ............................................................................................ 40
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`Rejections Based on Solana (Grounds 1 and 5) ....................................... 41
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`Rejections Based on Provino (Grounds 9, 13, and 17) ............................ 42
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`Rejections Based on Beser (Ground 21) .................................................. 43
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`Rejections Based on RFC 2230 (Ground 25) .......................................... 43
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`Rejections Based on RFC 2538 (Ground 30) .......................................... 44
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`Dependent Claims 18 and 42 Are Patentable over the Cited References ............ 44
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`Rejections Based on Solana (Grounds 1 and 5) ....................................... 45
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`Rejections Based on RFC 2538 (Ground 30) .......................................... 47
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`Dependent Claims 24 and 48 Are Patentable over the Cited References ............ 47
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`Rejections Based on Solana (Grounds 1, 2, 5, and 6) .............................. 48
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`Rejections Based on Provino (Grounds 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, and 18) .......... 49
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`Rejections Based on Beser (Grounds 21 and 22) ..................................... 50
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`Rejections Based on RFC 2230 (Grounds 25 and 26) ............................. 51
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`Rejections Based on RFC 2538 (Grounds 30 and 31) ............................. 52
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`Dependent Claims 26 and 50 Are Patentable over the Cited References ............ 53
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`Rejections Based on Solana (Grounds 1 and 5) ....................................... 53
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`Rejections Based on Provino (Grounds 9, 13, and 17) ............................ 54
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`Rejections Based on Beser (Ground 21) .................................................. 55
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`Rejections Based on RFC 2230 (Ground 25) .......................................... 55
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`A Prima Facie Case of Obviousness Has Not Been Established ........................ 56
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`Secondary Considerations Demonstrate NonobViousness ................................... 57
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`CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 60
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`I.
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`INTRODUCTION
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`VirnetX Inc. (“Patent Owner”), the owner of US. Patent No. 7,418,504 (“the ’504 patent”),
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`hereby responds to the Office Action (“Office Action” or “OA”) and Order granting reexamination
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`(“Order”) mailed on December 29, 2011, in the above-identified reexamination proceeding, which
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`was initiated by Third-Party Requester, Apple Inc.
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`(“Requester”), on October 18, 2011 (“the
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`Request” or “Req.”). Patent Owner is grateful for the one-month extension of time to respond,
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`extending the time for reply to March 29, 2012. The Examiner adopted all thirty-five issues the
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`The patent at issue in this reexamination, the ’504 patent, is part of a family of patents
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`(“Munger patent family”) that stems from US. provisional application nos. 60/106,261 (“the ’261
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`application”), filed on October 30, 1998, and 60/ 137,704 (“the ’704 application”), filed on June 7,
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`1999. The ’504 patent is a continuation of US. application no. 09/558,210 (“the ’210 application”),
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`filed April 26, 2000, (now abandoned), which is a continuation-in-part of US. application no.
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`09/504,783 (now US. Patent No. 6,502,135, “the ’135 patent”). The ’ 135 patent is a continuation-in-
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`part of US. application no. 09/429,643 (now US. Patent No. 7,010,604, “the ’604 patent”), which
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`claims priority to the ’261 and ’704 applications.
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`The Munger patent family discloses numerous inventions relating to secure communications.
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`Patents in this family have been subject to several reexamination proceedings and district court
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`For instance,
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`three other patents from the family were asserted in an action against
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`Microsoft Corporation in the Eastern District of Texas.1 The jury found the asserted claims willfully
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`infringed and not invalid and awarded VimetX over one hundred million dollars in damages. (Ex. A-
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`1 at 2.) Microsoft also sought reexamination of two of the patents, but all claims were confirmed
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`(See control nos. 95/001,269 and 95/001,270.) And just recently, the
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`Office denied a request for reexamination of one of the patents in the Munger patent family.
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`(Order
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`in control no. 95/001,792.)
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`Given that the validity of the patents in the Munger patent family has now been tested
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`multiple times, and for the other reasons set forth below, including that the asserted references do not
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`disclose or suggest
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`the combination of features recited in the claims, Patent Owner requests
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`1 One of these patents, US. Patent No. 6,839,759 was asserted initially but was dropped from
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`Control No. 95/001,788
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`reconsideration and withdrawal of all the rejections in the Office Action and confirmation of the
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`patentability of all of the claims of the ’504 patent.
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`Patent Owner’s statements below are supported, where indicated, by an expert Declaration of
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`Angelos D. Keromytis, Ph.D. (“Keromytis Decl.”) and a Declaration of Dr. Robert Dunham Short 111
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`(“Short Decl.”).
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`A.
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`Applicable Legal Standards
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`1.
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`The Law of Anticipation
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`“A claim is anticipated only if each and every element as set forth in the claim is found,
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`either expressly or inherently described, in a single prior art reference.” Verdegaal Bros. v. Union
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`Oil Co. of Cal., 814 F.2d 628, 631, 2 U.S.P.Q.2d 1051, 1053 (Fed. Cir. 1987).
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`“The identical
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`invention must be shown in as complete detail as is contained in the .
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`. claim. Richardson v.
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`Suzuki Motor Co., 868 F.2d 1226, 1236, 9 U.S.P.Q.2d 1913, 1920 (Fed. Cir. 1989). Although identity
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`of terminology is not required, the elements must be arranged as required by the claim. In re Bond,
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`910 F.2d 831, 15 U.S.P.Q.2d 1566 (Fed. Cir. 1990). Thus, “unless a reference discloses within the
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`four corners of the document not only all of the limitations claimed but also all of the limitations
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`arranged or combined in the same way as recited in the claim, it .
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`. cannot anticipate under 35
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`U.S.C. § 102.” Net MoneyIn, Inc. v. Verisign, Inc., 545 F.3d 1359, 1369 (Fed. Cir. 2008).
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`2.
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`The Law of Obviousness
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`A claim can only be rejected as being obvious if the differences between it and the prior art
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`“are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was
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`made to a person having ordinary skill in the art.” See 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) (1994); Graham v. John
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`Deere Co., 383 US. 1, 13-14 (1966). The ultimate determination of whether an invention is obvious
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`is a legal conclusion based on underlying factual inquiries including:
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`(1) the scope and content of the
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`prior art; (2) the level of ordinary skill in the art; (3) the differences between the claimed invention
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`and the prior art; and (4) objective evidence of secondary considerations of nonobviousness. See
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`Graham, 383 US. at 17-18; Miles Labs., Inc. v. Shandon Inc., 997 F.2d 870, 877, 27 U.S.P.Q.2d
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`1123, 1128 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
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`A statement that modifications of the prior art to meet the claimed invention would have been
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`“well within the ordinary skill of the art at the time the claimed invention was made” because the
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`references relied upon teach that all aspects of the claimed invention were individually known in the
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`art, is not sufficient to establish a prima facie case of obviousness without some objective reason to
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`combine the teachings of the references. M.P.E.P.
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`§ 2143.01 (citing Ex parte Levengood,
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`28 U.S.P.Q.2d 1300 (B.P.A.I. 1993)).
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`“[R]ejections on obviousness cannot be sustained by mere
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`-2-
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`Control No. 95/001,788
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`conclusory statements;
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`instead,
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`there must be some articulated reasoning with some rational
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`underpinning to support the legal conclusion of obviousness.” KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc, 550
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`US. 398, 418, 82 U.S.P.Q.2d 1385, 1396 (2007) (quoting In re Kahn, 441 F.3d 977, 988, 78
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`U.S.P.Q.2d 1329, 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2006)).
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`Further, even in view of KSR, it is not permissible to simply “pick and choose” elements of
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`the prior art to arrive at the claimed subject matter. There must be some basis or rationale suggesting
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`the modification and a reasonable expectation of success. M.P.E.P. § 2143.02
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`3.
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`The Law of Inherency
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`The express, implicit, and inherent disclosures of a prior art reference may be relied upon in
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`the rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. § 102 or § 103. M.P.E.P. § 2112. The fact that a certain
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`result or characteristic may occur or be present in the prior art is not sufficient to establish the
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`inherency of that result or characteristic.
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`Id. To establish inherency, the extrinsic evidence must
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`make clear that the missing descriptive matter is necessarily present in the thing described in the
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`reference, and that it would be so recognized by persons of ordinary skill. Id.
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`B.
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`Background of the ’504 Patent
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`The ’504 patent discloses several embodiments of a domain name service (“DNS”) system
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`for establishing a secure communication link,
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`such as a virtual private network (“VPN”)
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`communication link, between devices connected to a network.
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`In one such embodiment, a novel,
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`specialized DNS server receives a traditional DNS request, and the DNS server automatically
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`facilitates the establishment of a secure communication link between a target node and a user.
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`(Keromytis Decl. 1116;
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`’504 patent 39:46-51.) This specialized DNS server is different from a
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`conventional DNS server known at
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`the time of the invention for at
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`least the reason that the
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`specialized DNS server supports the establishment of a secure communication link beyond merely a
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`requested IP address or public key. (Keromytis Decl. 1] 16.)
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`For example, in the exemplars of FIGS. 26 and 27 of the ’504 patent, reproduced below, a
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`DNS server 2602 including a DNS proxy 2610 supports establishing a VPN link between a computer
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`2601 and a secure target site 2604. (’504 patent 39:67-41 :59; Keromytis Decl. 1] 17.)
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`Control No. 95/001,788
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`an 27
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`1:38.20
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`7
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`In one embodiment, the DNS server 2602 receives a DNS request for a target site from computer
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`2601.
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`(’504 patent 40:49-52; Keromytis Decl. 1] 18.) The DNS proxy 2610 determines whether the
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`target site is a secure site.
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`(’504 patent 40:6-8, 40:49-56; Keromytis Decl. 1118.)
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`If access to a
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`secure site has been requested, the DNS proxy 2610 determines whether the computer 2601 is
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`authorized to access the site.
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`(’504 patent 40:57-59; Keromytis Decl. 1] 18.) If so, the DNS proxy
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`2610 transmits a message to gatekeeper 2603 to facilitate the creation of a VPN link between
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`computer 2601 and secure target site 2604.
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`(’504 patent 40:18-24.) The DNS proxy 2610 then
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`responds to the computer’s 2601 DNS request with an address received from the gatekeeper 2604.
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`(Id. at 40: 19-22; Keromytis Decl. 1] 18.) A secure VPN link is then established between the computer
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`2601 and the secure target site 2604.
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`(’504 patent 41:5-8; Keromytis Decl. 1] 18.) As shown in this
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`example, the specialized DNS server supports creating a secure communication link and does more
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`than a conventional DNS server at the time of the invention. (Keromytis Decl. 1] 18.)
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`The ’504 patent highlights this distinction between the specialized DNS server disclosed in
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`its specification and a conventional DNS scheme, which merely returns a requested IP address or
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`public key:
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`Conventional Domain Name Servers (DNSs) provide a look-up function
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`that returns the IP address of a requested computer or host. For example,
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`when a computer user types in the web name “Yahoo.com,” the user’s
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`web browser transmits a request to a DNS, which converts the name into a
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`four-part IP address that is returned to the user's browser .
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`One conventional scheme that provides secure virtual private networks over
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`the Internet provides the DNS server with the public keys of the machines
`that the DNS server has the addresses for. This allows hosts to retrieve
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`automatically the public keys of a host that the host is to communicate with
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`so that the host can set up a VPN without having the user enter the public key
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`of the destination host. One implementation of this standard is presently
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`being developed as part of the FreeS/WAN project (RFC 2535).
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`The conventional scheme suffers from certain drawbacks. For example, any
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`user can perform a DNS request. Moreover, DNS requests resolve to the
`same value for all users.
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`According to certain aspects of the invention, a specialized DNS server traps
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`DNS requests and, if the request is from a special type of user (e.g., one for
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`which secure communication services are defined), the server does not return
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`the true IP address of the target node, but instead automatically sets up a
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`virtual private network between the target node and the user.
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`(’504 patent 39:7-51; Keromytis Decl. 1] 19.) Compared with a conventional DNS known at the time
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`of the filing date of the ’504 patent, the specialized DNS disclosed in the ’504 patent supports
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`establishing a secure communication link. (Keromytis Decl. 1] 19.) The claims of the ’504 patent are
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`also directed to a domain name service for establishing a secure communication link.
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`(See, e. g., ’504
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`patent 55:49-56, 57:48-58, 60:3-14; Keromytis Decl. 1] 19.)
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`II.
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`CLAIMS 1-60 ARE PATENTABLE
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`A.
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`The Rejections Based on Solana and/or Reed Are Improper Because Neither
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`Reference Has Been Shown to Be Prior Art (Grounds 1-8, 11, 15, 19, 24, 28, and
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`As a threshold matter, Patent Owner notes that the Request and the Office Action rely on the
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`following two references without showing that these references have been published:
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`1. E. Solana et al., “Flexible Internet Secure Transactions Based on Collaborative Domains,”
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`Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 1361, at 37-51 (“Solana”) (Req. Ex. X1); and
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`2. M. Reed et al., “Proxies for Anonymous Routing,” 12th Annual Computer Security
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`Applications Conference, San Diego, CA (“Reed”) (Req. Ex. X10).
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`Neither reference is a patent. The entirety of the support for these references being prior art printed
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`publications is a bald assertion in the Request, adopted by the Office Action, that the references were
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`publicly distributed prior to the effective date of the ’504 patent. This attorney argument does not
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`establish these references as prior art for at least the following reasons.
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`Page 10 of 65
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`Page 10 of 65
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`Control No. 95/001,788
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`1.
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`A Reference Is a “Printed Publication” Only When the Requisite
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`Showing Is Made
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`Solana and Reed are prior art only if they are “printed publications.
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`The statutory phrase
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`“printed publication” means that the alleged reference must have been sufficiently accessible to the
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`public interested in the art. In re Cronyn, 890 F.2d 1158, 1160 (Fed. Cir. 1989) (quoting Constant v.
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`Advanced Micro-Devices, Inc., 848 F.2d 1560, 1568 (Fed. Cir. 1988)). M.P.E.P. § 2128 provides in
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`part:
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`A reference is a “printed publication” only “upon a satisfactory showing
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`that such document has been disseminated or otherwise made available to
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`the extent that persons interested and ordinarily skilled in the subject
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`matter or art, exercising reasonable diligence, can locate it.”
`In re
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`Wyer, 655 F.2d 221, 210 USPQ 790 (C.C.P.A. 1981)
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`Corp. v. Armco Steel C0rp., 250 F. Supp. 738, 743, 148 USPQ 537, 540
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`(SDNY 1966)).
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`Thus, a showing of dissemination and public accessibility are the keys to the legal
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`determination of whether a document was “published.” The record is devoid of any showing that
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`Solana and Reed were disseminated or otherwise publicly available at the time asserted by the
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`Requester. Rather,
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`the Request baldly asserts that “Solana is a printed publication that was
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`distributed to the public without restriction no later than 1997.” (Req. at 11.) Similarly, the Request
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`asserts that “Reed is a printed publication that was distributed publicly without restriction no later
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`than December 13, 1996 .
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`. .” (Id. at 12.)
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`Solana contains no publication date on the document. The face of the document identifies
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`only that the authors are affiliated with the University of Geneva. There is no indication on the
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`document that it was published on the date asserted by the Requester.
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`Reed identifies the 12th Annual Security Applications Conference, San Diego, CA, and a
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`date of December 9-13, 1996, but there is no evidence that the document was actually “published”
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`within those dates, nor that the document was “otherwise available to the extent that persons
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`interested and ordinarily skilled in the subject matter or art, exercising reasonable diligence, could
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`locate it” at the time.
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`2.
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`Requester Failed to Satisfy Its Duty to Disclose Any Evidence of
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`Publication and Is Presumed to Have None
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`Under 37 C.F.R. § 11.18, the Requester was required to produce any evidence proving
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`Page 11 of 65
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`Page 11 of 65
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`Control No. 95/001,788
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`Solana or Reed were publicly distributed without restriction at the time asserted by the Requester.2
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`Yet, it produced none. The logical conclusion is that no such evidence exists. Should the Requester
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`subsequently attempt to introduce any evidence that Solana or Reed is prior art at the time asserted
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