throbber
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`____________________________________________
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`____________________________________________
`
`SERVICENOW, INC.,
`
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY,
`
`Patent Owner.
`____________________________________________
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`____________________________________________
`
`PATENT OWNER RESPONSE
`UNDER 37 C.F.R. § 42.120
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`
`
`
`
`I. 
`
`II. 
`
`
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`Page
`
`INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 
`
`THE INVENTION OF THE ’300 PATENT ................................................... 5 
`
`III.  OVERVIEW OF THE CITED PRIOR ART REFERENCES ...................... 14 
`
`A.  Matheny ............................................................................................... 14 
`
`B. 
`
`C. 
`
`D. 
`
`XML in a Nutshell (Harold) ................................................................ 15 
`
`Hamner ................................................................................................ 15 
`
`Pitt ........................................................................................................ 18 
`
`IV.  THE CHALLENGED ’300 PATENT CLAIMS ARE NON-
`OBVIOUS BECAUSE CLAIM LIMITATIONS ARE NOT
`TAUGHT BY THE PRIOR ART .................................................................. 19 
`
`A.  Hamner does not disclose “a network event.” .................................... 20 
`
`1. 
`
`2. 
`
`3. 
`
`The term “network event” should be construed as “an
`action or occurrence within the network that is detected
`or received by the system.” ....................................................... 20 
`
`The tasks described in Hamner are not “network events”
`under the proper construction of the term. ................................ 27 
`
`Hamner does not disclose “a network event” under the
`Board’s construction of the term. ............................................. 33 
`
`B. 
`
`Neither Matheny nor Hamner alone, nor the combination of
`Hamner with Pitt, discloses “processing a network event using
`the network model . . . .” ..................................................................... 35 
`
`1. 
`
`The claimed “identifying” and “determining” sub-steps
`must use the network model and the network event must
`be detected or received before it is processed........................... 36 
`
`
`
`- i -
`
`

`
`
`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`2.  Matheny does not disclose “processing a network event
`using the network model” under the plain language of the
`claims. ....................................................................................... 39 
`
`3. 
`
`4. 
`
`5. 
`
`Hamner does not disclose “identifying one or more
`network objects of the plurality of network objects”
`under the proper reading of the claims. .................................... 42 
`
`Hamner does not disclose “determining an order of
`operation on the one or more network objects” under the
`proper reading of the claims. .................................................... 45 
`
`Pitt does not disclose “determining an order of operation
`on the one or more network objects” under the proper
`reading of the claims. ................................................................ 47 
`
`C.  Matheny does not disclose “a network model.” .................................. 50 
`
`1. 
`
`The claim term “network model” should be construed to
`mean “computer-based representation of a network
`comprising the objects in the network and the
`relationships between them.” .................................................... 51 
`
`2.  Matheny does not disclose a “network model” under the
`proper construction of the term. ................................................ 52 
`
`3.  Matheny does not disclose a “network model” under the
`Board’s construction of the term. ............................................. 54 
`
`V.  A PERSON OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART WOULD NOT
`HAVE COMBINED MATHENY WITH HAMNER, OR MATHENY
`AND HAMNER WITH PITT ....................................................................... 55 
`
`A.  A person of ordinary skill in the art would not have combined
`Matheny with Hamner. ........................................................................ 55 
`
`B. 
`
`A person of ordinary skill in the art would not have combined
`Matheny and Hamner with Pitt. .......................................................... 57 
`
`VI.  CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 60 
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`- ii -
`
`

`
`
`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`
`Page(s)
`
`FEDERAL STATUTES
`
`35 U.S.C. § 103(a) .................................................................................................... 1
`
`35 U.S.C. § 316(e) .............................................................................................. 1, 19
`
`
`
`
`
`- iii -
`
`

`
`
`
`I.
`
`INTRODUCTION
`
`
`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300 (the “’300 patent”) is directed to a novel system
`
`and method for modeling a network using structured information and using the
`
`model in an event-driven system to simulate the effect of network events on the
`
`network. ’300 patent (Ex. 1001) at Abstract, 2:51-62. Patent Owner Hewlett-
`
`Packard Company (“HP”) respectfully submits that the challenged claims of the
`
`’300 patent are patentable over the cited prior art.
`
`The Board instituted trial on a single ground set forth in the Petition:
`
`whether independent claims 1, 10, and 21 and dependent claims 7, 8, and 22 are
`
`obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) over U.S. Patent Publication Number
`
`2002/0161883 to Matheny (“Matheny”) (Ex. 1003) in view of Harold et al., XML
`
`in a Nutshell (2001) (“Harold”) (Ex. 1004), U.S. Patent No. 5,796,951 to Hamner
`
`(“Hamner”) (Ex. 1005), and U.S. Patent No. 5,717,934 to Pitt (“Pitt”) (Ex. 1007).
`
`Although Petitioner also asserted an additional ground of obviousness using the
`
`same first three references and substituting U.S. Patent No. 6,256,635 (Ex. 1006)
`
`for Pitt, the Board did not institute review on that ground.
`
`Petitioner bears the burden of proving that the ’300 patent is unpatentable by
`
`a preponderance of the evidence. 35 U.S.C. § 316(e). Petitioner has failed to
`
`demonstrate obviousness for at least four reasons.
`
`
`
`- 1 -
`
`

`
`
`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`First, Petitioner cannot show by a preponderance of the evidence that the
`
`cited prior art discloses a “network event.” HP respectfully requests that the Board
`
`reconsider its preliminary construction of “network event” as “an action or
`
`occurrence, including actions generated by users of devices on a network, that is
`
`received or detected by a network.” This construction incorrectly substitutes “by a
`
`network” for “by the system” and omits the key requirement that the event occurs
`
`“within the network.” Such a construction is inconsistent with the plain language
`
`of the term and the ’300 specification. The broadest reasonable interpretation of
`
`“network event” in light of the specification and consistent with the plain and
`
`ordinary meaning of “event” is “an action or occurrence within the network that is
`
`detected or received by the system.” Under this construction, the “tasks” disclosed
`
`in the Hamner reference relied on by Petitioner are not “network events.” Rather,
`
`“tasks” are actions selected by the user and then sent to the network for execution,
`
`not actions or occurrences received from the network and detected by the
`
`modeling system as is the case with “network events” in the ’300 patent. Further,
`
`even under the Board’s construction of “network event,” the tasks of Hamner are
`
`not “network events” because they originate at the network management server
`
`that manages the network, not in the network itself.
`
`Second, under the proper reading of “processing a network event using a
`
`network model, wherein the processing includes identifying one or more network
`
`
`
`- 2 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`objects of the plurality of network objects, and the processing further includes
`
`determining an order of operation on the one or more network objects,” Petitioner
`
`cannot show that any of Matheny, Hamner or Pitt, alone or in combination, meets
`
`these limitations. Matheny provides no details about how its “discovery
`
`document” (the alleged “network model”) is used after it has been generated, so it
`
`cannot disclose “processing a network event using a network model.” Nor does
`
`Hamner disclose the claimed sub-steps of “identifying” and “determining.” In
`
`Hamner, the device (the “network object”) must first be selected or discovered, and
`
`only then are the available tasks (the alleged “network event”) displayed or
`
`assigned. This is the opposite order from that required by the ’300 patent claims,
`
`in which the network event is first received or detected by the modeling system,
`
`and then the network objects needed to process the network event are identified.
`
`Moreover, contrary to the Board’s reading of “processing a network event using
`
`the network model…,” the plain language of the claims requires that both the
`
`“identifying…” and “determining…” sub-steps use the “network model,” which
`
`Hamner does not disclose. Finally, Pitt fails to disclose “determining an order of
`
`operation” after an event has been detected or received under the correct reading of
`
`the claims.
`
`Third, Matheny does not disclose a “network model” as required by the
`
`claims. The “discovery document” disclosed in Matheny contains information
`
`
`
`- 3 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`about discovered devices, but Matheny does not disclose that the discovery
`
`document includes information about the relationships between the devices. The
`
`relationships are an essential part of a “network model,” and without them,
`
`Matheny’s discovery document cannot be a network model.
`
`Finally, a person of ordinary skill in the art would not have combined
`
`Matheny with Hamner or Hamner with Pitt. Hamner has no shortcomings
`
`regarding its physical network model that could be cured by Matheny, and the
`
`combination of the two would result in an inoperable system. Further, a person of
`
`ordinary skill in the art would not have combined Hamner with Pitt. Adding the
`
`shutdown sequence rules of Pitt to Hamner’s database would not satisfy the step of
`
`“determining an order of operation on the one or more network objects,” as
`
`Petitioner contends. Moreover, incorporating the other part of Pitt—the user
`
`interface software for creating the shutdown sequence—into the Hamner system
`
`would be very difficult (and indeed Petitioner does not even mention it). Nor is
`
`there any need to do so: the user of the Hamner system already has complete
`
`control over when tasks can be executed and on which devices. Pitt also suffers
`
`from the same deficiencies as Hamner, i.e., failure to disclose first receiving a
`
`network event and then determining an order of operations in response to it.
`
`In this response, HP addresses each of these limitations in turn, under both
`
`the proper construction of the terms and the Board’s preliminary constructions. HP
`
`
`
`- 4 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`also addresses the Board’s specific concerns from its Decision on Institution (Paper
`
`12). In doing so, HP provides a detailed technical analysis in the accompanying
`
`declaration of Dr. Daniel Menascé (Ex. 2008), an expert with 40 years of
`
`experience in the areas of computer science, computer-based systems and software
`
`architectures, and information systems. In addition, HP cites or quotes many
`
`admissions from the deposition of Petitioner’s own expert, Dr. Lavian, to
`
`corroborate the arguments set forth in this response.1
`
`II. THE INVENTION OF THE ’300 PATENT
`
`The ’300 patent teaches and claims a novel method and system for creating a
`
`flexible and easily-configurable model of a network that can be used for event
`
`processing in an event-driven system. ’300 patent (Ex. 1001) at 1:6-8, 2:51-62,
`
`3:55-62; Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶ 55. Communications networks consist of a
`
`variety of devices—such as computers, printers, routers, and gateways—
`
`interconnected by communication lines. ’300 patent (Ex. 1001) at 2:36-41. A
`
`network allows computers to communicate with each other and applications
`
`running on these computers to interact. Examples include a browser at a user’s
`
`1 HP’s expert Dr. Menascé sets forth his position on a person of ordinary skill in
`
`his declaration, and he states that his opinions do not change if the definition of a
`
`person of ordinary skill in the art set forth by Petitioner’s expert, Dr. Lavian,
`
`applies. Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶¶ 38-40; Lavian Decl. (Ex. 1002) at ¶ 19.
`
`
`
`- 5 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`computer interacting with a web server that could be located in a different
`
`continent. Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶¶ 42-47.
`
`An important consideration in the context of network design is the
`
`evaluation of design and maintenance alternatives. Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶ 56.
`
`It is costly, time consuming, and potentially disruptive to test the effect of
`
`alternatives in network design on the network itself. Id. An alternative to
`
`experimenting and testing various design and maintenance options on the network
`
`itself is to simulate the network. Id. Simulation is a technique that works on a
`
`model of the system being simulated. Id. Using a computer model to simulate the
`
`architecture and the behavior of the network before any changes are made to the
`
`network can help identify potential problems, thereby reducing costs. ’300 patent
`
`(Ex. 1001) at 1:28-34. For example, in the event of a server failure, using the
`
`model to identify devices connected to the server will help the network
`
`administrator determine which devices will need to be moved to a new server and
`
`how that should be done before any changes are actually done on the network.
`
`Once a plan is in place, the actual replacement of the server should be more
`
`efficient and less disruptive. Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶ 56.
`
`The modeling system described in the ’300 patent (also called the “system”
`
`or “network inventory adapter” in the patent) includes computer program code for
`
`modeling the network and then processing network events using the model. ’300
`
`
`
`- 6 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`patent (Ex. 1001) at Abstract, 2:51-62, 3:9-18, 6:17-26. The modeling system first
`
`creates and stores a model of the network called a “network model,” which can be
`
`rebuilt any time there are changes in the network. Id. at 3:42-45, 6:34-46. The
`
`network model can then be used to simulate the effect of events that occur in the
`
`network. Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶ 57. Unlike routine functions that can be
`
`selected by a network administrator using a network management tool on a server,
`
`a “network event” in the ’300 patent originates in the network, and the modeling
`
`system detects and responds to it. When a “network event” is detected, the
`
`modeling system uses the “network model”—which reflects the current
`
`configuration of the network—to determine how to respond to the network event.
`
`The ’300 patent thus describes an event-driven system in which the modeling
`
`system responds to and processes network events received from the network. Id. ¶
`
`57.
`
`Exemplary independent claim 1 claims a method for modeling a network
`
`and using the network model to process a network event:
`
`A method of modelling a communications network
`1.
`using a computer system, the method including:
`
`generating a network representation using computer-
`readable code, the computer-readable code representing
`structured information;
`
`parsing the network representation;
`- 7 -
`
`
`
`

`
`
`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`generating a network model using the parsed network
`representation, the network model including a plurality of
`network objects and relationships between the plurality
`of network objects;
`
`storing the network model in memory; and
`
`processing a network event using the network model,
`
`wherein the processing includes identifying one or more
`network objects of the plurality of network objects, and
`
`the processing further includes determining an order of
`operation on the one or more network objects.
`
`’300 patent (Ex. 1001) at claim 1. Claims 10 and 21 are similar. Figure 5 is a flow
`
`chart that illustrates the claimed steps:
`
`
`
`- 8 -
`
`

`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`
`’300 patent (Ex. 1001) at Fig. 5, 6:32-34. The system first generates a network
`
`representation in step 200 using structured code, such as eXtensible Markup
`
`Language (“XML”). Id. at 6:34-36. The “network representation” contains the
`
`inventory of devices on the network such as servers, printers, computers, and
`
`routers and the relationships between them. Id. at 3:67-4:8 (listing exemplary
`
`devices), 6:42-44. The system then “parses” the network representation—i.e., the
`
`
`
`- 9 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`XML code is read and divided into individual elements according to XML rules—
`
`in step 202 to create the network model in step 204. Id. at 6:44-46.
`
`After creating the network model, the modeling system uses it to process
`
`“network events” that occur in the network. Examples of network events given in
`
`the patent include provisioning or deleting a network device, but other events in
`
`the network can also be detected and processed using the network model and
`
`modeling system. Id. at 2:52-58 (listing examples relevant to a dial-up network).
`
`In step 210, the modeling system determines whether a network event has
`
`been received for processing. Id. at 6:49-51 (“[T]hen the system determines
`
`whether an event is to be processed, step 210.”) (emphasis added). If a network
`
`event has been received, the modeling system will need to respond to the event by
`
`updating the network model in some way, depending on the type of event.
`
`Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶ 61. To do this, the modeling system first identifies the
`
`network objects (the network devices) in the network model that may need to be
`
`updated or deleted or are otherwise affected by the network event. ’300 patent
`
`(Ex. 1001) at 6:52-53 (“If yes, then the system identifies the needed objects in the
`
`network model, step 214.”). The modeling system then determines which objects
`
`will need to be operated on, the operation needed for each object (i.e., update or
`
`delete), and the order in which those operations will occur. Id. at 6:53-55 (“In step
`
`216, the system determines the order of operations needed to process the network
`
`
`
`- 10 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`event.”), 5:9-11 (“The adapters 34 [system of the invention] may support specific
`
`operations and allow for various operations to be triggered by certain events and
`
`commands.”) (emphasis added throughout). These operations are then executed in
`
`order. Id. at 6:55-56. In this manner, the network event is processed using the
`
`network model, and the network model will then reflect any changes to the
`
`network triggered by the network event. Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶¶ 57-62.
`
`The following example illustrates the processing of a network event and the
`
`importance of determining the order of operation on the network objects. In this
`
`example, the network has (among other components) a server with several devices,
`
`such as printers and computers, connected to it. The network model, which
`
`includes network objects representing the server and connected devices, is
`
`generated and stored in a database. See ’300 patent (Ex. 1001) at 8:48-49 (“In one
`
`embodiment, the model is generated in a network database.”). The modeling
`
`system then receives a network event from the network notifying it that the server
`
`has failed and needs to be replaced.
`
`Replacing the server in the network model requires deleting the server
`
`database record and adding the new server record. But the old server object cannot
`
`simply be deleted first, because doing so will also delete the connections to the
`
`devices connected to the server, leaving no way to find these previously-connected
`
`devices when it is time to connect them to the new server. In other words, they
`
`
`
`- 11 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`would be orphaned objects. Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶¶ 63-64. To avoid this
`
`problem, all the dependencies related to the failed server—such as the connected
`
`devices—must first be examined by following the connections in the database (the
`
`network model) until each such device is identified. Id. ¶ 65. In this example, the
`
`old server object in the network model is first located (such as by server name),
`
`and then all devices connected to or communicating with the server are identified
`
`by following all the connections in the database. Id. The new server object record
`
`is then added to the database, and the records for the devices connected to the old
`
`server are updated to instead connect to the new server object. The old server
`
`object will no longer be connected to anything, so it can be deleted with no risk of
`
`leaving orphaned devices. Id.
`
`By examining the connections in the network model to identify these
`
`interdependencies before acting on any changes required by the network event, the
`
`modeling system will determine the network objects affected by the network event,
`
`the operations that must be performed on them to process the event, and the order
`
`in which the operations on the network objects will be performed. ’300 patent at
`
`Abstract, 3:15-18. This will allow changes to be made to the network model (and
`
`the network itself) in a manner that will prevent such errors as orphaned devices.
`
`Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶ 66. The modeling system cannot identify network
`
`objects and determine the order of operations until the “network event” has been
`
`
`
`- 12 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`received—the system must first know the nature of the network event. The system
`
`also must use the most recent version of the network model to simulate accurately
`
`how the network event will affect the physical network. Id. ¶¶ 66-67.
`
`The ’300 patent also contains an example that illustrates the claimed steps.
`
`Column 7 contains an XML network model representing portions of the network
`
`shown in Figures 2 and 3. This model is used for performing a rollback operation
`
`in response to a network event indicating that a provisioning operation (here,
`
`making a circuit available for use) on the network has failed. Menascé Decl. (Ex.
`
`2008) ¶¶ 68-72. When the network event is received from the network, the
`
`modeling system first identifies the network objects—i.e., the circuits that have
`
`been created as part of the provisioning operation—in the network model by
`
`locating each circuit (using the “Circuit” tag) where the DeleteCircuit field is
`
`“YES” and any underlying physical links on which the virtual circuits depend (and
`
`that must also be deleted). ’300 patent (Ex. 1001) at 7:44-45 (“‘DeleteCircuit’
`
`identifies whether or not a particular circuit needs to be deleted.”), 7:53-55
`
`(“‘UnderlyingLinkindex’ identifies whether or not the circuit has an underlying
`
`link.”). The modeling system will then determine the order that each circuit and
`
`link must be deleted using the numerical values in the “Index” field for circuits and
`
`the “UnderlyingLinkindex” field for physical links. Id. at 7:42-44 (“The Index
`
`field identifies the order in which the circuits are to be deleted.”) (emphasis
`
`
`
`- 13 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`added), 7:55-57 (“If an underlying link exists, the underlying link index has
`
`numerical value identifying the order in which it is to be deleted.”) (emphasis
`
`added). The modeling system will then be able to delete the objects representing
`
`the physical links and the circuits in the proper order. Id. at 8:25-31. For example,
`
`no physical link is deleted before all the virtual circuits dependent on the physical
`
`link are first deleted. Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶¶ 73-77.
`
`III. OVERVIEW OF THE CITED PRIOR ART REFERENCES
`
`A. Matheny
`
`The Petition relies on the Matheny patent publication (Ex. 1003) for several
`
`limitations in the challenged independent claims. Petition at 17, 24-34. Matheny
`
`is directed to a system and method for collecting and coalescing information about
`
`devices discovered on a network. Matheny (Ex. 1003) at Abstract. Matheny uses
`
`discovery “agents” to poll targeted devices on the network and collect information
`
`about them. Id. ¶ 0011. Matheny teaches saving the discovered information in
`
`files and then aggregating and “coalescing” the data discovered about devices into
`
`a “discovery document.” Id. ¶¶ 0021-0022, 0024.
`
`Although Matheny explains that network management tools “may be used to
`
`determine the operational status of equipment and transmission facilities and to
`
`obtain notification of faults and threshold conditions, e.g., network traffic
`
`bottlenecks” (id. ¶ 0001), Matheny contains no details about how its “discovery
`
`
`
`- 14 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`document” is used after it has been created, and thus does not disclose using the
`
`discovery document to “process[] a network event.” Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶¶
`
`79-84. Instead, Matheny is directed solely to the discovery process to create the
`
`“discovery document.” Id.; Matheny (Ex. 1003) at Abstract.
`
`B. XML in a Nutshell (Harold)
`
`Harold is a 2001 desktop reference manual that explains the rules of XML
`
`that apply to all XML documents. The excerpt of Harold relied on by Petitioner
`
`contains an introduction to how XML works, discusses some of the fundamentals
`
`of XML (including tags and elements), and discloses how to write simple XML
`
`documents. Harold (Ex. 1004) at 9-37; Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶ 85.
`
`C. Hamner
`
`The Petition relies on the Hamner patent (Ex. 1005) for “processing a
`
`network event.” Petition at 17, 34-43. Hamner is directed to an apparatus for
`
`providing network management services that allows a user to perform certain
`
`“tasks” on the devices in the network by using a user interface that displays a
`
`logical view of the network. Hamner (Ex. 1005) at 2:46-47, 3:57-59, 4:33-38.
`
`Some examples of tasks in Hamner include “viewing the screen of a particular PC;
`
`displaying packet counts; running a report; executing a remote virus scan;
`
`rebooting selected workstations; displaying print jobs; or, displaying non-
`
`functioning printers.” Id. at 3:51-56. Hamner also states that a “task consists
`
`
`
`- 15 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`essentially of an atomic script” and associated parameters (such as the device on
`
`which the task will be performed) (id. at 11:3-6), but does not disclose how tasks
`
`are assigned to devices, written, or executed.
`
`The features of Hamner, including its management console of Figure 2A
`
`described below, are implemented in a management server 12 connected to a
`
`network 10. See id. at Fig. 1, 3:25-40; Lavian Dep. (Ex. 2009) at 56:23-25. The
`
`software disclosed in Hamner includes a discovery manager 301, a database engine
`
`302, a physical network model 303, a view generator 304, and a task manager 305.
`
`Hamner (Ex. 1005) at Fig. 3, 4:59-63. The discovery module 301 collects data
`
`about the devices on the network and adds the information to the physical network
`
`model 303, which is stored in the physical model database. Id. at 5:27-33. The
`
`task manager 304 determines which tasks can be performed on the network, and
`
`associates each task with the devices and groups of devices on which the task can
`
`be performed. Id. at 5:33-37, Fig. 10.
`
`Figure 2A of Hamner depicts the user interface of the management server
`
`12, with two main windows: a device window 201 and a task window 202.
`
`
`
`- 16 -
`
`

`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`
`Id. at Fig. 2A, 4:2-4. When the user (such as a network administer) selects a
`
`specific device or device group from the device window 201 on the left, the task
`
`manager 305 of Hamner will calculate the available tasks for the device or device
`
`group and display them in the task window 202 on the right. Id. at 4:17-32, 11:22-
`
`25, Fig. 2A. The user can then select an available task (211, 212, 213) associated
`
`with the selected device to be performed on the device. Id. at 4:33-39, Fig. 2A. In
`
`other words, Hamner describes a network management tool in which the user of
`
`the management server first views the devices on the network, selects a device
`
`causing the tasks available for the device to display, and then initiates the task by
`
`selecting it. Hamner does not disclose receiving a network event from the network
`
`and then processing the network event by “identifying” the objects affected by the
`
`event and determining the order that the objects must be processed to respond to
`
`the event. A “task” in Hamner does not originate in the network and is not
`
`
`
`- 17 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`“detected or received” by the management server; instead, the “tasks” originate in
`
`the management server itself. Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶¶ 86-91.
`
`D.
`
`Pitt
`
`The Petition cites Pitt (Ex. 1007) for a single limitation: “determining an
`
`order of operation on the one or more network objects.” Petition at 18, 51-55. Pitt
`
`is directed to a sequential computer network shutdown system and process. Pitt
`
`(Ex. 1007) at 1:21-22. Pitt discloses a two-part system: user interface software for
`
`configuring a rules-based shutdown plan that will be installed on each network
`
`device, and a process for executing the shutdown plan when scheduled or manually
`
`activated. Id. at 2:43-56, 3:34-37, Figs. 2, 3. In the configuration process, the user
`
`interface builds a list of computers on the network, identifies any
`
`interdependencies between devices, and recommends a shutdown schedule for
`
`each device based on the interdependencies and the available run time provided by
`
`the UPS (uninterruptible power supply) connected to the device. Id. at 4:13-46.
`
`The shutdown plan executes in response to a manual request, a scheduled
`
`shutdown, or a power failure. Id. at 5:12-18. Accordingly, in Pitt, the shutdown
`
`schedule itself—including the order of operations performed in that shutdown—is
`
`determined before the occurrence of the shutdown request, scheduled shutdown, or
`
`power failure. Menascé Decl. (Ex. 2008) ¶¶ 92-95.
`
`
`
`- 18 -
`
`

`
`
`Case No. IPR2015-00631
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,392,300
`
`
`IV. THE CHALLENGED ’300 PATENT CLAIMS ARE NON-OBVIOUS
`BECAUSE CLAIM LIMITATIONS ARE NOT TAUGHT BY THE
`PRIOR ART
`
`The Board construed three terms from the ’300 patent claims: “network
`
`representation,” “network model,” and “network event.” Decision on Institution
`
`(Paper 12) at 5-9. The Board also noted that the phrase “using the network model”
`
`does not limit the “identifying” and “determining” sub-steps of “processing a
`
`network event using the network model….” Id. at 17. For the purposes of this
`
`inter partes review, HP does not dispute the Board’s construction of “network
`
`representation.” HP does, however, respectfully request reconsideration of the
`
`Board’s preliminary construction of “network event” and “network model” and
`
`interpretation of the “identifying” and “determining” sub-steps as not requiring use
`
`of the “network model.”
`
`Under either reading of the claims, however, Petitioner has failed to meet its
`
`burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence (see 35 U.S.C. § 316(e)) that
`
`the challenged claims of the ’300 patent are unpatentable over the proposed
`
`combinations. The claims are patentable because (a) Hamner does not disclose a
`
`“network event,” (b) neither Matheny nor Hamner alone, nor the com

This document is available on Docket Alarm but you must sign up to view it.


Or .

Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.

After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.

Accept $ Charge
throbber

Still Working On It

This document is taking longer than usual to download. This can happen if we need to contact the court directly to obtain the document and their servers are running slowly.

Give it another minute or two to complete, and then try the refresh button.

throbber

A few More Minutes ... Still Working

It can take up to 5 minutes for us to download a document if the court servers are running slowly.

Thank you for your continued patience.

This document could not be displayed.

We could not find this document within its docket. Please go back to the docket page and check the link. If that does not work, go back to the docket and refresh it to pull the newest information.

Your account does not support viewing this document.

You need a Paid Account to view this document. Click here to change your account type.

Your account does not support viewing this document.

Set your membership status to view this document.

With a Docket Alarm membership, you'll get a whole lot more, including:

  • Up-to-date information for this case.
  • Email alerts whenever there is an update.
  • Full text search for other cases.
  • Get email alerts whenever a new case matches your search.

Become a Member

One Moment Please

The filing “” is large (MB) and is being downloaded.

Please refresh this page in a few minutes to see if the filing has been downloaded. The filing will also be emailed to you when the download completes.

Your document is on its way!

If you do not receive the document in five minutes, contact support at support@docketalarm.com.

Sealed Document

We are unable to display this document, it may be under a court ordered seal.

If you have proper credentials to access the file, you may proceed directly to the court's system using your government issued username and password.


Access Government Site

We are redirecting you
to a mobile optimized page.





Document Unreadable or Corrupt

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket

We are unable to display this document.

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket