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`Ul\TfED STATES DEPA RTME'IT OF COMMERCE
`
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`
`
`
`Adiliess. COMMISSIO'JER FOR PATENTS
`PO Box 1450
`
`Alexandria, Virgmia 22313-1450
`\VVi\V.USpto.gov
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`
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`APPLICATION NUMBER
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`PATENT NUMBER
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`GROUP ART UNIT
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`FILE WRAPPER LOCATION
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`60/986,896
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`
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`1111111111111111111111 m�mmmm1�11111n1111111111111111111111111
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`Correspondence Address/Fee Address Change
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`The following fields have been set to Customer Number 16579 on 10/24/2011
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`
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`•Correspondence Address
`
`•Maintenance Fee Address
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`
`
`The address of record for Customer Number 16579 is:
`
`
`
`16579
`Foster Pepper PLLC
`1111 3rd Avenue Suite 3400
`
`Seattle, WA 98101-3299
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`PART 1 -ATTORNEY/APPLICANT COPY
`page 1 of 1
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`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 1
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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`APPLICATION
`NUMBER
`60/986,896
`
`FILING or
`37l(c)DATE
`11/09/2007
`
`GRPART
`UNIT
`
`FIL FEE REC'D
`105
`
`25315
`BLACK LOWE & GRAHAM, PLLC
`701 FIFTH AVENUE
`SUITE 4800
`SEATTLE, WA 98104
`
`UKITED STATES DEPARTME.\IT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMMISSIO'JER FOR PATENTS
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria, V:irgmia 22313-1450
`\V½w.uspto.gov
`
`ATTY.DOCKET.NO
`TPTC-1-1021
`
`TOT CLAIMS IND CLAIMS
`
`CONFIRMATION NO. 3096
`FILING RECEIPT
`
`Date Mailed: 12/17/2007
`
`Receipt is acknowledged of this provisional patent application. It will not be examined for patentability and will
`become abandoned not later than twelve months after its filing date. Any correspondence concerning the application
`must include the following identification information: the U.S. APPLICATION NUMBER, FILING DATE, NAME OF
`APPLICANT, and TITLE OF INVENTION. Fees transmitted by check or draft are subject to collection. Please verify
`the accuracy of the data presented on this receipt. If an error is noted on this Filing Receipt, please write to the
`Office of Initial Patent Examination's Filing Receipt Corrections. Please provide a copy of this Filing Receipt
`with the changes noted thereon. If you received a "Notice to File Missing Parts" for this application, please
`submit any corrections to this Filing Receipt with your reply to the Notice. When the USPTO processes the
`reply to the Notice, the USPTO will generate another Filing Receipt incorporating the requested corrections
`
`Applicant(s)
`
`Mike R. Manzano, Seattle, WA;
`Power of Attorney: The patent practitioners associated with Customer Number 25315
`
`If Required, Foreign Filing License Granted: 12/14/2007
`
`The country code and number of your priority application, to be used for filing abroad under the Paris Convention,
`is US 60/986,896
`
`Projected Publication Date: None, application is not eligible for pre-grant publication
`
`Non-Publication Request: No
`
`Early Publication Request: No
`** SMALL ENTITY **
`Title
`
`ARCHITECTURE FOR MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL FILES ACROSS DISTRIBUTED NETWORK
`
`PROTECTING YOUR INVENTION OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES
`
`Since the rights granted by a U.S. patent extend only throughout the territory of the United States and have no
`effect in a foreign country, an inventor who wishes patent protection in another country must apply for a patent
`in a specific country or in regional patent offices. Applicants may wish to consider the filing of an international
`application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). An international (PCT) application generally has the same
`effect as a regular national patent application in each PCT-member country. The PCT process simplifies the filing
`of patent applications on the same invention in member countries, but does not result in a grant of "an international
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`patent" and does not eliminate the need of applicants to file additional documents and fees in countries where patent
`protection is desired.
`
`Almost every country has its own patent law, and a person desiring a patent in a particular country must make an
`application for patent in that country in accordance with its particular laws. Since the laws of many countries differ
`in various respects from the patent law of the United States, applicants are advised to seek guidance from specific
`foreign countries to ensure that patent rights are not lost prematurely.
`
`Applicants also are advised that in the case of inventions made in the United States, the Director of the US PTO must
`issue a license before applicants can apply for a patent in a foreign country. The filing of a U.S. patent application
`serves as a request for a foreign filing license. The application's filing receipt contains further information and
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`Applicants may wish to consult the USPTO booklet, "General Information Concerning Patents" (specifically, the
`section entitled "Treaties and Foreign Patents") for more information on timeframes and deadlines for filing foreign
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`can be viewed on the USPTO website at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/index.html.
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`For information on preventing theft of your intellectual property (patents, trademarks and copyrights), you may wish
`to consult the U.S. Government website, http://www.stopfakes.gov. Part of a Department of Commerce initiative,
`this website includes self-help "toolkits" giving innovators guidance on how to protect intellectual property in specific
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`LICENSE FOR FOREIGN FILING UNDER
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`Title 35, United States Code, Section 184
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`Title 37, Code of Federal Regulations, 5.11 & 5.15
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`GRANTED
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`The applicant has been granted a license under 35 U.S.C. 184, if the phrase "IF REQUIRED, FOREIGN FILING
`LICENSE GRANTED" followed by a date appears on this form. Such licenses are issued in all applications where
`the conditions for issuance of a license have been met, regardless of whether or not a license may be required as
`set forth in 37 CFR 5.15. The scope and limitations of this license are set forth in 37 CFR 5.15(a) unless an earlier
`license has been issued under 37 CFR 5.15(b). The license is subject to revocation upon written notification. The
`date indicated is the effective date of the license, unless an earlier license of similar scope has been granted under
`37 CFR 5.13 or 5.14.
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`This license is to be retained by the licensee and may be used at any time on or after the effective date thereof unless
`it is revoked. This license is automatically transferred to any related applications(s) filed under 37 CFR 1.53(d). This
`license is not retroactive.
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`The grant of a license does not in any way lessen the responsibility of a licensee for the security of the subject matter
`as imposed by any Government contract or the provisions of existing laws relating to espionage and the national
`security or the export of technical data. Licensees should apprise themselves of current regulations especially with
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`State (with respect to Arms, Munitions and Implements of War (22 CFR 121-128)); the Bureau of Industry and
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`Security, Department of Commerce (15 CFR parts 730-774); the Office of Foreign AssetsControl, Department of
`Treasury (31 CFR Parts 500+) and the Department of Energy.
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`NOT GRANTED
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`No license under 35 U.S.C. 184 has been granted at this time, if the phrase "IF REQUIRED, FOREIGN FILING
`LICENSE GRANTED" DOES NOT appear on this form. Applicant may still petition for a license under 37 CFR 5.12,
`if a license is desired before the expiration of 6 months from the filing date of the application. If 6 months has lapsed
`from the filing date of this application and the licensee has not received any indication of a secrecy order under 35
`U.S.C. 181, the licensee may foreign file the application pursuant to 37 CFR 5.15(b).
`
`page 3 of 3
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`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 4
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`
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`PTO/SB/14 (07-07)
`Approved for use through 06/30/2010. 0MB 0651-0032
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it contains a valid 0MB control number.
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`Application Data Sheet 37 CFR 1.76
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`Attorney Docket Number
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`TPTC-1-1021
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`Application Number
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`Title of Invention I ARCHITECTURE FOR MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL FILES ACROSS DISTRIBUTED NETWORK
`
`The application data sheet is part of the provisional or nonprovisional application for which it is being submitted. The following form contains the
`bibliographic data arranged in a format specified by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as outlined in 37 CFR 1.76.
`This document may be completed electronically and submitted to the Office in electronic format using the Electronic Filing System (EFS) or the
`document may be printed and included in a paper filed application.
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`Secrecy Order 37 CFR 5.2
`D Portions or all of the application associated with this Application Data Sheet may fall under a Secrecy Order pursuant to
`37 CFR 5.2 (Paper filers only. Applications that fall under Secrecy Order may not be filed electronically.)
`r
`t I f
`f
`A ,pp 1can
`n orma 10n:
`Aoolicant 1
`Applicant Authority (!)Inventor I QLegal Representative under 35 U.S.C. 117
`
`jQParty of Interest under 35 U.S.C. 118
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`Prefix Given Name
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`Family Name
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`Suffix
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`R.
`Mike
`Manzano
`Residence Information (Select One) 0 US Residency 0 Non US Residency 0 Active US Military Service
`I Country of Residence i I us
`State/Province I WA
`City
`Seattle
`us
`
`Citizenship under 37 CFR 1.41(b) i
`Mailing Address of Applicant:
`Address 1
`
`5702 35th Avenue NE
`
`Address 2
`I Seattle
`Postal Code
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`City
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`98105
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`I State/Province
`I Countryi I US
`All Inventors Must Be Listed - Additional Inventor Information blocks may be
`generated within this form by selecting the Add button.
`
`I WA
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`Correspondence Information:
`Enter either Customer Number or complete the Correspondence Information section below.
`For further information see 37 CFR 1.33(a).
`D An Address is being provided for the correspondence Information of this application.
`Customer Number
`25315
`
`Email Address
`
`Application Information:
`
`Title of the Invention
`
`Attorney Docket Number TPTC-1-1021
`
`ARCHITECTURE FOR MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL FILES ACROSS DISTRIBUTED NETWORK
`lg]
`
`I Small Entity Status Claimed
`
`Application Type
`
`Provisional
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`Subject Matter
`
`Utility
`
`Suggested Class (if any)
`
`Suggested Technology Center (if any)
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`Total Number of Drawing Sheets (if any)
`
`EFS Web 2.2.1
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`I Sub Class (if any)j
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`I Suggested Figure for Publication (if any) I
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 5
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`
`
`PTO/SB/14 (07-07)
`Approved for use through 06/30/2010. 0MB 0651-0032
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`Under the Papeiwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it contains a valid 0MB control number.
`
`Application Data Sheet 37 CFR 1.76
`
`Attorney Docket Number
`
`TPTC-1-1021
`
`Application Number
`
`Title of Invention
`
`ARCHITECTURE FOR MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL FILES ACROSS DISTRIBUTED NETWORK
`
`Publication Information:
`D Request Early Publication (Fee required at time of Request 37 CFR 1.219)
`Request Not to Publish. I hereby request that the attached application not be published under 35 U.S.
`□ C. 122(b) and certify that the invention disclosed in the attached application has not and will not be the subject of
`an application filed in another country, or under a multilateral international agreement, that requires publication at
`eighteen months after filing.
`
`Representative Information:
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`Representative information should be provided for all practitioners having a power of attorney in the application. Providing
`this information in the Application Data Sheet does not constitute a power of attorney in the application (see 37 CFR 1.32).
`complete
`Enter either Customer Number or
`the Representative Name
`section
`below.
`If both
`are completed the Customer Number will be used for the Representative Information during processing.
`
`sections
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`Please Select One:
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`Customer Number
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`0 Customer Number
`25315
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`I O US Patent Practitioner 10 Limited Recognition (37 CFR 11.9)
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`Domestic Benefit/National Stage Information:
`This section allows for the applicant to either claim benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e), 120, 121, or 365(c) or indicate National Stage
`entry from a PCT application. Providing this information in the application data sheet constitutes the specific reference required by
`35 U.S.C. 119(e) or 120, and 37 CFR 1.78(a)(2) or CFR 1.78(a)(4), and need not otherwise be made part of the specification.
`
`Prior Application Status
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`1111111
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`Continuity Type
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`Filing Date (YYYY-MM-DD)
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`Additional Domestic Benefit/National Stage Data may be generated within this form
`by selecting the Add button.
`
`Foreign Priority Information:
`This section allows for the applicant to claim benefit of foreign priority and to identify any prior foreign application for which priority is
`not claimed. Providing this information in the application data sheet constitutes the claim for priority as required by 35 U.S.C. 119(b)
`and 37 CFR 1.55(a).
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`Add button.
`Assignee Information:
`Providing this information in the application data sheet does not substitute for compliance with any requirement of part 3 of Title 37
`of the CFR to have an assignment recorded in the Office.
`
`Assianee 1
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`EFS Web 2.2.1
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 6
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`
`
`PTO/SB/14 (07-07)
`Approved for use through 06/30/2010. 0MB 0651-0032
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it contains a valid 0MB control number.
`
`Application Data Sheet 37 CFR 1.76
`
`Attorney Docket Number
`
`TPTC-1-1021
`
`Application Number
`
`Title of Invention
`
`ARCHITECTURE FOR MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL FILES ACROSS DISTRIBUTED NETWORK
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`If the Assignee is an Organization check here.
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`Fax Number
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`Additional Assignee Data may be generated within this form by selecting the Add
`button.
`
`Signature:
`A signature of the applicant or representative is required in accordance with 37 CFR 1.33 and 10.18. Please see 37
`CFR 1.4( d) for the form of the signature.
`
`Signature
`
`/P.G. Scott Born/
`
`First Name
`
`P.G. Scott
`
`I Last Name I Born
`
`Date (YYYY-MM-DD) 2007-11-09
`
`Registration Number
`
`40523
`
`This collection of information is required by 37 CFR 1. 76. The information is required to obtain or retain a benefit by the public which
`is to file (and by the USPTO to process) an application. Confidentiality is governed by 35 U.S.C. 122 and 37 CFR 1.14. This
`collection is estimated to take 23 minutes to complete, including gathering, preparing, and submitting the completed application data
`sheet form to the USPTO. Time will vary depending upon the individual case. Any comments on the amount of time you require to
`complete this form and/or suggestions for reducing this burden, should be sent to the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Patent and
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`
`EFS Web 2.2.1
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 7
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`
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`ARCHITECTURE FOR MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL FILES ACROSS
`
`DISTRIBUTED NETWORK
`
`This provisional patent application is
`
`intended to describe one or more
`
`embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that the use of absolute
`
`terms, such as "must," "will," and the like, as well as specific quantities, is to be
`
`construed as being applicable to one or more of such embodiments, but not necessarily to
`
`all such embodiments. As such, embodiments of the invention may omit or include a
`
`modification of one or more features or functionalities described in the context of such
`
`absolute terms.
`
`TPTC-l-l02IPAP
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 8
`
`
`
`The MediaSpace Concept
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 9
`
`
`
`❖ Introduction
`
`Purpose of this Document
`
`This document is a description of MediaSpace, a Topia product that
`provides its customers with a seamless experience for administering their
`documents 1 across a distributed network of machines.
`
`1 This document defines "documents" as files in a particular domain in which a customer works; i.e., a file that a
`customer "cares" about. For example, a document for a photographer can be a TIFF file. A document for a software
`developer may be a text file containing source code. Files not generally considered documents include system
`configuration files, executable binaries, and image files included in a web page (although the web page itself might be
`considered a document).
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 10
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`
`
`❖ Market Definition and Product Strategy
`
`Market Overview
`
`► The problem space
`Customers of the modern computing systems are increasingly finding
`themselves in constantly-connected, high-speed networked
`environments. The Web continues to be a killer app, second only to
`email, on the Internet. Further, customers are increasingly using more
`than one computing device; a customer may have a desktop computer at
`home, one at work, and a constantly connected "smart phone". Due to
`the confluence of these two trends, file management across these devices
`has become a prominent problem.
`Although modern devices are easily connected, they do not provide
`the customer a seamless environment; the customer must manually
`handle many aspects of that connection. With regards to file
`management, customers must manually move files between their devices
`using some protocol like email, ftp, or by posting it on the Web. These
`practices lead to problems that include:
`
`, The proliferation of redundant file copies-this proliferation creates
`a confusing environment where the customer is unclear where the
`"official" or newest version of a file exists.
`
`, The creation of an error-prone environment-some documents,
`such as ones for word processing and desktop publishing,
`externally reference other files. Copying such a document can
`break these references causing errors that the customer has to
`handle manually. An example of such a document is a desktop
`publishing document that contains a reference to an image. If that
`image file is not transferred along with the desktop publishing file,
`the image will appear as a broken link.
`
`• Unnecessary complexity-because devices tend to have their own
`filing system, customers must manage a different filing model on
`each of his devices. For example, instead of having a single "Movies"
`folder, he may have to deal with many "Movies" folders, which may
`be in different locations on each of his devices. Each device may
`also have its own security model, further complicating the matter.
`
`That a customer has to manually move files around to ensure their
`accessibility on his devices is unnecessary, but is really an indicator of a
`lack of customer-focused design in modern file systems. File systems in
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 11
`
`
`
`use today2 are direct offspring of systems used when graphical customer
`interfaces were non existent. Modern file system customer interfaces,
`such as Windows' Explorer and Mac OS X's Finder are just now starting
`to provide experiences that are more in line to a customer's workflow.
`Whereas before these interfaces were concerned with representing files
`with abstracted icons, the file's actual contents are becoming paramount
`in how files are organized and presented.
`
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`
`"Old-style" UI:files are minimally differentiated. All.files treated the same.
`
`2 We make no distinction between the actually file system layer in an operating system and the way it is presented to
`the customer. For this customer-focused discussion, the difference is unimportant; as far as the customer is
`concerned, the method by which they access the file system is indistinguishable from the file system itself.
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 12
`
`
`
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`
`"New-style" UI:files are organized by type; media is visualized; "searching", not "browsing".
`
`Problems still exist with how these newer customer interfaces are
`implemented. They are not completely integrated with applications,
`suffer from performance problems, and do not generally work well
`outside of a device's local file system.
`
`► Current approaches to providing file accessibility
`There are several solutions to this problem that are in one way or
`another inadequate to the task. The solutions discussed here are chosen
`because they are common methods that customers employ for providing
`accessibility to their files.
`REMOTE DESKTOP software allows a customer to remotely "see" his
`desktop. Remote desktop software includes Microsoft RDC, Citrb{,
`GoToMyPC and VNC. Remote desktop software screen-scrapes a remote
`machine's screen (a "server") and displays it on a screen local to the
`customer (a "client").
`Remote desktop gives a customer access to not only his files, but also
`to his applications. However, this approach requires that the host
`machine be turned on and connected to the internet at all times.
`Consequently, this approach would not be appropriate for mobile hosts
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 13
`
`
`
`such as laptops. Remote desktop does not use the resources of a local
`machine. For full accessibility, the customer would have to keep all files
`and application on the host machine as any files stored on a client are
`not guaranteed to be accessible.
`DISTRIBUTED FILI!: SYSTEMS, like remote desktop software, place
`data on an always-connected host machine. These systems include NFS,
`WebDAV, and Microsoft's SMB. Unlike remote desktop software, the host
`machine is not one on which the customer performs computing tasks.
`The host machine is used as a storage mechanism, and any computation
`performed on that machine serves to supports its use as such.
`Distributed file systems generally provide the right functionality for
`customers to share files between their devices. However, distributed file
`systems are usually deployed as a shared resource; that is, other
`customers have access to it. Because of this sharing, a customer's files
`may be buried deep in a filing structure, and it may not always be
`immediately evident to customers what kind of access they have to a
`particular file. Further, to use a distributed file system, the customer
`must always be connected to it. Files stored on a distributed file system
`are generally inaccessible if the customer's machine is not connected to
`it, unless the customer has copied or moved the files to his machine's
`local hard drive. However, doing so immediately creates the problem of
`having two filing systems for the same file, creating a mental burden on
`the customer.
`Additionally, accessing a file located on a distributed file system
`tends to be slower than accessing files on the local hard drive. Modern
`applications are usually written to assume that the files they access are
`located locally, and thus are not optimized to access remote files. When
`these applications are used with remote files, they can lose performance
`by an order of magnitude. This problem can be fixed by automatically
`caching often-used files on the local file system, and only synchronizing
`them when they have been changed. However, this separate
`synchronization step introduces another problem: because the
`synchronization process can be lengthy, the customer is never entirely
`sure if the file he is remotely accessing is the latest version of the file,
`versus an earlier one that has been marked to be updated. Further, the
`directory may not reflect the existence of the file at all until
`synchronization finishes.
`FTP is similar to a distributed file system with regards to files being
`hosted on a remote server. However FTP generally does manifest as a
`"disk drive" on the customer's desktop; the customer must use special
`FTP client software to access an FTP server. It shares the same problem
`as distributed file systems, with the additional problem of weak
`integration with applications. Applications can generally write and read
`files directly to and from a distributed file system. This is not the case
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 14
`
`
`
`with FTP, as the customer has to manually use the client software to
`perform these operations as a separate task.
`EMAIL was originally invented for messaging. From the beginning,
`the model it employs to make files accessible remotely is necessarily
`inefficient. Email's model for making files accessible is in the form of an
`email "attachment". Attachments are so named because they piggy-back
`on a message sent from one customer to another. A customer can make a
`file remotely available using email by attaching the file to an email and
`sending it to himself. He can then retrieve the file from a remote location
`by accessing the message on the email server. Email used in this way is
`even worse than FTP as the process is even more manual: a customer
`must find the message containing the file before he can even access it.
`Further, the location in which the attachment lives is read only. If the
`customer, for example, were to open the file, change it, then save it back
`out, the results would be ambiguous to the user because the email
`application, not the user, specified its location. Usually, the saved file
`would end up buried in an email file cache in an undisclosed area of the
`file system.
`FLASH DRIVES, EXTERNAL DISK DRIVES AND !PODS, although
`seemingly the most "primitive" way to ensure file availability, avoid all
`the problems related to network latency. However, these devices must be
`physically connected to the computer on which the files will be accessed.
`These restrictions preclude the customer from employing several effective
`work-flows including: using more than one computer to complete a single
`task (the files can only be accessed on one computer) and setting up an
`automated backup (the computer running the backup can't guarantee
`that the storage device will be connected come backup time). Further, to
`ensure full availability of the files, the customer must carry the device
`with them at all times, and must follow the associated protocols for
`mounting and dismounting the device.
`
`► Current approaches to file presentation
`The two applications that most customer use to interact with their
`filesystems are Windows Explorer and Mac Finder. Although these
`applications {and others of their type) differ in specific implementation,
`they provide the same core functionality: the spatial presentation of a
`folder hierarchy. Although this type of presentation is useful for certain
`tasks, it is only optimal for a small number of use cases.
`A significant technique to organize files is to have an application
`"own" and manage files that belong to a domain in which the application
`has specific expertise. The application itself is the primary interface by
`which to browse its files; that job is not delegated to a different
`application like the Mac Finder or the Windows Explorer. This technique
`allows users to greatly limit the number of files that he must search or
`browse through by limiting his context.
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 15
`
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`A disadvantage to this approach becomes evident when working with
`more than one application to finish a particular task. Because an
`application "owns" its list of files, they are not readily available to other
`applications. For an application to use an image from the album depicted
`above, that application would have to know how to deal with iPhoto. The
`advantage of direct filesystems access over this approach is that the
`filesystem provides a "common ground" for making files available.
`
`The Product: MediaSpace
`
`MediaSpace provides a single-access experience. It provides a single
`logical area for customers to store and access their documents. It
`relegates IP addresses, URLs, disk drives, and networks to a position
`secondary to customer experience, accessibility, find-ability,
`collaboration and integration. MediaSpace also provides a customer
`experience in which the customer's files are the most important element.
`It serves as ''common ground"-between applications for accessing each
`others' files. When coupled with its single-storage experience, it also
`provides "common ground" to web-based applications, not just
`applications running locally on a customer's device.
`A core goal ofMediaSpace is to allow user to treat their documents as
`if they exist in a "cloud". If documents could be moved across the
`Internet instantaneously, it would be possible to craft a system in which
`customers would not have to be exposed to a document's locality.
`MediaSpace exposes certain aspects of a document's locality to a
`customer in its user interface.
`
`Box & Dropbox Exhibit 1015
`Page 16
`
`
`
`An embodimentinforms the user that a document is not immediately available, and
`advises when and how that document may be made available.
`The MediaSpace is comprised of several notional components. These
`components should not necessarilybe treated as literal components so as to not
`stifle design creativity when creating an implementation.
`
`► Storage
`MediaSpacemay have a storage component separate from the
`customer's set of "everyday" devices. Having a separate storage
`component provides an "in-between" space for files and configuration
`information. Without this storage component, a file transfer from one of
`the customer's devices to another may require that both devices are
`both on and connected to a network, such is the case with FTP.
`The Storage component is the seat of security and is responsible for
`segregating documents by customer. Unlike traditional filesystems, a
`MediaSpace is a single-customer construct. For a customer to access a
`document, that document can be in his MediaSpace.
`
`► Cache
`To mitigate document access latency, MediaSpace treats the
`customer device's hard drive as a local document cache for the files
`located in the "cloud". MediaSpace synchronizes documents in the cloud
`with a device's local cache. This feature proactively downloads a
`document so that when a user goes to access it, there is no delay.
`Because hard drives in contemporary machines are large enough to
`contain all of an average user's files, the cache will likely contain all of
`the user's files, ensuring adequate file access performance.
`The entire caching process is invisible to the user, so although files
`are being duplicated locally, the duplicates are being completely
`managed by MediaSpace.
`
`► Directory
`The Directory is the list of the customer's documents and related
`metadata, as well as any one-to-one or one-to-many relationships
`between the documents and metadata.
`MediaSpace can always provide customers with an accurate
`"picture" of their document collection, regardless of whether his devices
`physically contain the documents. As mentioned earlier, a problem with
`distributed file systems and FTP is the latency between a file being put
`onto a file system and it showing up on a remote machine. To prevent
`this problem, MediaSpace