US 10735320

US Patent 10735320, titled "Application wire," was issued on August 4, 2020, from an application filed on August 8, 2019. The patent is currently assigned to K Mizra LLC, and the inventors are Ping Pan and Richard D. Gitlin.

Abstract:
The patent describes a method for managing data transfer in a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network. At an MPLS node, information related to an application flow is identified from unencapsulated packet headers or an ingress data stream. Based on stored data that maps application flows to pseudowires, a plurality of pseudowires are determined for paths through the MPLS network. This stored data indicates a distributed mapping of the application flow via at least one of these pseudowires for a sending device application. Finally, data related to the sending device application is communicated via at least one of the determined pseudowires.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1 (Method): This claim describes a process performed at a network node within an MPLS network. The method involves identifying data related to a specific application (an "application flow") by examining its unencapsulated packet headers or the incoming data stream. Once identified, the node uses pre-configured data that links application flows to "pseudowires" (virtual connections) to determine which pseudowires to use as paths through the MPLS network. A key aspect is that this pre-configured data allows for a "distributed mapping," meaning an application flow can be split and sent over multiple pseudowires. The method concludes by sending the application's data through one or more of these chosen pseudowires.

• Claim 8 (Device): This claim describes a physical device, such as an edge router, equipped with a processor and memory. The device is programmed to carry out the functions described in Claim 1. Specifically, it can identify application flow information from packet headers or data streams, determine appropriate pseudowires for distributed mapping of the application flow through an MPLS network based on stored mapping data, and then communicate the application's data using those pseudowires.

• Claim 15 (Computer-Readable Non-Transitory Medium): This claim covers a computer storage medium (like a hard drive or flash memory) that holds software instructions. When a processor executes these instructions, it performs the same method as described in Claim 1: identifying application flow information, determining a plurality of pseudowires for a distributed mapping of the application flow through an MPLS network based on stored data, and communicating the application data via those pseudowires.

Legal Status Note:
As of the current date, US Patent 10735320 is listed as "Active" on Google Patents. There is an active PTAB (Patent Trial and Appeal Board) case, IPR2025-01364, which was filed and instituted. Additionally, US cases related to this patent have been filed in the Texas Eastern District Court (case 2:24-cv-00974) and the Georgia Northern District Court (case 1:24-cv-05442). No specific information regarding CAFC dockets for 2026 related to this patent was found in the search results.

Known litigation involving US patent 10735320 includes the following cases:

1. PTAB Case IPR2025-01364

• Plaintiff(s): Unified Patents
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippets, but typically the patent owner (K Mizra LLC).
• Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
• Case Number: IPR2025-01364
• Filing Date: The case was filed with an effective date of 2025-08-28.
• Outcome or Current Status: Pending - Instituted

2. US District Court Case (Texas Eastern District Court)

• Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippets, but the current assignee of the patent is K Mizra LLC.
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippets.
• Jurisdiction: Texas Eastern District Court
• Case Number: 2:24-cv-00974
• Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided snippets.
• Outcome or Current Status: Litigation is ongoing.

3. US District Court Case (Georgia Northern District Court)

• Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippets, but the current assignee of the patent is K Mizra LLC.
• Defendant(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided snippets.
• Jurisdiction: Georgia Northern District Court
• Case Number: 1:24-cv-05442
• Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided snippets.
• Outcome or Current Status: Litigation is ongoing.

Proceedings overview

One Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceeding has been filed against US patent 10735320. This proceeding, IPR2025-01364, is currently in the "Trial Instituted" phase, meaning the patent claims challenged within it are actively being reviewed for patentability by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). As such, there are no claims that have been invalidated or sustained, nor has the case settled. This active challenge represents an ongoing risk for the patent owner and provides an initial point of defense for a defendant, as the validity of at least some claims is currently under scrutiny.

IPR2025-01364 — Ciena Corporation v. K.Mizra LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-08-28
• Status: Trial Instituted. The USPTO Director issued a discretionary decision to refer the petition for merits review on 2026-01-08, and the trial was formally instituted on 2026-02-17.
• Judge panel: The specific panel of Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) assigned to the merits phase of this trial is not publicly available in the provided information or readily discoverable in summary institution notices. Under the current PTAB procedures, the Director typically makes institution decisions and may refer to PTAB judges for consultation or for detailed treatment of complex issues, rather than a full panel making the initial institution decision.
• Petition grounds: The exact claims challenged and specific prior art grounds for this IPR are not explicitly detailed in the public information available. However, Petitioner exhibits filed in the proceeding include references such as a Japanese patent publication JP 2003-258857 ("Taguchi"), "Internet traffic engineering using multi-protocol label switching," and a Korean patent publication KR10-2005-0077938. The grounds would typically be based on anticipation (§ 102) and/or obviousness (§ 103).
• Institution decision: Instituted on 2026-02-17. The Director of the USPTO issued a "Director Discretionary Decision: Refer" on 2026-01-08, indicating that the petition was allowed to proceed to merits review despite discretionary considerations. The full reasoning for institution or the specific claims instituted is not publicly detailed.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not yet issued. The statutory deadline for the Final Written Decision is 2027-02-17 (one year from the institution date).
• Settlement / termination: No settlement or termination has been reported; the case is actively in trial.
• Appeal: No appeal has been filed, as no Final Written Decision has been issued.
• Defensive value: This active IPR presents a direct challenge to the patentability of claims in US10735320. A defendant currently facing assertion should closely monitor the progress of this IPR, as a successful challenge could invalidate asserted claims, significantly weakening the patent owner's position.

Strategic summary

US patent 10735320 is currently subject to one active Inter Partes Review, IPR2025-01364, filed by Ciena Corporation. As the IPR has been instituted, claims of the patent are now being reviewed for patentability, but no claims have been canceled or sustained yet. Consequently, all claims of US10735320 are currently untested by a final PTAB decision. The eventual outcome of this IPR will determine which claims, if any, are canceled and which remain patentable.

The estoppel landscape under § 315(e)(2) will only become relevant after a Final Written Decision is issued. If a final written decision finds claims unpatentable, the petitioner (Ciena Corporation) and its privies would be estopped from asserting invalidity grounds that were raised or reasonably could have been raised in the IPR. Until then, prior art grounds remain available. The listed petitioner exhibits suggest a focus on anticipation and/or obviousness grounds based on references like JP 2003-258857 ("Taguchi") and KR10-2005-0077938, among others.

Regarding pattern signals, Ciena Corporation is actively challenging this patent. The IPR was instituted under the new USPTO Director's policy, where the Director personally oversees institution decisions, which often result in summary notices. This means the Director decided that discretionary factors did not warrant denial and referred the case for merits review.

Recommended next steps

For a defendant facing assertion of US patent 10735320:

• Actively monitor IPR2025-01364. The most critical upcoming milestone is the Final Written Decision, which is statutorily due by 2027-02-17 (one year from the institution date).
• Obtain and review the full institution decision document for IPR2025-01364 from the USPTO PTAB E2E (now P-TACTS) system to determine the specific claims challenged and the precise grounds on which the trial was instituted. This will provide clarity on the scope of the challenge.
• Assess the prior art and arguments being used in IPR2025-01364 to determine their potential impact on any claims being asserted against your company.

Inventors

• Ping Pan: Employer at time of priority filing (2005-10-07) and first application filing (2006-10-05) not explicitly stated in the patent text or search results, but assigned interest to Hammerhead Systems, Inc. in November 2006.
• Richard D. Gitlin: Employer at time of priority filing (2005-10-07) and first application filing (2006-10-05) not explicitly stated in the patent text or search results, but assigned interest to Hammerhead Systems, Inc. in November 2006.

Original assignee

The inventors, Ping Pan and Richard D. Gitlin, assigned their interest in the patent to Hammerhead Systems, Inc. on November 16, 2006 (Reel 050128/0691).

• Product Embodiment: Hammerhead Systems, Inc. provided MPLS & Ethernet aggregation and switching solutions for business services, residential broadband, and wireless backhaul markets, and offered products like the HSX 6000 edge router, which embody the claims.
• Primary Line of Business: Providing networking hardware and software solutions, specifically edge routers, for multiservice networks.
• Current Status: Hammerhead Systems, Inc. is a "deadpooled" company, meaning it is dissolved or no longer operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2006-11-16 (executed) / recorded 2019-08-22 — Reel 050128/0691
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: GITLIN, RICHARD D; PAN, PING
  • Assignee: HAMMERHEAD SYSTEMS, INC.
  • Correspondent: LINDEMAN, LAWRENCE W, 403 S. HIGHWAY 101, SUITE 240, SOLANA BEACH, CA 92075. This correspondent recurs throughout this chain.
  • Context: Transfer of inventors' rights to an operating company.
• 2010-01-08 (executed) / recorded 2019-08-22 — Reel 050128/0815
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: HAMMERHEAD SYSTEMS, INC.
  • Assignee: BRIXHAM SOLUTIONS LTD.
  • Correspondent: LINDEMAN, LAWRENCE W, 403 S. HIGHWAY 101, SUITE 240, SOLANA BEACH, CA 92075. This correspondent recurs throughout this chain.
  • Context: Transfer from an operating company to an unknown entity.
• 2017-06-27 (executed) / recorded 2019-08-22 — Reel 050128/0979
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: BRIXHAM SOLUTIONS LTD.
  • Assignee: GLOBAL INNOVATION AGGREGATORS LLC
  • Correspondent: LINDEMAN, LAWRENCE W, 403 S. HIGHWAY 101, SUITE 240, SOLANA BEACH, CA 92075. This correspondent recurs throughout this chain.
  • Context: Transfer between entities, likely part of a patent monetization strategy.
• 2019-12-24 (executed) / recorded 2020-01-13 — Reel 051579/0773
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: GLOBAL INNOVATION AGGREGATORS, LLC
  • Assignee: K. MIZRA LLC
  • Correspondent: LINDEMAN, LAWRENCE, WENDY, W 403 S. HIGHWAY 101, SUITE 240, SOLANA BEACH, CA 92075. This correspondent recurs throughout this chain.
  • Context: Transfer to the current asserting entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10735320
    2006 : Inventors to Hammerhead Systems Inc
    2010 : Hammerhead Systems to Brixham Solutions
    2017 : Brixham to Global Innovation Aggregators
    2019 : Global Innovation Aggregators to K Mizra LLC
         : Application filed by K Mizra LLC
    2020 : Patent issued
    2024 : First infringement suit filed
    2025 : PTAB case IPR2025-01364 filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Present. The assignments from Hammerhead Systems, Inc. to BRIXHAM SOLUTIONS LTD. (Reel 050128/0815, executed 2010-01-08), then to GLOBAL INNOVATION AGGREGATORS LLC (Reel 050128/0979, executed 2017-06-27), and finally to K. MIZRA LLC (Reel 051579/0773, executed 2019-12-24) involve entities whose names suggest licensing or aggregation rather than product development. K. Mizra LLC has been explicitly identified as a "licensing firm (non-practicing entity, NPE)".
2. Known asserter in the chain: Present. K. MIZRA LLC, the current assignee, is a known Non-Practicing Entity (NPE) that procures and monetizes patents through licensing and litigation. They have active litigation campaigns against major tech companies like Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Google, Silicon Motion, and Broadcom. Unified Patents also identifies K. Mizra as an "apparently funded entity that has brought suit on at least 35 patents worldwide".
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Present. Lawrence W. Lindeman (or LINDEMAN, LAWRENCE W) is listed as the correspondent for all recorded assignments in this chain (Reel 050128/0691, Reel 050128/0815, Reel 050128/0979, Reel 051579/0773).
4. Cascading transfers: Present. While the execution dates span several years (2006, 2010, 2017, 2019), three of the four assignments were recorded on the same day, 2019-08-22 (Reel 050128/0691, Reel 050128/0815, Reel 050128/0979), just prior to K. Mizra LLC filing the current patent application (2019-08-08) for this continuation patent. This rapid recording of multiple older assignments suggests a consolidation of ownership for assertion purposes. The final assignment to K. MIZRA LLC was recorded shortly after on 2020-01-13.
5. Pre-litigation transfer: Unclear. The final assignment to K. MIZRA LLC was recorded on 2020-01-13 (executed 2019-12-24). The patent was granted on 2020-08-04. District court litigation (Texas Eastern District Court case 2:24-cv-00974 and Georgia Northern District Court case 1:24-cv-05442) began in 2024. While the transfers happened before the grant of this specific patent and well before the 2024 litigation, it doesn't fit the "within 6 months before first infringement suit naming this patent" perfectly. However, the transfers did consolidate ownership in an NPE (K. Mizra LLC) before active assertion of this specific patent family.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not present. While Hammerhead Systems, Inc. is "deadpooled", there is no explicit mention or evidence of bankruptcy proceedings leading to the sale of this patent.
7. Privateering: Unclear. There is no information in the provided snippets to suggest an operating company transferred the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf against competitors.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not present. The patent chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator. Unified Patents is challenging the patent via IPR, indicating an anti-NPE stance against K. Mizra LLC.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

This verdict is justified by several strong signals. K. Mizra LLC, the current assignee (Reel 051579/0773, recorded 2020-01-13), is a documented Non-Practicing Entity (NPE). The chain of ownership involves multiple transfers between entities with generic names (Brixham Solutions Ltd., Global Innovation Aggregators LLC) (Reel 050128/0815, Reel 050128/0979), and all assignments were processed by the same correspondent attorney, Lawrence W. Lindeman (Reel 050128/0691, Reel 050128/0815, Reel 050128/0979, Reel 051579/0773), indicating a centralized legal strategy for patent monetization. Furthermore, a series of older assignments were recorded rapidly (2019-08-22), just before this continuation application was filed by K Mizra LLC (2019-08-08), consolidating ownership in the NPE.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 10735320, I will examine the "Citations" section of the patent, which lists documents cited by the patent itself and by third parties. Then, for each cited patent, I will provide the requested details. I will focus specifically on US patents cited.

The patent text provided contains a "Citations (58)" section, which lists prior art documents. I will extract information from these citations.

Most Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 10735320

Here is an analysis of the patent citations listed in US10735320, focusing on US patents and their potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

Patent Citations:

1. US5920705A: Method and apparatus for dynamically shifting between routing and switching packets in a transmission network

   • Assignee: Nokia Ip, Inc.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1996-01-31, Publication Date: 1999-07-06.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a method for dynamically shifting between routing and switching packets based on traffic load and network conditions, aiming to optimize network performance.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent might anticipate claims related to dynamic routing decisions and network optimization, but not necessarily the application-layer awareness and pseudowire mapping aspects that are central to US10735320. Specifically, its focus on "routing and switching packets" at a lower network level might be considered relevant to the general concept of data transfer in a network, which forms a broad basis for US10735320.

2. US6167051A: Network node and method of packet transfer

   • Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1996-07-11, Publication Date: 2000-12-26.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a network node and method for transferring packets, likely focusing on efficient packet forwarding within a network.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US5920705A, this patent may anticipate the general concept of a network node transferring packets. However, without more detail, it's less likely to anticipate the specific "application flow" identification and distributed mapping to "pseudowires" that define the core of US10735320's independent claims (Claims 1, 8, 15).

3. US20010021175A1: Load balancing in telecommunications system supporting mobile IP

   • Assignee: Henry Haverinen
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-03-13, Publication Date: 2001-09-13.
   • Brief Description: This patent application focuses on load balancing in mobile IP telecommunications systems.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While dealing with load balancing, which relates to traffic distribution, this reference appears to be focused on mobile IP rather than the specific MPLS/pseudowire application flow mapping of US10735320. It might generally touch on distributing traffic, but likely not with the granular application-layer awareness.

4. US20010023453A1: Method and arrangement for flow control

   • Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-03-15, Publication Date: 2001-09-20.
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes a method and arrangement for flow control within a network.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Flow control is a general networking concept. This reference might broadly cover aspects of managing data flow, but the claims of US10735320 delve into specific identification of "application flows" and mapping them to "pseudowires" for distributed communication, which may not be explicitly present here.

5. US20010043603A1: Interfacing apparatus and method for adapting Ethernet directly to physical channel

   • Assignee: Shaohua Yu
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1999-07-27, Publication Date: 2001-11-22.
   • Brief Description: This patent application details an apparatus and method for adapting Ethernet traffic directly to a physical channel.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference seems to focus on physical and Layer-2 adaptation, which is distinct from the Layer-4 and above "application flow" identification and pseudowire mapping described in US10735320.

6. US6347088B1: Apparatus for transmitting cells, with audio interwork function

   • Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1997-10-28, Publication Date: 2002-02-12.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes an apparatus for transmitting cells (e.g., ATM cells) with an audio interworking function.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is likely focused on ATM-based cell transmission and audio interworking at a lower layer, which differs significantly from the application-level flow management and distributed pseudowire mapping of US10735320.

7. US6430184B1: System and process for GHIH-speed pattern matching for application-level switching of data packets

   • Assignee: Top Layer Networks, Inc.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1998-04-10, Publication Date: 2002-08-06.
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a system and process for high-speed pattern matching for application-level switching of data packets. This is a highly relevant reference as it specifically mentions "application-level switching."
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent's focus on "application-level switching" and "pattern matching" for data packets directly relates to the "identifying information associated with an application flow" step in US10735320 (Claims 1, 8, 15). While it might not explicitly detail mapping to pseudowires, the core concept of acting on application-level information in a network device could potentially anticipate the identification aspect of the claims.

8. US20020112072A1: System and method for fast-rerouting of data in a data communication network

   • Assignee: Maple Optical Systems, Inc.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2001-02-12, Publication Date: 2002-08-15.
   • Brief Description: This patent application discusses a system and method for fast-rerouting of data in a data communication network.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Fast rerouting is a network resilience mechanism. While it involves path management, it's generally at a lower network layer and doesn't directly address the application-aware pseudowire mapping for distributed flows as claimed in US10735320.

9. US20020141393A1: Concurrent use of communication paths in a multi-path access link to an IP network

   • Assignee: Eriksson Goran A.P.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2001-04-02, Publication Date: 2002-10-03.
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes the concurrent use of multiple communication paths in a multi-path access link to an IP network.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This is a highly relevant reference because it describes using multiple paths for communication. This directly relates to the "distributed mapping of the application flow via at least one of the plurality of pseudowires" in US10735320 (Claims 1, 8, 15). While it refers to "communication paths" rather than specifically "pseudowires," the concept of splitting a flow across multiple paths for load balancing or resilience is strongly aligned with the inventive concept.

10. US20020146026A1: Data stream filtering apparatus & method

    • Assignee: Brian Unitt
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-05-14, Publication Date: 2002-10-10.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a data stream filtering apparatus and method.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Filtering data streams could be a part of "identifying information associated with an application flow" in US10735320. However, the claims of US10735320 go beyond simple filtering to include mapping to pseudowires for distributed communication.

11. US6477166B1: System, method and switch for an MPLS network and an ATM network

    • Assignee: Marconi Communications, Inc.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-06-30, Publication Date: 2002-11-05.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a system, method, and switch for interworking MPLS and ATM networks.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent discusses the interworking of MPLS and ATM, which involves network technologies used in US10735320 (MPLS and emulation of Layer-1/Layer-2 services like ATM over pseudowires). However, the specific "application flow" awareness and distributed mapping may not be directly anticipated.

12. US20030002482A1: Hierarchical data collection network supporting packetized voice communications among wireless terminals and telephones

    • Assignee: Kubler Joseph J.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1995-10-05, Publication Date: 2003-01-02.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a hierarchical data collection network supporting packetized voice communications.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference mentions packetized voice communication, which is an "application flow" type mentioned in US10735320 (VoIP). However, it does not appear to detail the specific MPLS pseudowire mapping and distributed communication scheme.

13. US20030039237A1: Common access between a mobile communications network and an external network with selectable packet-switched and circuit-switched services

    • Assignee: Jan E Forslow
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1997-09-25, Publication Date: 2003-02-27.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes common access between mobile and external networks, offering both packet-switched and circuit-switched services.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference broadly addresses service types (packet-switched, circuit-switched) and network access, but it's unlikely to detail the specific application-aware pseudowire mapping of US10735320.

14. US6546427B1: Streaming multimedia network with automatically switchable content sources

    • Assignee: International Business Machines Corp.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1999-06-18, Publication Date: 2003-04-08.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a streaming multimedia network with automatically switchable content sources.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent deals with multimedia streaming, which represents application flows. The "automatically switchable content sources" could imply dynamic path selection, which relates to the distributed mapping concept. However, it may not specify the MPLS/pseudowire mechanisms.

15. US6574477B1: Dynamic load balancing during message processing in a wireless communication service network

    • Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1999-10-06, Publication Date: 2003-06-03.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes dynamic load balancing during message processing in a wireless communication service network.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Dynamic load balancing is relevant to distributing traffic across multiple paths, similar to the distributed mapping in US10735320. However, the context is "wireless communication service network" and "message processing," which might differ from the MPLS/pseudowire application wire concept.

16. US20030117950A1: Link redial for mesh protection

    • Assignee: Huang Gail G
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2001-12-26, Publication Date: 2003-06-26.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a link redial mechanism for mesh network protection.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This focuses on network protection and rerouting, which are generally lower-layer functions compared to application-aware flow management and pseudowire mapping.

17. US6621793B2: Application influenced policy

    • Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-05-22, Publication Date: 2003-09-16.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a system where network policies are influenced by application requirements. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent directly addresses "application influenced policy," which aligns with US10735320's concept of identifying application flows and making mapping decisions based on application requirements (Claims 1, 8, 15). The "admission control" aspect in US10735320 (step 412) also relates to applying policies. While it may not explicitly mention pseudowires, the underlying principle of application-aware network management is similar.

18. US6665273B1: Dynamically adjusting multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) traffic engineering tunnel bandwidth

    • Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-01-11, Publication Date: 2003-12-16.
    • Brief Description: This patent focuses on dynamically adjusting MPLS traffic engineering tunnel bandwidth.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent deals with MPLS and traffic engineering, which are core technologies in US10735320. Dynamic adjustment of bandwidth for tunnels could be seen as a form of resource management that, while not explicitly at the application flow level in this abstract, could lay groundwork for optimizing paths (pseudowires) based on varying requirements.

19. US6680943B1: Establishing bi-directional communication sessions across a communications network

    • Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1999-10-01, Publication Date: 2004-01-20.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes establishing bi-directional communication sessions across a network.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This is a general networking concept and is unlikely to anticipate the specific application-aware and distributed pseudowire mapping of US10735320.

20. US20040105459A1: Method and a system to build efficient communications networks in which MPLS functionality is incorporated within the SONET/SDH/OTN transport equipment by performing it in the GFP layer

    • Assignee: Raghu Mannam
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2002-11-30, Publication Date: 2004-06-03.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes incorporating MPLS functionality into SONET/SDH/OTN transport equipment at the GFP layer.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference describes specific MPLS implementation details at a transport layer, which is a lower level than the application layer focus of US10735320. It might be relevant to the underlying transport, but not the application-aware mapping.

21. US6751684B2: System and method of allocating bandwidth to a plurality of devices interconnected by a plurality of point-to-point communication links

    • Assignee: Jonathan M. Owen
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-12-21, Publication Date: 2004-06-15.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for allocating bandwidth to multiple devices connected by point-to-point links.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Bandwidth allocation is a crucial aspect of QoS, which is heavily emphasized in US10735320. This patent, by addressing bandwidth allocation across multiple links, touches on resource management relevant to the distributed mapping of application flows to pseudowires.

22. US20040114595A1: Restoration and protection method and an apparatus thereof

    • Assignee: Masami Doukai
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2001-04-19, Publication Date: 2004-06-17.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes methods and apparatus for network restoration and protection.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Network protection and restoration are generally lower-layer functions that ensure network reliability, but do not directly anticipate the application-aware pseudowire mapping of US10735320.

23. US20040133692A1: Method and apparatus for connecting IPV6 devices through an IPv4 network and a network address translator (NAT) using a tunnel setup protocol

    • Assignee: Hexago Inc.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2003-01-07, Publication Date: 2004-07-08.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes connecting IPv6 devices through an IPv4 network using tunneling.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference discusses tunneling, which shares some conceptual similarities with pseudowires as virtual circuits. However, its specific focus on IPv6 over IPv4 tunneling does not directly address application-layer flow identification and distributed mapping.

24. US20040156313A1: Method and apparatus for performing data flow ingress/egress admission control in a provider network

    • Assignee: Hofmeister Ralph Theodore
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2003-02-03, Publication Date: 2004-08-12.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a method and apparatus for performing data flow ingress/egress admission control in a provider network. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent directly addresses "data flow ingress/egress admission control," which is explicitly mentioned as an optional step in US10735320 (step 412). The concept of admission control for data flows in a network directly anticipates aspects of managing application flows.

25. US20040174865A1: Messages and control methods for controlling resource allocation and flow admission control in a mobile communications system

    • Assignee: O'neill Alan
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2001-06-26, Publication Date: 2004-09-09.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes messages and control methods for resource allocation and flow admission control in a mobile communications system. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to the previous citation, this patent directly addresses "resource allocation and flow admission control," which are key components of the application flow management in US10735320 (Claims 1, 8, 15, and step 412). The principles of managing and controlling flows based on resource availability are strongly related.

26. US6813271B1: Satellite communications system and method of supporting ATM cell transmissions in a DVB environment

    • Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1999-09-30, Publication Date: 2004-11-02.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes supporting ATM cell transmissions in a DVB environment in a satellite communication system.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is specific to satellite communications and ATM over DVB, which is a different context and technological focus than the generalized application flow mapping over MPLS pseudowires in US10735320.

27. US20040252717A1: Multiprotocol media conversion

    • Assignee: Corrigent Systems Ltd.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2003-06-13, Publication Date: 2004-12-16.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes multiprotocol media conversion.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While multiprotocol conversion touches on interworking different network layers/protocols, it doesn't inherently describe the application-aware identification and distributed pseudowire mapping of US10735320.

28. US6845389B1: System and method for broadband multi-user communication sessions

    • Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-05-12, Publication Date: 2005-01-18.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for broadband multi-user communication sessions.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This broadly covers multi-user sessions, which would involve multiple application flows. However, it's unlikely to detail the specific mechanisms of application-aware pseudowire mapping described in US10735320.

29. US20050018605A1: Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) edge service extraction

    • Assignee: Richard Foote
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2002-07-22, Publication Date: 2005-01-27.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes MPLS edge service extraction.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent focuses on MPLS edge services, which is the domain where US10735320 operates. "Service extraction" implies identifying and handling services, which could be related to identifying application flows. However, the exact mapping to pseudowires for distributed communication may not be present.

30. US20050044262A1: System and method for interconnecting heterogeneous layer 2 VPN applications

    • Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2002-11-21, Publication Date: 2005-02-24.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes interconnecting heterogeneous Layer 2 VPN applications.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent focuses on Layer 2 VPNs and interconnection, which are related to pseudowires (often used for Layer 2 emulation). While it deals with VPN applications, it's at Layer 2, whereas US10735320 explicitly deals with Layer 4 and above application flows.

31. US20050080911A1: System and method for the packaging and distribution of data

    • Assignee: Stiers Todd A.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2002-09-17, Publication Date: 2005-04-14.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a system and method for packaging and distributing data.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This is a very broad description and is unlikely to anticipate the specific application-aware and distributed pseudowire mapping of US10735320.

32. US20050080890A1: Server load balancing apparatus and method using MPLS session

    • Assignee: Yang Sun Hee
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2003-10-14, Publication Date: 2005-04-14.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a server load balancing apparatus and method using MPLS sessions. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Load balancing using MPLS sessions is directly related to distributing traffic across multiple paths within an MPLS network. This strongly anticipates the "distributed mapping of the application flow via at least one of the plurality of pseudowires" in US10735320, especially given the use of "MPLS sessions" which can be analogous to pseudowires or underlying transport for them.

33. US20050093770A1: System and method for a data format for command encapsulation

    • Assignee: De Bonet Jeremy S.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2003-10-31, Publication Date: 2005-05-05.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a system and method for a data format for command encapsulation.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This focuses on data format and encapsulation, which are aspects of how packets are structured, but not directly on the application-aware flow identification and distributed mapping to pseudowires. US10735320 also discusses encapsulation (step 416, FIG. 6), but the core invention is the mapping intelligence.

34. US20050220148A1: System and method for transporting time-division multiplexed communications through a packet-switched access network

    • Assignee: Delregno Nick
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2004-04-05, Publication Date: 2005-10-06.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes transporting TDM communications through a packet-switched network, which is a common use case for pseudowires.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference describes using a packet-switched network to transport TDM, which is a Layer-1 service emulated by pseudowires. While it uses pseudowire-like concepts, it doesn't explicitly involve application-level awareness or distributed mapping of a single application flow across multiple emulated paths.

35. US20050237927A1: Transmission apparatus

    • Assignee: Shinya Kano
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2003-05-14, Publication Date: 2005-10-27.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a transmission apparatus.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This is a general apparatus description and unlikely to anticipate the specific details of US10735320.

36. US20050259586A1: Dynamic traffic rearrangement and restoration for MPLS networks with differentiated services capabilities

    • Assignee: Abdelhakim Hafid
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2004-05-19, Publication Date: 2005-11-24.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes dynamic traffic rearrangement and restoration in MPLS networks with differentiated services. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent directly addresses "dynamic traffic rearrangement" within MPLS networks, and "differentiated services," which implies varying QoS treatment. This closely aligns with the distributed mapping of application flows to pseudowires based on their service parameters and requirements in US10735320 (Claims 1, 8, 15). The concept of adapting paths based on traffic and service needs is central to both.

37. US20060002423A1: Methods, systems, and computer program products for direct interworking between pseudo wires associated with different services

    • Assignee: Rembert James W
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2004-06-30, Publication Date: 2006-01-05.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes interworking between pseudowires associated with different services. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent discusses interworking pseudowires for different services, which demonstrates an awareness of services (potentially application-level) in the context of pseudowires. This directly relates to the concept of managing flows and mapping them to pseudowires, although it might not explicitly detail the distributed mapping of a single application flow across multiple pseudowires.

38. US6985488B2: Method and apparatus for transporting packet data over an optical network

    • Assignee: Ciena Corporation
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2003-01-15, Publication Date: 2006-01-10.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes transporting packet data over an optical network.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent focuses on optical transport, which is a lower physical layer concern than the application-aware and distributed pseudowire mapping of US10735320.

39. US20060018252A1: Load balancing in a virtual private network

    • Assignee: Alcatel
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2004-07-20, Publication Date: 2006-01-26.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes load balancing in a virtual private network (VPN).
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Load balancing in a VPN, especially if the VPN is built over MPLS with pseudowires, would be highly relevant to the distributed mapping aspect of US10735320. The concept of distributing traffic across multiple virtual paths (pseudowires) to balance load is central to both.

40. US20060047851A1: Computer network with point-to-point pseudowire redundancy

    • Assignee: Cisco Technoloy, Inc.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2004-08-25, Publication Date: 2006-03-02.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a computer network with point-to-point pseudowire redundancy. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent explicitly mentions "pseudowire redundancy," which suggests the use of multiple pseudowires for a single service or flow for protection. This is directly related to the concept of a distributed mapping of an application flow via multiple pseudowires (Claims 1, 8, 15) for reliability or capacity, although US10735320 focuses more broadly on distributed mapping for various reasons, including bandwidth utilization.

41. US20060046658A1: Scheduling methods for wireless networks

    • Assignee: Cruz Rene L
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2002-09-05, Publication Date: 2006-03-02.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes scheduling methods for wireless networks.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Scheduling in wireless networks is a form of resource management, but the specific context of wireless networks and general scheduling methods may not directly anticipate the application-aware pseudowire mapping of US10735320.

42. US20060090008A1: Pseudowire termination directly on a router

    • Assignee: Jim Guichard
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2004-10-21, Publication Date: 2006-04-27.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes pseudowire termination directly on a router.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent focuses on the physical placement of pseudowire termination, which is a structural aspect of a network rather than the application-aware flow identification and distributed mapping logic.

43. US7050396B1: Method and apparatus for automatically establishing bi-directional differentiated services treatment of flows in a network

    • Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-11-30, Publication Date: 2006-05-23.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes automatically establishing bi-directional differentiated services treatment of flows in a network. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): The patent's focus on "differentiated services treatment of flows" is directly relevant to the QoS aspects of US10735320, where application flows are mapped to pseudowires based on their service parameters. The "automatically establishing" aspect also aligns with the dynamic nature of application wire creation. This directly anticipates the handling of flows with different service requirements.

44. US20060146832A1: Method and system for transporting data using pseudowire circuits over a bridged network

    • Assignee: CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC. A Corporation of the state of California
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2005-01-05, Publication Date: 2006-07-06.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes transporting data using pseudowire circuits over a bridged network.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference specifically discusses "pseudowire circuits" for transporting data, which is a core technology in US10735320. However, the focus on a "bridged network" and general data transport might not extend to the application-aware identification and distributed mapping of a single application flow.

45. US20060227767A1: Fault tolerant architecture for wireless base stations using ethernet backhaul

    • Assignee: Sprint Communications Company L. P.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2005-04-11, Publication Date: 2006-10-12.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a fault-tolerant architecture for wireless base stations using Ethernet backhaul.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This focuses on fault tolerance and wireless/Ethernet specific architectures, which are distinct from the general application flow management over MPLS pseudowires in US10735320.

46. US20060233167A1: Negotiation of datapath treatment for end-to-end interworked network traffic

    • Assignee: Alcatel
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2005-04-19, Publication Date: 2006-10-19.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes negotiation of datapath treatment for end-to-end interworked network traffic. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): "Datapath treatment" and "negotiation" for "interworked network traffic" are highly relevant to ensuring QoS and selecting appropriate paths for flows, which directly aligns with US10735320's application-aware mapping and distributed communication based on application requirements.

47. US20070038921A1: Method and system for forward error correction

    • Assignee: Nokia Corporation
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2003-03-05, Publication Date: 2007-02-15.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a method and system for forward error correction.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Forward error correction is a data integrity mechanism and does not directly anticipate the application-aware flow identification and distributed pseudowire mapping of US10735320.

48. US20070053366A1: Layer-two interworking applied to L2-L3 pseudowires

    • Assignee: Booth Earl H Iii
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2005-09-08, Publication Date: 2007-03-08.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes Layer-two interworking applied to L2-L3 pseudowires. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent directly discusses "L2-L3 pseudowires" and "interworking," which is highly relevant to the pseudowire context of US10735320. While US10735320 explicitly targets Layer 4 and above application flows, the underlying pseudowire technology and interworking mechanisms are foundational and could anticipate aspects of how pseudowires are managed.

49. US20070070893A1: Method and network node for self-regulating, autonomous and decentralized traffic distribution in a multipath network

    • Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2003-05-15, Publication Date: 2007-03-29.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a method and network node for self-regulating, autonomous, and decentralized traffic distribution in a multipath network. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent's focus on "traffic distribution in a multipath network" and "self-regulating, autonomous and decentralized" control directly relates to the concept of distributed mapping of an application flow via multiple paths (pseudowires) in US10735320 (Claims 1, 8, 15). The distributed nature of the mapping is a core aspect of both.

50. US7200104B2: Method for restoring a virtual path in an optical network using 1+1 protection

    • Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1999-01-15, Publication Date: 2007-04-03.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes restoring a virtual path in an optical network using 1+1 protection.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This focuses on virtual path restoration and protection at an optical layer. While "virtual path" shares some conceptual similarity with "pseudowire," the context is different, and it's unlikely to anticipate the application-aware aspect of US10735320.

51. US20070127479A1: A method and arrangement for distributed pseudo-wire signaling

    • Assignee: David Sinicrope
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2005-12-05, Publication Date: 2007-06-07.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a method and arrangement for distributed pseudo-wire signaling. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent explicitly mentions "distributed pseudo-wire signaling," which directly relates to managing and setting up pseudowires in a distributed manner. This is foundational to the distributed mapping of application flows to pseudowires in US10735320 (Claims 1, 8, 15), as proper signaling is required to establish and maintain such distributed pseudowires.

52. US20070206607A1: Resource reservation and admission control for IP network

    • Assignee: Chapman John T
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2006-03-06, Publication Date: 2007-09-06.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes resource reservation and admission control for an IP network. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to earlier admission control citations, this patent directly addresses "resource reservation and admission control" in an IP network. This strongly anticipates the admission control step (412) in US10735320, which is performed on application flows before mapping them to pseudowires.

53. US20080031129A1: Smart Ethernet edge networking system

    • Assignee: Jim Arseneault
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2006-08-07, Publication Date: 2008-02-07.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a smart Ethernet edge networking system.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This broadly covers edge networking systems, which is the domain of the node in US10735320. However, "smart Ethernet" is a general term, and it's unclear if it specifically anticipates the application-aware pseudowire mapping.

54. US20080144632A1: Method and System For Quality of Service Support For Ethernet Multiservice Interworking Over Multiprotocol Lable Switching

    • Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2004-04-20, Publication Date: 2008-06-19.
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes QoS support for Ethernet multiservice interworking over MPLS. This is a highly relevant reference.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent directly addresses "QoS Support For Ethernet Multiservice Interworking Over Multiprotocol Label Switching." This is extremely relevant to US10735320 as it combines MPLS, QoS, and multiservice interworking, which strongly aligns with the concept of managing application flows (a type of service) over an MPLS network, potentially using pseudowires.

55. US7436782B2: Full mesh LSP and full mesh T-LDP provisioning between provider edge routers in support of Layer-2 and Layer-3 virtual private network services

    • Assignee: Alcatel Lucent
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2004-03-25, Publication Date: 2008-10-14.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes full mesh LSP and T-LDP provisioning between provider edge routers for Layer-2 and Layer-3 VPN services.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent details provisioning for Layer-2 and Layer-3 VPN services using MPLS LSPs and T-LDP. While VPNs are related to virtual circuits (like pseudowires), the explicit focus is on Layer 2 and 3, not the Layer 4 and above application flows of US10735320. However, the underlying MPLS provisioning for virtual services is relevant.

56. US7590070B1: System and method for discretionary multiplexing and compressing in a communications environment

    • Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2004-02-03, Publication Date: 2009-09-15.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes discretionary multiplexing and compressing in a communications environment.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Multiplexing can be related to aggregating flows (N-to-one mapping in US10735320). However, the patent does not appear to focus on application-aware identification or distributed mapping to multiple pseudowires.

57. US9843509B2: Application wire

    • Assignee: Global Innovation Aggregators Llc.
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2005-10-07, Publication Date: 2017-12-12.
    • Brief Description: This patent shares the exact title "Application wire" and the same priority date (2005-10-07) as US10735320. It is a family member.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is a direct family member (likely a parent or sibling application, given the same priority date and title) to US10735320. Therefore, it would not anticipate US10735320 under 35 U.S.C. § 102 because they share the same priority date and inventorship, meaning they describe the same invention or obvious variations thereof by the same inventive entity. Instead, it serves as part of the same inventive lineage.

58. US7697528B2: Multilink trunking for encapsulated traffic

    • Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    • Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2005-11-01, Publication Date: 2010-04-13.
    • Brief Description: This patent describes multilink trunking for encapsulated traffic.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Multilink trunking is a form of distributing traffic across multiple physical links, which could be conceptually related to distributing an application flow across multiple pseudowires for increased capacity. This is relevant to the "distributed mapping" aspect of US10735320 (Claims 1, 8, 15).

Summary of Most Potentially Anticipating Prior Art (due to explicit mention of application-level awareness, distributed flows, or specific MPLS/pseudowire mechanisms):

• US6430184B1 (System and process for GHIH-speed pattern matching for application-level switching of data packets): Directly addresses application-level switching.
• US20020141393A1 (Concurrent use of communication paths in a multi-path access link to an IP network): Directly addresses concurrent use of multiple paths, which is key to "distributed mapping."
• US6621793B2 (Application influenced policy): Directly addresses network policy influenced by application requirements.
• US20040156313A1 (Method and apparatus for performing data flow ingress/egress admission control in a provider network): Directly addresses data flow admission control.
• US20040174865A1 (Messages and control methods for controlling resource allocation and flow admission control in a mobile communications system): Directly addresses resource allocation and flow admission control.
• US20050080890A1 (Server load balancing apparatus and method using MPLS session): Directly addresses load balancing using MPLS sessions, highly relevant to distributed mapping.
• US20050259586A1 (Dynamic traffic rearrangement and restoration for MPLS networks with differentiated services capabilities): Directly addresses dynamic traffic rearrangement and differentiated services in MPLS, relating to distributed mapping based on QoS.
• US20060002423A1 (Methods, systems, and computer program products for direct interworking between pseudo wires associated with different services): Directly addresses interworking pseudowires for different services.
• US20060018252A1 (Load balancing in a virtual private network): Highly relevant to distributed mapping across virtual paths (pseudowires).
• US20060047851A1 (Computer network with point-to-point pseudowire redundancy): Explicitly mentions pseudowire redundancy, indicating distributed use of pseudowires for a single service.
• US7050396B1 (Method and apparatus for automatically establishing bi-directional differentiated services treatment of flows in a network): Directly addresses differentiated services treatment of flows.
• US20060233167A1 (Negotiation of datapath treatment for end-to-end interworked network traffic): Directly addresses datapath treatment and negotiation for interworked traffic.
• US20070053366A1 (Layer-two interworking applied to L2-L3 pseudowires): Directly discusses L2-L3 pseudowires and interworking.
• US20070070893A1 (Method and network node for self-regulating, autonomous and decentralized traffic distribution in a multipath network): Directly addresses traffic distribution in multipath networks.
• US20070127479A1 (A method and arrangement for distributed pseudo-wire signaling): Explicitly mentions distributed pseudowire signaling.
• US20070206607A1 (Resource reservation and admission control for IP network): Directly addresses resource reservation and admission control.
• US20080144632A1 (Method and System For Quality of Service Support For Ethernet Multiservice Interworking Over Multiprotocol Lable Switching): Highly relevant as it combines QoS, multiservice interworking, and MPLS.
• US7697528B2 (Multilink trunking for encapsulated traffic): Relevant to distributing traffic across multiple links.

Obviousness Analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 for US Patent 10735320

This analysis identifies combinations of prior art that would render the independent claims of US Patent 10735320 obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) at the time of the invention (priority date October 7, 2005). The core inventive features of US10735320 revolve around identifying Layer 4 and above application flows, distributing these flows across multiple pseudowires for enhanced Quality of Service (QoS), and communicating the data without requiring modifications to intermediate Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network nodes.

Combination of Prior Art References

A combination of the following prior art references would have rendered the claims of US10735320 obvious:

1. Bryant et al., "Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) Architecture," Network Working Group, March 2005. This foundational document details the architecture for emulating various Layer 1 and Layer 2 services over packet-switched networks (PSNs) like MPLS using pseudowires.

2. US6430184B1 (Top Layer Networks, Inc., 2002), titled "System and process for GHIH-speed pattern matching for application-level switching of data packets." This patent discloses a system and method for identifying and switching data packets based on application-level information, typically by inspecting packet headers at Layer 4 and above.

3. US20040141393A1 (Eriksson Goran A.P., 2002), titled "Concurrent use of communication paths in a multi-path access link to an IP network." This reference teaches the concept of distributing a single communication or data flow across multiple, concurrently utilized paths within an IP network to improve performance or resilience.

4. US7050396B1 (Cisco Technology, Inc., 2006; priority 2000), titled "Method and apparatus for automatically establishing bi-directional differentiated services treatment of flows in a network." This patent describes methods for providing differentiated services (QoS) based on flow characteristics within a network, including the use of IP precedence bits and their mapping to MPLS Experimental (EXP) bits for QoS marking.

Obviousness Argument

A POSITA in network engineering, facing the challenges of providing granular QoS to modern application traffic (Layer 4 and above) over existing MPLS networks utilizing pseudowires, would have been motivated to combine the teachings of these references. The background of US10735320 itself notes that traditional Layer 1/2 pseudowire mappings often fail to guarantee QoS for individual applications generating traffic at Layer 3 or above.

1. Identifying Application Flows (Claim 1, 8, 15): Given the desire to apply application-specific QoS, a POSITA would recognize the need to identify application flows at a finer granularity than Layer 1/2. US6430184B1 provides a clear teaching for "application-level switching" by inspecting packet headers (including Layer 4 application protocol headers) to identify specific application flows. This would enable the "identifying information associated with an application flow based on one or more unencapsulated packet headers of the application flow or based on an ingress data stream that includes the application flow" as recited in the claims.

2. Determining a Plurality of Pseudowires for Distributed Mapping (Claim 1, 8, 15):

   • Pseudowire Context: The POSITA would be aware of the PWE3 architecture (Bryant et al.) as a standard for emulating services over MPLS.
   • Motivation for Distributed Mapping: US10735320's background highlights the problem where a single pseudowire with a fixed bandwidth might not meet the demands of a high-bandwidth application flow (e.g., an application requiring 70 Mbps on a 50 Mbps pseudowire), even if overall network capacity is available. To address this inefficiency and enhance bandwidth utilization or resilience, a POSITA would be motivated to distribute a single flow across multiple paths.
   • Splitting Mechanism: Eriksson (US20040141393A1) teaches the concept of "concurrent use of communication paths in a multi-path access link to an IP network" for a single connection, providing a clear precedent for splitting a data flow over multiple underlying paths. Applying this known principle of splitting a flow to pseudowires, which serve as virtual paths over an MPLS network, would be a logical step for a POSITA to efficiently handle application flows exceeding the capacity of a single pseudowire. The "stored data that maps application flows with pseudowires" for this distributed mapping would be a straightforward configuration aspect within edge network devices, as described in US10735320 with its Application Flow Table (AFT) and Pseudowire Table (PWT).

3. Communicating Data and Application-Aware QoS (Claim 1, 8, 15): Once application flows are identified (US6430184B1) and distributed across multiple pseudowires (Bryant et al. + Eriksson), a POSITA would be motivated to provide differentiated QoS based on application requirements. US7050396B1 teaches providing "differentiated services treatment of flows" and specifically mentions using IP precedence bits (which can be mapped to MPLS EXP bits) to differentiate traffic and apply QoS policies like Weighted Fair Queuing (WFQ) and Weighted Random Early Discard (WRED). This directly provides the motivation for US10735320's concept of assigning different parts of an application flow (e.g., critical MPEG M-frames vs. other packets) to pseudowires with higher or lower priority levels, utilizing the EXP field in the pseudowire header for service differentiation. The fact that pseudowire headers are MPLS-formatted means that intermediate MPLS nodes can process these packets as regular MPLS packets without modification, as noted by US10735320.

Thus, combining the established PWE3 architecture (Bryant et al.) with application-level flow identification (US6430184B1), the concept of splitting flows across multiple paths (Eriksson), and the motivation for providing differentiated QoS for flows (US7050396B1), a POSITA would have found it obvious to arrive at the invention claimed in US10735320. The device and computer-readable medium claims (Claims 8 and 15) are directed to implementing this obvious method using conventional network hardware and software, and therefore would also be rendered obvious.

US Patent 10735320, titled "Application wire," was issued on August 4, 2020, from an application filed on August 8, 2019.

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) and Patent Term Extensions (PTE)

Based on the information available, US Patent 10735320 is eligible for Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) because its application was filed on or after May 29, 2000. PTA compensates patentees for certain delays incurred during the patent prosecution process by the USPTO. These delays can include the USPTO failing to:

• Issue a first Official Action or notice of allowance within 14 months of filing.
• Issue an action within four months of an applicant's response.
• Issue the patent within four months of paying the issue fee.
• Issue a patent within three years of the actual filing date.

The overall extension is calculated by adding these delays, but it can be reduced if delays are caused by the applicant's actions, such as taking more than three months to reply to a USPTO notice or action.

There is no information in the provided text to indicate that US Patent 10735320 has received or is eligible for Patent Term Extension (PTE). PTE typically applies to patents covering pharmaceutical products to compensate for delays in FDA approval processes and is limited to a single patent for up to five years.

Continuation Applications

US Patent 10735320 is explicitly identified as a continuation of several earlier U.S. patent applications, all titled "Application Wire" and claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/725,038, filed October 7, 2005. Specifically, it is a continuation of:

• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/838,014, filed December 11, 2017.
• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/919,687, filed October 21, 2015.
• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/055,721, filed October 16, 2013.
• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/543,727, filed October 5, 2006.

Continuation applications allow an applicant to pursue additional claims to an invention disclosed in the parent application, using the same specification and claiming the same priority date. They are often filed when an examiner allows some claims but rejects others, or when an applicant wishes to explore different embodiments.

Divisional Applications

The patent information provided does not explicitly mention any divisional applications for US Patent 10735320. A divisional application is filed when a parent application contains more than one distinct invention, often as a result of a restriction requirement from the examiner, and generally has the same specification and priority date as the parent, but a different set of claims.

Related Family Members

The patent explicitly lists several other U.S. patent applications and patents in its "Related U.S. Application Data" section, which are considered family members. These include:

• U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/725,038, filed October 7, 2005 (priority application).
• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/543,727, filed October 5, 2006, which resulted in US8588061B2.
• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/055,721, filed October 16, 2013, which resulted in US9197675B2.
• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/919,687, filed October 21, 2015, which resulted in US9843509B2.
• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/838,014, filed December 11, 2017, which resulted in US10411999B2.
• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/912,546, filed June 25, 2020, which resulted in US11128567B2.
• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/406,865, filed August 19, 2021, which resulted in US12095664B2.
• U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/631,630, filed April 10, 2024, which resulted in US12425323B2.

Additionally, US20190363980A1 is listed as another version, indicating a related publication. WO2007044584A2 and WO2007044584A3 are also listed as related international publications.

Projected Expiration Date

For utility patents filed on or after June 8, 1995, the patent term generally expires 20 years from the earliest filing date of the application in its family.

The earliest priority date for US Patent 10735320 is October 7, 2005, based on U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/725,038. Therefore, the anticipated expiration date, without considering any Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) or extensions, would be 20 years from this priority date.

2005-10-07 (Priority Date) + 20 years = 2025-10-07.

However, the Google Patents page for US10735320 explicitly states an "Anticipated expiration" date of 2026-10-05. This indicates that Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) has been applied, extending the term by approximately one year (from October 7, 2025, to October 5, 2026).

The USPTO does not calculate expiration dates for patents but provides resources to help estimate them, including a patent term calculator. The listed "Anticipated expiration" date of 2026-10-05 on Google Patents is likely a calculation that includes any awarded PTA.