Case 6:21-cv-00241-ADA Document 1 Filed 03/10/21 Page 1 of 36
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`WACO DIVISION
`
`
`
`SABLE NETWORKS, INC. AND
`SABLE IP, LLC,
` Plaintiffs,
`v.
`FORCEPOINT LLC,
`
` Defendant.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Civil Action No._________
`
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`Sable Networks, Inc. and Sable IP, LLC (collectively, “Sable” or “Plaintiffs”) bring this
`
`action and make the following allegations of patent infringement relating to U.S. Patent Nos.:
`
`6,954,431 (the “‘431 patent”); 6,977,932 (the “‘932 patent”); 8,243,593 (the “‘593 patent”); and
`
`9,774,501 (the “‘501 patent”) (collectively, the “patents-in-suit”). Defendant Forcepoint LLC
`
`(“Forcepoint” or “Defendant”) infringes the patents-in-suit in violation of the patent laws of the
`
`United States of America, 35 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.
`
`INTRODUCTION
`The patents-in-suit arise from technologies developed by Dr. Lawrence G. Roberts
`
`1.
`
`- one of the founding fathers of the internet.1 The patents relate to technologies for efficiently
`
`managing the flow of data packets over routers and switch devices. Dr. Roberts and engineers at
`
`Caspian Networks, Inc. and later Sable Networks, Inc. developed these technologies to address the
`
`increasing amount of data sent over computer networks.
`
`
`1 Chris Woodford, THE INTERNET: A HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA VOLUME 2 at 204 (2005)
`(“Widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Internet, Lawrence Roberts was the
`primary architect of ARPANET, the predecessor of the Internet.”).
`
`
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`2.
`
`Dr. Roberts is best known for his work as the Chief Scientist of the Advanced
`
`Research Projects Agency (ARPA) where he designed and oversaw the implementation of
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`ARPANET, the precursor to the internet. Dr. Roberts’ work on ARPANET played a key role in
`
`the development of digital network transmission technologies.2 Initially, ARPANET was used
`
`primarily to send electronic mail and Dr. Roberts developed the first program for reading and
`
`sending electronic messages.
`
`Keenan Mayo and Peter Newcomb, How The Web Was Won, VANITY FAIR at 96-97 (January 7,
`2009); One of the Engineers Who Invented the Internet Wants to Build A Radical new Router,
`IEEE SPECTRUM MAGAZINE (July 2009); Katie Hafner, Billions Served Daily, and Counting, N.Y.
`TIMES at G1 (December 6, 2001)(“Lawrence Roberts, who was then a manager at the Advanced
`Research Projects Agency's Information Processing Techniques Office, solved that problem after
`his boss began complaining about the volume of e-mail piling up in his in box. In 1972, Dr. Roberts
`produced the first e-mail manager, called RD, which included a filing system, as well as a Delete
`function.”).
`
`3.
`
`Dr. Roberts’ work on ARPANET played a key role in the development of packet
`
`switching networks. Packet switching is a digital network transmission process in which data is
`
`broken into parts which are sent independently and reassembled at a destination. Electronic
`
`messages sent over the ARPANET were broken up into packets then routed over a network to a
`
`destination. “In designing the ARPANET, Roberts expanded on the work he'd done at MIT, using
`
`
`2 Katie Hafner, Lawrence Roberts, Who Helped Design Internet’s Precursor, N.Y. TIMES at A2
`(December 31, 2018) (“Dr. Roberts was considered the decisive force behind packet switching,
`the technology that breaks data into discrete bundles that are then sent along various paths around
`a network and reassembled at their destination.”).
`
`
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`those tiny data packets to send information from place to place.”3 Packet switching has become
`
`the primary technology for data communications over computer networks.
`
`George Johnson, From Two Small Nodes, a Mighty Web Has Grown, N.Y. TIMES at F1 (October
`12, 1999).
`
`4.
`
`After leaving ARPANET, Dr. Roberts grew increasingly concerned that existing
`
`technologies for routing data packets were incapable of addressing the increasing amounts of data
`
`traversing the internet.4 Dr. Roberts identified that as the “Net grows, the more loss and
`
`transmission of data occurs. Eventually, gridlock will set in.”5
`
`The Internet is broken. I should know: I designed it. In 1967, I wrote the first plan
`for the ancestor of today's Internet, the Advanced Research Projects Agency
`Network, or ARPANET, and then led the team that designed and built it. The main
`idea was to share the available network infrastructure by sending data as small,
`independent packets, which, though they might arrive at different times, would still
`generally make it to their destinations. The small computers that directed the data
`traffic-I called them Interface Message Processors, or IMPs-evolved into today's
`
`
`3 Code Metz, Larry Roberts Calls Himself the Founder of The Internet. Who Are You To Argue,
`WIRED MAGAZINE (September 24, 2012); John C. McDonald, FUNDAMENTALS OF DIGITAL
`SWITCHING at 211 (1990) (“The ARPANET was, in part, an experimental verification of the
`packet switching concept. Robert’s objective was a new capability for resource sharing.”).
`4 eWeek Editors, Feeling A Little Congested, EWEEK MAGAZINE (September 24, 2001) (“Lawrence
`Roberts, one of the primary developers of Internet precursor ARPANet and CTO of Caspian
`Networks, recently released research indicating that Net traffic has quadrupled during the past
`year alone.”).
`5 Michael Cooney, Can ATM Save The Internet, NETWORK WORLD at 16 (May 20, 1996);
`Lawrence Roberts, A RADICAL NEW ROUTER, IEEE Spectrum Vol. 46 34-39 (August 2009).
`
`
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`routers, and for a long time they've kept up with the Net's phenomenal growth. Until
`now.
`Lawrence Roberts, A Radical New Router, IEEE SPECTRUM Vol. 46(7) at 34 (August 2009)
`(emphasis added).
`In 1998, Dr. Roberts founded Caspian Networks.6 At Caspian Networks, Dr.
`5.
`
`Roberts developed a new kind of internet router to efficiently route packets over a network. This
`
`new router was aimed at addressing concerns about network “gridlock.” In a 2001 interview with
`
`Wired Magazine, Dr. Roberts discussed the router he was developing at Caspian Networks – the
`
`Apeiro. “Roberts says the Apeiro will also create new revenue streams for the carriers by solving
`
`the ‘voice and video problem.’ IP voice and video, unlike email and static Web pages, breaks
`
`down dramatically if there's a delay - as little as a few milliseconds - in getting packets from host
`
`to recipient.”7
`
`Jim Duffy, Router Newcomers take on Cisco, Juniper, NETWORK WORLD at 14 (April 14, 2013);
`Stephen Lawson, Caspian Testing Stellar Core Offering, NETWORK WORLD at 33 (December 17,
`2001); Tim Greene, Caspian Plans Superfast Routing For The ‘Net Core, NETWORK WORLD at 10
`(January 29, 2001); Andrew P. Madden, Company Spotlight: Caspian Networks, MIT
`TECHNOLOGY REVIEW at 33 (August 2005); and Loring Wirbel, Caspian Moves Apeiro Router To
`Full Availability, EE TIMES (April 14, 2003).
`
`
`6 Caspian Networks, Inc. was founded in 1998 as Packetcom, LLC and changed its name to
`Caspian Networks, Inc. in 1999.
`7 John McHugh, The n-Dimensional Superswitch, WIRED MAGAZINE (May 1, 2001).
`
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`6.
`
`The Apeiro debuted in 2003. The Apeiro, a flow-based router, can identify the
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`nature of a packet – be it audio, text, or video, and prioritize it accordingly. The Apeiro included
`
`numerous technological advances including quality of service (QoS) routing and flow-based
`
`routing.
`
`7.
`
`At its height, Caspian Networks Inc. raised more than $300 million dollars and
`
`grew to more than 320 employees in the pursuit of developing and commercializing Dr. Roberts’
`
`groundbreaking networking technologies, including building flow-based routers that advanced
`
`quality of service and load balancing performance. However, despite early success with its
`
`technology and business, Caspian hit hard times when the telecommunications bubble burst.
`
`8.
`
`Sable Networks, Inc. was formed by Dr. Sang Hwa Lee to further develop and
`
`commercialize the flow-based networking technologies developed by Dr. Roberts and Caspian
`
`Networks.8 Sable Networks, Inc. has continued its product development efforts and has gained
`
`commercial success with customers in Japan, South Korea, and China. Customers of Sable
`
`Networks, Inc. have included: SK Telecom, NTT Bizlink, Hanaro Telecom, Dacom Corporation,
`
`USEN Corporation, Korea Telecom, China Unicom, China Telecom, and China Tietong.
`
`
`8 Dr. Lee, through his company Mobile Convergence, Ltd. purchased the assets of Caspian
`Networks Inc. and subsequently created Sable Networks, Inc.
`
`
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`SK Telecom and Sable Networks Sign Convergence Network Deal, COMMS UPDATE – TELECOM
`NEWS SERVICE (February 4, 2009) (“South Korean operator SK Telecom has announced that it has
`signed a deal with US-based network and solutions provider Sable Networks.”); China Telecom
`Deploys Sable, LIGHT READING NEWS FEED (November 19, 2007) (“Sable Networks Inc., a leading
`provider of service controllers, today announced that China Telecom Ltd, the largest landline
`telecom company in China, has deployed the Sable Networks Service Controller in their
`network.”).
`
`9.
`
`Armed with the assets of Caspian Networks Inc. as well as members of Caspian
`
`Networks’ technical team, Sable Networks, Inc. continued the product development efforts
`
`stemming from Dr. Roberts’ flow-based router technologies. Sable Networks, Inc. developed
`
`custom application-specific integrated circuits (“ASIC”) designed for flow traffic management.
`
`Sable Network, Inc.’s ASICs include the Sable Networks SPI, which enables 20 Gigabit flow
`
`processing. In addition, Sable Networks, Inc. developed and released S-Series Service Controllers
`
`(e.g., S80 and S240 Service Controller models) that contain Sable Networks’ flow-based
`
`programmable ASICs, POS and Ethernet interfaces, and carrier-hardened routing and scalability
`
`from 10 to 800 Gigabits.
`
`
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`SABLE NETWORKS S-SERIES SERVICE CONTROLLERS (showing the S240-240G Multi-Shelf System,
`S80-80G Single-Shelf System, and S20-20G Stand-Alone System).
`
`10.
`
`Sable pursues the reasonable royalties owed for Forcepoint’s use of the inventions
`
`claimed in Sable’s patent portfolio, which arise from Caspian Networks and Sable Networks’
`
`groundbreaking technology.
`
`SABLE’S PATENT PORTFOLIO
`
`11.
`
`Sable’s patent portfolio includes over 34 patent assets, including 14 granted U.S.
`
`patents. Dr. Lawrence Roberts’ pioneering work on QoS traffic prioritization, flow-based
`
`switching and routing, and the work of Dr. Roberts’ colleagues at Caspian Networks Inc. and Sable
`
`Networks, Inc. are claimed in the various patents owned by Sable.
`
`12.
`
`Highlighting the importance of the patents-in-suit is the fact that the Sable’s patent
`
`portfolio has been cited by over 1,000 U.S. and international patents and patent applications
`
`assigned to a wide variety of the largest companies operating in the computer networking field.
`
`Sable’s patents have been cited by companies such as:
`
`
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`• Cisco Systems, Inc.9
`• Juniper Networks, Inc.10
`• Broadcom Limited11
`• EMC Corporation12
`• F5 Networks, Inc.13
`• Verizon Communications Inc.14
`• Microsoft Corporation15
`Intel Corporation16
`•
`• Extreme Networks, Inc.17
`• Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.18
`
`SABLE NETWORKS, INC.
`
`THE PARTIES
`
`13.
`
`Sable Networks, Inc. (“Sable Networks”) is a corporation organized and existing
`
`under the laws of the State of California.
`
`14.
`
`Sable Networks was formed to continue the research, development, and
`
`commercialization work of Caspian Networks Inc., which was founded by Dr. Lawrence Roberts
`
`
`9 See, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 7,411,965; 7,436,830; 7,539,499; 7,580,351; 7,702,765; 7,817546;
`7,936,695; 8,077,721; 8,493,867; 8,868,775; and 9,013,985.
`10 See, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 7,463,639; 7,702,810; 7,826,375; 8,593,970; 8,717,889; 8,811,163;
`8,811,183; 8,964,556; 9,032,089; 9,065,773; and 9,832,099.
`11 See, e.g., U.S. Patent No. 7,187,687; 7,206,283; 7,266,117; 7,596,139; 7,649,885; 8,014,315;
`8,037,399; 8,170,044; 8,194,666; 8,271,859; 8,448,162; 8,493,988; 8,514,716; and 7,657,703.
`12 See, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 6,976,134; 7,185,062; 7,404,000; 7,421,509; 7,864,758; and
`8,085,794.
`13 See, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 7,206,282; 7,580,353; 8,418,233; 8,565,088; 9,225,479; 9,106,606;
`9,130,846; 9,210,177; 9,614,772; 9,967,331; and 9,832,069.
`14 See, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 7,349,393; 7,821,929; 8,218,569; 8,289,973; 9,282,113; and
`8,913,623.
`15 See, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 7,567,504; 7,590,736; 7,669,235; 7,778,422; 7,941,309; 7,636,917;
`9,571,550; and 9,800,592.
`16 See, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 7,177,956; 7,283,464; 9,485,178; 9,047,417; 8,718,096; 8,036,246;
`8,493,852; and 8,730,984.
`17 See, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 7,903,654; 7,978,614; 8,149839; 10,212,224; 9,112,780; and
`8,395,996.
`18 See, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 7,903,553; 7,957,421; 10,015,079; 10,505,840; and Chinese Patent
`Nos. CN108028828 and CN106161333.
`
`
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`to provide flow-based switching and routing technologies to improve the efficiency and quality of
`
`computer networks.
`
`15.
`
`Sable Networks is the owner by assignment of all of the patents-in-suit.
`
`SABLE IP, LLC
`
`16.
`
`Sable IP, LLC (“Sable IP”) is a Delaware limited liability company with its
`
`principal place of business at 225 S. 6th Street, Suite 3900, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402.
`
`Pursuant to an exclusive license agreement with Sable Networks, Sable IP is the exclusive licensee
`
`of the patents-in-suit.
`
`FORCEPOINT LLC
`
`17.
`
`Forcepoint LLC (“Forcepoint”), is a Delaware corporation with its principal place
`
`of business at 10900-A Stonelake Blvd., Quarry Oaks 1, Ste. 350, Austin, Texas 78759.
`
`Forcepoint may be served through its registered agent Corporate Creations Network Inc., 5444
`
`Westheimer #1000, Houston, Texas 77056. Forcepoint is registered to do business in the State of
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`Texas and has been since at least January 13, 2016.
`
`18.
`
`Forcepoint conducts business operations within the Western District of Texas
`
`where it sells, develops, and/or markets its products including its headquarters at 10900-A
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`Stonelake Blvd., Quarry Oaks 1, Ste. 350, Austin, Texas 78759.
`
`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`
`19.
`
`This action arises under the patent laws of the United States, Title 35 of the United
`
`States Code. Accordingly, this Court has exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over this action
`
`under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a).
`
`20.
`
`This Court has personal jurisdiction over Forcepoint in this action because
`
`Forcepoint has committed acts within the Western District of Texas giving rise to this action and
`
`
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`has established minimum contacts with this forum such that the exercise of jurisdiction over
`
`Forcepoint would not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. Forcepoint is
`
`registered to do business in the State of Texas, and maintains its corporate headquarters in Austin,
`
`Texas.
`
`21.
`
`Venue is proper in this district under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b)-(d) and 1400(b).
`
`Defendant Forcepoint is registered to do business in the State of Texas, maintains its corporate
`
`headquarters in the Western District of Texas, has transacted business in the Western District of
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`Texas and has committed acts of direct and indirect infringement in the Western District of Texas.
`
`22.
`
`Forcepoint has a regular and established place of business in this District and has
`
`committed acts of infringement in this District. Forcepoint maintains its corporate headquarters at
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`10900-A Stonelake Blvd., Quarry Oaks 1, Ste. 350, Austin, Texas 78759, which is located within
`
`this District. Forcepoint employs full-time personnel such as sales personnel and engineers in this
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`District. Forcepoint has also committed acts of infringement in this District by commercializing,
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`marketing, selling, distributing, testing, and servicing the Accused Products.
`
`23.
`
`This Court has personal jurisdiction over Forcepoint. Forcepoint has conducted
`
`and does conduct business within the State of Texas. Forcepoint, directly or through subsidiaries
`
`or intermediaries (including distributors, retailers, and others), ships, distributes, makes, uses,
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`offers for sale, sells, imports, and/or advertises (including by providing an interactive web page)
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`its products and/or services in the United States and the Western District of Texas and/or
`
`contributes to and actively induces its customers to ship, distribute, make, use, offer for sale, sell,
`
`import, and/or advertise (including the provision of an interactive web page) infringing products
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`and/or services in the United States and the Western District of Texas. Forcepoint, directly and
`
`through subsidiaries or intermediaries (including distributors, retailers, and others), has
`
`
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`purposefully and voluntarily placed one or more of its infringing products and/or services, as
`
`described below, into the stream of commerce with the expectation that those products will be
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`purchased and used by customers and/or consumers in the Western District of Texas. These
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`infringing products and/or services have been and continue to be made, used, sold, offered for sale,
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`purchased, and/or imported by customers and/or consumers in the Western District of Texas.
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`Forcepoint has committed acts of patent infringement within the Western District of Texas.
`
`Forcepoint interacts with customers in Texas, including through visits to customer sites in Texas.
`
`Through these interactions and visits, Forcepoint directly infringes the patents-in-suit.
`
`24.
`
`Forcepoint has minimum contacts with this District such that the maintenance of
`
`this action within this District would not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial
`
`justice. Thus, the Court therefore has both general and specific personal jurisdiction over
`
`Forcepoint.
`
`U.S. PATENT NO. 6,954,431
`
`THE ASSERTED PATENTS
`
`25.
`
`U.S. Patent No. 6,954,431 (the “’431 patent”) entitled, Micro-Flow Management,
`
`was filed on December 6, 2001, and claims priority to April 19, 2000. The ‘431 patent is subject
`
`to a 35 U.S.C. § 154(b) term extension of 722 days. Sable Networks, Inc. is the owner by
`
`assignment of the ‘431 patent. Sable IP is the exclusive licensee of the ‘431 patent. A true and
`
`correct copy of the ‘431 patent is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
`
`26.
`
`The ‘431 patent discloses novel methods and systems for managing data traffic
`
`comprising a plurality of micro-flows through a network.
`
`27.
`
`The inventions disclosed in the ‘431 patent improve the quality of service in data
`
`transmissions over a computer network by relying on per micro-flow state information that enables
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`rate and delay variation requirements to be within set quantified levels of service.
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`
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`28.
`
`The ‘431 patent discloses technologies that speed the rate at which data can
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`effectively travel over a computer network by optimizing packet discarding.
`
`29.
`
`The ‘431 patent discloses the use of micro-flow state information to determine the
`
`rate of each flow, thus optimizing discards and optimizing the quality of service of data
`
`transmission.
`
`30.
`
`The ‘431 patent discloses methods and systems that avoid networking system
`
`degradation by not overloading network switch buffers.
`
`31.
`
`The ‘431 patent discloses a method for managing data traffic through a network
`
`that determines a capacity of a buffer containing a micro-flow based on a characteristic.
`
`32.
`
`The ‘431 patent discloses a method for managing data traffic through a network
`
`that assigns an acceptable threshold value for the capacity of the buffer over a predetermined
`
`period of time.
`
`33.
`
`The ‘431 patent discloses a method for managing data traffic through a network
`
`that delegates a portion of available bandwidth in the network to the micro-flow.
`
`34.
`
`The ‘431 patent discloses a method for managing data traffic through a network
`
`that uses the buffer for damping jitter associated with the micro-flow.
`
`35.
`
`The ‘431 patent has been cited by 103 patents and patent applications as relevant
`
`prior art. Specifically, patents issued to the following companies have cited the ‘431 patent as
`
`relevant prior art:
`
`• Cisco Systems, Inc.
`• Juniper Networks, Inc.
`• Broadcom Limited
`Intel Corporation
`•
`• Sun Microsystems, Inc.
`• Oracle Corporation
`• Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
`• Adtran, Inc.
`
`
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`• Time Warner Cable, Inc.
`• FSA Technologies, Inc.
`Internap Corporation
`•
`• France Telecom
`• The Boeing Company
`• Wistaria Trading, Ltd.
`
`U.S. PATENT NO. 6,977,932
`
`36.
`
`U.S. Patent No. 6,977,932 (the “’932 patent”) entitled, System and Method for
`
`Network Tunneling Utilizing Micro-Flow State Information, was filed on January 16, 2002. The
`
`‘932 patent is subject to a 35 U.S.C. § 154(b) term extension of 815 days. Sable Networks, Inc. is
`
`the owner by assignment of the ‘932 patent. Sable IP is the exclusive licensee of the ‘932 patent.
`
`A true and correct copy of the ‘932 patent is attached hereto as Exhibit B.
`
`37.
`
`The ‘932 patent discloses novel methods and apparatuses for utilizing a router
`
`capable of network tunneling utilizing flow state information.
`
`38.
`
`The inventions disclosed in the ‘932 patent enable the use of micro-flow state
`
`information to improve network tunneling techniques.
`
`39.
`
`The inventions disclosed in the ‘932 patent maintain flow state information for
`
`various quality of service characteristics by utilizing aggregate flow blocks.
`
`40.
`
`The aggregate flow blocks disclosed in the ‘932 patent maintain micro-flow block
`
`information.
`
`41.
`
`The technologies claimed in the ‘932 patent speed the flow of network traffic over
`
`computer networks by avoiding time consuming and processor intensive tasks by combining flow
`
`state information with other information such as label switched paths utilization information. This
`
`permits the micro-flows associated with an aggregate flow block to all be processed in a similar
`
`manner.
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`42.
`
`The technologies disclosed in the ‘932 patent result in more efficient computer
`
`networks by avoiding the processor intensive tasks of searching millions of flow blocks to identify
`
`flow blocks having certain micro-flow characteristics in order to process large numbers of micro-
`
`flows.
`
`43.
`
`The ‘932 patent discloses a router capable of network tunneling utilizing flow state
`
`information containing an aggregate flow block having tunnel specific information for a particular
`
`network tunnel.
`
`44.
`
`The ‘932 patent discloses a router capable of network tunneling utilizing flow state
`
`information containing a flow block having flow state information for a micro-flow, the flow block
`
`further including an identifier that associates the flow block with the aggregate flow block.
`
`45.
`
`The ‘932 patent discloses a router capable of network tunneling utilizing flow state
`
`information wherein the aggregate flow block stores statistics for the particular network tunnel.
`
`46.
`
`The ‘932 patent has been cited by 86 patents and patent applications as relevant
`
`prior art. Specifically, patents issued to the following companies have cited the ‘932 patent as
`
`relevant prior art:
`
`• Cisco Systems, Inc.
`• Juniper Networks, Inc.
`• Avaya, Inc.
`• Fujitsu, Ltd.
`Intel Corporation
`•
`• Nokia Corporation
`• Qualcomm, Inc.
`• Sprint Communications Co.
`• Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
`• Verizon Communications, Inc.
`
`U.S. PATENT NO. 8,243,593
`
`47.
`
`U.S. Patent No. 8,243,593 entitled, Mechanism for Identifying and Penalizing
`
`Misbehaving Flows in a Network, was filed on December 22, 2004. The ‘593 patent is subject to
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
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`Page 14 of 36
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`Case 6:21-cv-00241-ADA Document 1 Filed 03/10/21 Page 15 of 36
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`a 35 U.S.C. § 154(b) term extension of 1,098 days. Sable Networks, Inc. is the owner by
`
`assignment of the ’593 patent. Sable IP is the exclusive licensee of the ‘593 patent. A true and
`
`correct copy of the ‘593 patent is attached hereto as Exhibit C.
`
`48.
`
`The ‘593 patent discloses novel methods and systems for processing a flow of a
`
`series of information packets.
`
`49.
`
`The inventions disclosed in the ‘593 patent teach technologies that permit the
`
`identification and control of less desirable network traffic.
`
`50.
`
`Because the characteristics of data packets in undesirable network traffic can be
`
`disguised, the ‘593 patent improves the operation of computer networks by disclosing technologies
`
`that monitor the characteristics of flows of data packets rather than ancillary factors such as port
`
`numbers or signatures.
`
`51.
`
`The ‘593 patent discloses tracking the behavioral statistics of a flow of data packets
`
`that can be used to determine whether the flow is undesirable.
`
`52.
`
`The ‘593 patent further discloses taking actions to penalize the flow of undesirable
`
`network traffic.
`
`53.
`
`The ‘593 patent discloses a method for processing a flow of a series of information
`
`packets that maintains a set of behavioral statistics for the flow, wherein the set of behavioral
`
`statistics is updated based on each information packet belonging to the flow, as each information
`
`packet is processed.
`
`54.
`
`The ‘593 patent discloses a method for processing a flow of a series of information
`
`packets that determines, based at least partially upon the set of behavioral statistics, whether the
`
`flow is exhibiting undesirable behavior.
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
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`Page 15 of 36
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`Case 6:21-cv-00241-ADA Document 1 Filed 03/10/21 Page 16 of 36
`
`55.
`
`The ‘593 patent discloses that the determination as to whether the flow is exhibiting
`
`undesirable behavior is made regardless of the presence or absence of congestion.
`
`56.
`
`The ‘593 patent discloses a method for processing a flow of data packets that
`
`enforces a penalty on the flow in response to a determination that the flow is exhibiting undesirable
`
`behavior.
`
`57.
`
`The ‘593 patent has been cited by 17 patents and patent applications as relevant
`
`prior art. Specifically, patents issued to the following companies have cited the ‘593 patent as
`
`relevant prior art.
`
`• Cisco Systems, Inc.
`• AT&T, Inc.
`International Business Machines Corporation
`•
`• Telecom Italia S.p.A.
`• McAfee, LLC
`
`U.S. PATENT NO. 9,774,501
`
`58.
`
`U.S. Patent No. 9,774,501 (the “‘501 patent”) entitled, System and Method for
`
`Ensuring Subscriber Fairness Using Outlier Detection, was filed on September 7, 2016, and
`
`claims priority to May 14, 2012. Sable Networks, Inc. is the owner by assignment of the ‘501
`
`patent. Sable IP is the exclusive licensee of the ‘501 patent. A true and correct copy of the ‘501
`
`patent is attached hereto as Exhibit D.
`
`59.
`
`The ‘501 patent claims specific methods and devices for a subscriber fairness
`
`solution that uses flow-based statistical collection mechanism to monitor subscriber usage across
`
`various attributes.
`
`60.
`
`The ‘501 patent discloses methods and systems for detecting outlier users of a
`
`network resource.
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`Page 16 of 36
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`

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`Case 6:21-cv-00241-ADA Document 1 Filed 03/10/21 Page 17 of 36
`
`61.
`
`The ‘501 patent teaches technologies for detecting outlier users of a network
`
`resource using a fairness model that accounts for the cost of a user's behavior on other users and
`
`provides for evaluating and effecting service fairness.
`
`62.
`
`The ‘501 patent discloses aggregating flow data of a user of a network resource for
`
`set time periods. The flow data that is aggregated can include connections between a particular
`
`source IP address and transport layer port to a particular destination IP address and transport layer
`
`port.
`
`63.
`
`The ‘501 patent discloses applying outlier detection logic to the flow-count pattern
`
`that is generated for a user and comparing it to flow-count patterns associated with other users on
`
`the network.
`
`64.
`
`The ‘501 patent discloses a method of assigning a flow-count band to the user based
`
`on the outlier detection logic where the user’s flow count is compared to the flow-count data of
`
`other users on the network.
`
`65.
`
`The ‘501 patent discloses a method of applying a mitigating action to the user based
`
`on the user’s access to the network resource based on the flow-count band that the user’s activity
`
`causes the user to be assigned to.
`
`66.
`
`The ‘501 patent discloses a method of implementing outlier detection for a user on
`
`a network using a detection phase and a mitigation phase. In the detection phase, “outliers” are
`
`identified - users that are using a disproportionate amount of network resources. In the mitigation
`
`phase, actions are taken to restrict the access of the outlier user to network resources.
`
`67.
`
`The ‘501 patent discloses a computer implemented method that improves the
`
`function of a computer network through using outlier detection to mitigate an individual user’s
`
`over use of the network bandwidth.
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
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`Page 17 of 36
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`Case 6:21-cv-00241-ADA Document 1 Filed 03/10/21 Page 18 of 36
`
`68.
`
`The ‘501 patent family has been cited by 11 United States and international patents
`
`and patent applications as relevant prior art. Specifically, patents issued to the following
`
`companies have cited the ‘501 patent family as relevant prior art:
`
`• Cisco Systems, Inc.
`International Business Machines Corporation
`•
`• Google, Inc.
`• Adobe, Inc.
`• British Telecomm
`• VMware, Inc.
`• Sprint Spectrum L.P.
`Infinera Corporation
`•
`
`COUNT I
`INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 6,954,431
`
`69.
`
`Plaintiffs reference and incorporate by reference the preceding paragraphs of this
`
`Complaint as if fully set forth herein.
`
`70.
`
`Forcepoint designs, makes, uses, sells, and/or offers for sale in the United States
`
`products and/or services for managing data traffic comprising a plurality of micro-flows through
`
`a network.
`
`71.
`
`Forcepoint designs, makes, sells, offers to sell, imports, and/or uses Forcepoint
`
`Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) Appliances running Forcepoint NGFW 6.0 and later software,
`
`including but not limited to the following: Forcepoint NGFW Appliances (including the following
`
`models: NGFW 5206 Appliance, NGFW 1401 Appliance, NGFW 3207 Appliance, NGFW 320X
`
`Appliance, NGFW 1402 Appliance, NGFW 1035 Appliance, NGFW 1065 Appliance, NGFW 321
`
`Appliance, NGFW 325 Appliance, NGFW 110 Appliance, NGFW 115 Appliance, NGFW 331
`
`Appliance, NGFW 335W Appliance, NGFW 51 Appliance, NGFW 51 LTE Appliance, NGFW
`
`3301 Appliance, NGFW 3305 Appliance, NGFW 6205 Appliance, NGFW 2101 Appliance,
`
`NGFW 2105 Appliance, NGFW SMC 1000 Appliance, NGFW 1101 Ap