DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 2 is/are objected to because of the following informalities: The claim recites “sending a notification of an update for a subset of the updates to a user”.
Applicant is encouraged to rewrite the claim as: “sending a notification of an update for a subset of updates to a user…”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. The claim recites “The method of claim 11” and not “The system of claim 11”.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In 15re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement.
Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(b).
Claims 2-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claim(s) 1,3-11, 13 - 20 of USPN 12,177,090 B2, USPN 11,689,429 B2, respectively and claim(s) 1,3-9 and 11-18 of USPN 10,979,308 B2.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the functions of the patent apparatus claims anticipate the step of the method claims in the instant application. They correspond as follows:
Application 16/197,274 now USPN 10,979,308 B2
Application 17/228,652 now USPN 11,689,429 B2
Application 18/213,778 now USPN 12,177,090 B2
Instant application – 19/001,402
1. A method comprising: receiving an indication that a system administration agent program is installed on a first device on a network; receiving a range of Internet protocol (IP) addresses that are valid for the network; requesting a list of devices on the network from the first device; receiving the list of devices on the network from the first device; instructing the first device to deploy at least a portion of the system administration agent program to suitable devices on the network; receiving agent reports from reporting agents associated with the system administration agent program; identifying events from the agent reports; generating issue reports for a subset of the events; updating a system administration datastore in real-time based on the issue reports, wherein the updating results in real-time updates; sending a notification of an update for a subset of the real-time updates to a user, wherein one or more parameters of the notification are set by the user; performing one or more actions on one or more of the devices on the network, wherein if the user is not on the network, the one or more actions are automatically performed by the system administration agent program based on the one or more parameters of the notification set by the user.
Claim(s) 1 and 11
Exemplary Claim 1
A method comprising: instructing a first device on a network to deploy at least a portion of a system administration agent program to suitable devices on the network; receiving agent reports from reporting agents associated with the system administration agent program; identifying events from the agent reports; generating issue reports for a subset of the events; updating a system administration datastore in real-time based on the issue reports, wherein the updating results in real-time updates; sending a notification of an update for a subset of the real-time updates to a user, wherein one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the real-time updates are set by the user; and performing one or more actions on one or more of the devices on the network, wherein if the user is not on the network, the one or more actions are automatically performed by the system administration agent program based on the one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the real-time updates set by the user.
Claim(s) 1 and 11
Exemplary Claim 1
A method comprising: receiving agent reports from reporting agents associated with a system administration agent program; generating issue reports associated with the agent reports;
updating a system administration datastore based on the issue reports;
sending a notification of an update for a subset of the updates to a user, wherein one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates are set by the user;
and
performing one or more actions on one or more devices on a network, wherein if the user is not on the network,
the one or more actions are automatically performed by the system administration agent program based on the one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates set by the user.
Claim(s) 2,11,19
Exemplary Claim 2
(New) A method comprising: receiving agent reports from reporting agents; generating issue reports associated with the agent reports; updating a datastore based on the issue reports;
sending a notification of an update for a subset of the updates to a user, wherein one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates are set by the user;
and
performing one or more actions on one or more devices on a network, wherein if the user is not on the network,
the one or more actions are automatically performed based on the one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates set by the user.
3. and 11
The method of claim 1, comprising generating the agent reports upon receiving a request from the user.
3 and 13
The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the agent reports upon receiving a request from the user.
Claim(s) 3 and 13
The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the agent reports upon receiving a request from the user.
Claim(s) 3 and 12
The method of claim 2, further comprising generating the agent reports upon receiving a request from the user.
4 and 12
The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the range of IP addresses that are valid for the network occurs before, during, or after a registration procedure in which information associated with the network is provided to a system administration server.
4 and 14
The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving a range of Internet protocol (IP) addresses that are valid for the network, wherein the receiving the range of Internet protocol IP addresses that are valid for the network occurs before, during, or after a registration procedure in which information associated with the network is provided to a system administration server.
Claim (s) 4 and 14
The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a range of Internet protocol (IP) addresses that are valid for the network, wherein the receiving the range of IP addresses that are valid for the network occurs before, during, or after a registration procedure in which information associated with the network is provided to a system administration server.
Claim(s) 4 and 13
The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving a range of Internet protocol (IP) addresses that are valid for the network, wherein the receiving the range of IP addresses that are valid for the network occurs before, during, or after a registration procedure in which information associated with the network is provided to a system administration server.
5 and 13
The method of claim 4, wherein access to the system administration server is password-protected, and the registration procedure includes generating or obtaining a user ID and a password for the user.
5 and 15
5. The method of claim 4, wherein access to the system administration server is password-protected, and the registration procedure includes generating or obtaining a user ID and a password for the user.
Claim (s) 5 and 15
The method of claim 4, wherein access to the system administration server is password-protected, and the registration procedure includes generating or obtaining a user ID and a password for the user.
Claim (s) 5 and 14
(New) The method of claim 4, wherein access to the server is password-protected, and the registration procedure includes generating or obtaining a user ID and a password for the user.
6 and 14
The method of claim 4, wherein the registration procedure includes collecting financial information.
6 and 16
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the registration procedure includes collecting financial information.
Claim(s) 6 and 16
The method of claim 4, wherein the registration procedure includes collecting financial information.
Claim (s) 6 and 15
(New) The method of claim 4, wherein the registration procedure includes collecting financial information.
7 and 15
The method of claim 1, wherein requesting the list of devices on the network from the first device comprises querying an address resolution protocol (ARP) engine.
7 and 17
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising requesting a list of devices on the network from the first device, wherein the requesting the list of devices on the network from the first device comprises querying an address resolution protocol (ARP) engine.
Claim(s) 7 and 17
The method of claim 1, further comprising requesting a list of devices on the network from a first device, wherein requesting the list of devices on the network from the first device comprises querying an address resolution protocol (ARP) engine.
Claim(s) 7 and 16
(New) The method of claim 2, further comprising requesting a list of devices on the network from a first device, wherein requesting the list of devices on the network from the first device comprises querying an address resolution protocol (ARP) engine.
8 and 16
The method of claim 1, wherein the agent reports include information about one or more of neighboring devices, peripheral devices, and a network environment of the devices on the network.
8 and 18
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the agent reports include information about one or more of neighboring devices, peripheral devices, and a network environment of the devices on the network.
Claim(s) 8 and 18
The method of claim 1, wherein the agent reports include information about one or more of neighboring devices, peripheral devices, and a network environment of the devices on the network.
Claim(s) 8 and 17
(New) The method of claim 2, wherein the agent reports include information about one or more of neighboring devices, peripheral devices, and a network environment of the devices on the network.
17 and 18
The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more actions comprise one or more of locking a device, encrypting contents of a device, downloading contents of a device, and tracking a location of a device.
9 and 19
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more actions comprise one or more of locking a device, encrypting contents of a device, downloading contents of a device, and tracking a location of a device.
Claim(s) 9 and 19
The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more actions comprise one or more of locking a device, encrypting contents of a device, downloading contents of a device, and tracking a location of a device.
9. (New) The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more actions comprise one or more of locking a device, encrypting contents of a device, downloading contents of a device, and tracking a location of a device.
10 and 20
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the real-time updates set by the user include stopping an installation of forbidden software, and wherein the performing one or more actions on one or more of the devices on the network comprises the system administration agent program automatically stopping the installation of forbidden software on the one or more of the devices on the network.
Claim(s) 10 and 20
The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates set by the user include stopping an installation of forbidden software, and the one or more actions comprise the system administration agent program automatically stopping the installation of the forbidden software on the one or more devices on the network.
Claim(s) 10,18 and 20
10. (New) The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates set by the user include stopping an installation of forbidden software, and the one or more actions comprise the automatically stopping the installation of the forbidden software on the one or more devices on the network.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 2-3, 11-12 and 19 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable -over Dulberg et al. (US 2003/0005107 A1), in view of Lakshminarayanan et al. (US 2006/0248522 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Dulberg discloses a method (Dulberg [Abstract] discloses a method of device maintenance) comprising:
receiving agent reports (results of real-time diagnosis of device 106) from reporting agents (agent 110) (Dulberg [0255] a reporting agent 110 is used for real-time diagnosis of device 106, with various instructions being provided to agent 110 and the results/reports of carrying out the instructions being transmitted from the reporting agent 110 to site server 114);
generating issue reports associated with the agent reports (Dulberg [0036;0040;0047] a publication agent is provided in association with the embedded device, for providing data from the device to a servicing server. A log associated with a device which includes internal device internal states is generated and analyzed to detect a pattern of states and/or state changes or durations to produce a report indicating an upcoming failure state and possible reasons for failure);
updating a datastore (logged data/events are maintained by a server) based on the issue reports (Dulberg [0042-0043] a log associated with a state of a device may be organized and/or accessible in various ways, for example as data fields (e.g., each representing a tracked variable), as events (e.g., to which a response includes a change in logging) and/or as state vectors (e.g., set of parameters that describe the state of the device being logged). The contents of the log (e.g., which data is logged and/or which events recorded) may be decided a priori and/or may be set by the events that occur and/or by the maintenance server. Devices are periodically polled to acquire their operational state and update operational parameters as needed);
sending a notification of an update for a subset of the updates to a user (agent at the target device) (Dulberg [0046] discloses that when the device seeks maintenance and the maintenance process is managed by an external entity, the maintenance-related tasks and/or analysis of the results is performed by a site server, with only the results being provided to the remote manager/agent. [0086], said maintenance-related task comprises an instruction to patch software on said target device. [0253], agent 110 includes a patch element 406, for patching of software of device 106. Patch element 406 replaces real-time software of device 106, on the fly);
wherein one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates are set by the user (Dulberg [0343] maintenance/updating of devices/software may be completely automatic, possibly basing changes in maintenance schedule on an analysis of data from a test of the effect of changing such a schedule or some human interaction may be allowed, such that, a human may be require to mediate for some devices. A human may assist in complex analysis and/or in devising repair and provide approval required for carrying out some repairs/action), and
performing one or more actions (Patch a software) on one or more devices on a network (Dulberg [0253], agent 110 includes a patch element 406, for patching of software of device 106. Patch element 406 replaces real-time software of device 106, on the fly),
wherein if the user is not on the network (off-line/no real-time connection) (Dulberg, [0036] a publication agent is provided in association with the embedded device, for providing data from the device to a servicing server. The publication agent selects the data to be uploaded to the server. Such a publication agent allows a device to communicate with the server in an off-line connection, rather than using an on-line connection),
the one or more actions (Patching) are automatically (real-time or on the fly updating) performed based on the one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates (Dulberg [0047] discloses real-time or on the fly updating patching software based on instructions/notification to update particular codes in the software),
the one or more actions (Patches) are automatically performed based on the one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates set by the user (Dulberg [0047;0343] real-time or on the fly updating patching software based on instructions/notification to update particular codes in the software. Maintenance/updating of devices/software may be completely automatic, possibly basing changes in maintenance schedule on an analysis of data from a test of the effect of changing such a schedule or some human interaction may be allowed, such that, a human may be require to mediate for some devices. A human may assist in complex analysis and/or in devising repair and provide approval required for carrying out some repairs/action).
Dulberg generally discloses all of the limitations of claim 1, however, Lakshminarayanan more explicitly discloses wherein one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates are set by the user.
Lakshminarayanan discloses wherein one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates are set by the user (Lakshminarayanan [0101] a central server 102 can enable manual downloads of patches and upgrades to the agent software 110 running on target computer 104. Alternatively, the central server 102 can cooperate with a product such as the Systems Management Server (SMS) offered by Microsoft Corporation. Further, the central server 102 may cooperate with a software update utility (such as the Microsoft UPDATE utility) or another public source of software upgrades to automate downloads of the patches and upgrades to the agent software 110. When software management is set to manual mode, software patches/upgrades can be queued indicating a notification to the user 112 that an approval by the user 112 is required before the patches can be applied).
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to combine Dulberg and Lakshminarayanan because these teachings are from the same field of endeavor with respect to the use of a management agent for maintaining networked devices.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art of endeavor at the time the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Lakshminarayanan and, within the teachings of Dulberg, as doing such enables the system to pre-qualify target computer systems to identify issues that may impact the deployment of the agent software, ensures network connectivity from the target computer systems back to the central server, and asynchronously push-deploys the agent software to the target computer systems in parallel which enhances the user experience, Lakshminarayanan, [0003].
Regarding claim 3, Dulberg modified by Lakshminarayanan disclose the method of claim 2, further comprising generating the agent reports upon receiving a request from the user (Lakshminarayanan [0107], a User 112 is notified of a device status based on if the device is either responsive or unresponsive to a ping. The user 112 can then investigate the given managed computer 104 further. [0108] in block 910, the system is queried to determines whether the agent software 110 is installed on the managed computer 104. If the agent software 110 is not installed on the managed computer 104, the process 900 takes the "No" branch to block 912, where the agent software 110 is re-installed using the above deployment process).
The motivation to combine is similar to similar to that of claim 2.
Regarding claim(s) 11 and 12, the claim(s) is/are rejected with rational similar to that of claim(s) 2 and 3. respectively.
Regarding claim(s) 19, the claim(s) is/are rejected with rational similar to that of claim(s) 2.
Claim(s) 4-9 and 13-17 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Dulberg et al. (US 2003/0005107 A1), in view of Lakshminarayanan et al. (US 2006/0248522 A1), further in view of Shanker et al. (US 2012/0246297 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Dulberg modified by Lakshminarayanan disclose the method of claim 2, but did not explicitly disclose further comprising receiving a range of Internet protocol (IP) addresses that are valid for the network, wherein the receiving the range of IP addresses that are valid for the network occurs before, during, or after a registration procedure in which information associated with the network is provided to a system administration server.
Shanker discloses receiving a range (subnet range 1315) of Internet protocol (IP) addresses (customer A 102 to input configuration information for the network discovery, including the subnet range 1315) that are valid (discovery and authentication of a valid range of IP addresses/subnet) for the network (Shanker, fig. 9, [0068] discloses selection of the network discovery button 915 causes the network discovery configuration screen 1310 to be displayed. The network discovery configuration screen 1310 allows the customer A 102 to input configuration information for the network discovery, including the subnet range 1315 (discover/receiving a range of valid IP addresses) and one or more SNMP community strings in the field 1320. The network discovery configuration screen 1310 also allows the customer A 102 to exclude one or more IP addresses from the subnet range 1315. Once configured, the customer A 102 can select the submit button 1325 to cause the proxy client 141 to begin the network discovery according to the configured information);
wherein the receiving the range of Internet protocol IP addresses that are valid for the network occurs before, during, or after a registration procedure in which information associated with the network is provided to a system administration server (Shanker, [0047] using a username and password, a server authenticates/validate monitored data being transmitted, the server compares the IP addresses of the devices represented by that monitoring data with the IP addresses of the devices that have been discovered for the customer that is associated with the authentication information transmitted by the proxy client. [0102] At operation 710, the SaaS server 110 (e.g., the proxy client interface 470 of the SaaS server 110) receives monitored information and authentication information (e.g., a username and/or password) from the proxy client 141. Flow then moves to operation 715 and the SaaS server 110 determines whether the authentication information is valid. For example, the SaaS server 110 compares the received authentication information with the stored authentication information (e.g., stored in the data store 112). If the authentication information is not valid, then flow moves to operation 720 and the monitored information is not installed. A customer belonging to the proxy client 141 that sent the monitored information may also be notified (e.g., by email, text message, phone call) that authentication failed. If the authentication information is valid, then flow moves to operation 725).
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to combine Dulberg, Lakshminarayanan, and Shanker because these teachings are from the same field of endeavor with respect to the use of a management agent for maintaining networked devices.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art of endeavor at the time the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Shanker, within the teachings of Dulberg and Lakshminarayanan as doing such enables registering of the number of devices to be monitored, which enables the system to authenticate devices that being monitored, thus ensuring a secure monitoring environment, Shanker, [0056].
Regarding claim 5, Dulberg, Lakshminarayanan and Shanker disclose the method of claim 4, wherein access to the server is password-protected, and the registration procedure includes generating or obtaining a user ID and a password for the user (Shanker [0058] At operation 210, the customer A 102 registers for the agent based SaaS IT service management. Registering includes acquiring a license for a number of devices to be monitored in the agent based SaaS IT management system. For example, assuming that the customer A 102 desires to have thirty devices monitored, the customer purchases a license to monitor those 30 devices. Registering may also include establishing an account including a username and a password for the customer A 102. The customer A 102 accesses the server 110 to register for the service. The customer registers for the service using a different device (e.g., a dedicated server for registration). The customer A 102 creates a different username and password combination for the network A 100A and the network B 100B. Flow moves from operation 210 to operation 215).
The motivation to combine is similar to that of claim 4.
Regarding claim 6, Dulberg, Lakshminarayanan and Shanker disclose the method of claim 4, wherein the registration procedure includes collecting financial (billing information) information (Shanker [0056] The data store 112 stores information related to the agent based SaaS IT management service including customer information (e.g., customer location, customer authentication information, billing information), discovery information, monitored information, etc. The discovery information and the monitored information for the customer A 102 is stored in the data store 113 and the discovery information and the monitored information for the customer B 103 is stored in the data store 114).
The motivation to combine is similar to that of claim 4.
Regarding claim 7, Dulberg, modified by Lakshminarayanan disclose the method of claim 2, but did not explicitly disclose further comprising requesting a list of devices on the network from a first device, wherein requesting the list of devices on the network from the first device comprises querying an address resolution protocol (ARP) engine.
Shanker discloses requesting a list of devices (discovering devices in a network)on the network from the first device, wherein requesting the list of devices (discovering devices in a network) on the network from the first device comprises querying an address resolution protocol (ARP) engine (Shanker, figs. 2 & 4, [0062] fig. 2, at operation 220, the proxy client(s) discover network equipment devices in the network. For example, the proxy client(s) perform one or more of server discovery, network discovery, and end user device discovery. The discovery of the network equipment devices can use several techniques including passive discovery and active discovery. Passive discovery includes observing traffic (e.g., Ethernet traffic) while active discovery includes transmitting message(s) (e.g., ARP requests, ping messages, SNMP queries, WMI queries) to different addresses).
The motivation to combine is similar to that of claim 4.
Regarding claim 8, Dulberg, modified by Lakshminarayanan disclose the method of claim 2, but did not explicitly disclose wherein the agent reports include information about one or more of neighboring devices, peripheral devices, and a network environment of the devices on the network.
Shanker discloses wherein the agent reports include information about one or more of neighboring devices, peripheral devices (printers, fax machines, copy machines), and a network environment of the devices on the network (Shanker [0056] discloses a SaaS server 110 including a monitoring module 115, a management module 117, and a data store 112. The monitoring module 115 allows the customers to register for monitoring (e.g., acquiring a license for a number of devices to be monitored), establish monitoring definitions, and view the results of the monitoring. The management module 117 provides management and reporting functionality for the customers based on the monitored information. For example, the management module 117 provides software variance reporting, hardware variance reporting, software license management, and other various reports regarding the status of the devices (e.g., view a list of the devices that are down). [0050] A customer B 103 has the network C 100C. Each of the networks includes multiple network equipment devices (referred herein as "devices"). The devices can include, for example, servers, directory servers, routers, switches, hubs, access points, printers, fax machines, copy machines, modems, workstations, laptops, netbooks, palm tops, tablets, mobile phones, smartphones, multimedia phones, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phones, user equipment, terminals, portable media players, set-top boxes, or other devices that can connect to the private customer network and/or connect to a public network (e.g., the Internet).
The motivation to combine is similar to that of claim 4.
Regarding claim 9, Dulberg, modified by Lakshminarayanan disclose the method of claim 2, but did not explicitly disclose method of claim 2, wherein the one or more actions comprise one or more of locking a device, encrypting contents of a device, downloading contents of a device, and tracking a location of a device.
Shanker wherein the one or more actions comprise one or more of locking a device, encrypting contents of a device (encrypting XML file containing device discovery information), downloading contents of a device, and tracking a location of a device (filtering device information based on location) (Shanker [0036], discloses a customer installing a proxy client onto one of its servers and uses that proxy client to discover devices in the network (e.g., in the same subnet). The proxy client then sends information that identifies the discovered devices to the server (hereinafter referred to as "discovery information"). The discovery information is sent through an encrypted connection and uses web services (e.g., using HTTP or HTTPs). The discovery information is sent in an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file, which may also be encrypted. The server then stores information about the discovered devices for the customer. [0075] a SaaS server 110 presents the discovery information in an integrated view that includes devices whose discovery information is reported by different proxy clients. For example, the SaaS server 110 formats the discovery information for devices discovered in the network A 100A and the network B 100B such that the customer A can view the results of the discovery in an integrated view. Of course, the customer A may also filter the results to display only certain devices discovered in certain networks and/or filter the results by other attributes (e.g., location, IP address range, operating system type, vendor, etc.).
The motivation to combine is similar to that of claim 4.
Regarding claim(s) 13-17, the claim(s) is/are rejected with rational similar to that of claim(s) 4-8, respectively.
Claim 10, 18 and 20 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Dulberg et al. (US 2003/0005107 A1), in view of Lakshminarayanan et al. (US 2006/0248522 A1), further in view of Terry (US 2002/0026505 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Dulberg, modified by Lakshminarayanan disclose the method of claim 2, but did not explicitly disclose, wherein the one or more parameters of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates set by the user include stopping an installation of forbidden software, and the one or more actions comprise the automatically stopping the installation of the forbidden software on the one or more devices on the network.
Terry discloses wherein the one or more parameters (policy setting by an administrator) of the notification of the update for the subset of the updates (modifications) set by the user include stopping an installation of forbidden software (stop unauthorized modification of software/application), and the one or more actions comprise the automatically stopping the installation of the forbidden software (installation/modification of unauthorized software) on the one or more devices (networked computer devices) on the network (network system 100) (Terry, fig. 24, [0060;0080-0082] a computer network administrator may set policies for installing and modifying software on networked computer devices. The process may include performing an automated analysis of the type of installation/modification to be done of a software and the user environment which initiated the installation/modification in a real time environment. An administrator application 115 can be used to apply the policies set by the administrator by deploying/transmitting that policy throughout the network system 100 to automatically stop the installation/modification of unauthorized software in each computer unit (block 2410)).
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to combine Dulberg, Lakshminarayanan, and Terry because these teachings are from the same field of endeavor with respect to the use of a management agent for maintaining networked devices.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art of endeavor at the time the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Terry, within the teachings of Dulberg and Lakshminarayanan as doing such enables the use of real-time tracking tool that would permit management to record, monitor and report the internal environment of each computer unit in an efficient, noninvasive manner. Furthermore, the real-time tool enables automatically "reverse" any unauthorized internal modifications and to report these modifications to management personnel within a business or organization, Terry, [0012-0019].
Regarding claim(s) 18 and 20, the claim(s) is/are rejected with rational similar to that of claim(s) 10.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following publications show the state of the art related to the installation and updating of software on network devices.
Jacobs (US 2008/0109871 A1)
Chia et al. (US 8,555,273 B1)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIXON F DABIPI whose telephone number is (571)270-3673. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher L Parry, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-8328. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center to authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to the USPTO patent electronic filing system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
Examiner interviews are available via a variety of formats. See MPEP § 713.01. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/InterviewPractice.
/D.F.D/ Examiner, Art Unit 2451
/Chris Parry/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2451