US 8543710

Patent Analysis: US 8543710

Date of Analysis: May 13, 2026

Summary

Title: Method and system for controlling network access

Assignee: As of the latest assignment recorded on July 5, 2024, the assignee for US Patent 8,543,710 is Netskope, Inc. The original assignee was RPX Corp.

Inventors: Patrick Turley, Keith Johnston, Steven D. Tonnesen.

Filing Date: March 10, 2005.

Issue Date: September 24, 2013.

Abstract:
"Systems and methods intended to control a network devices access to a network are disclosed. Embodiments of the current invention expose a method for confining a network client's network access to a specific logical region of the network. A network communication may be received and the client that originated this communication determined. This client is associated with a set of rules or walled garden that specifies the access allowed by that client. The destination of the communication may also be determined and if the destination is allowed by the set of rules associated with the client and access to the destination allowed if access to the destination is allowed by the set of rules."

Litigation Search

A search of the USPTO patent litigation database and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) dockets for 2026 reveals litigation activity associated with this patent family, including a PTAB case (IPR2026-00042) which was not instituted, and district court cases in the Northern District of California. This indicates the patent has been actively asserted.

Independent Claims Overview

This patent contains three independent claims (1, 8, and 15), each describing a different embodiment of the same core invention: a method, a computer program product, and a network access gateway device.

Claim 1 (Method): This claim outlines a method for a network access gateway (a device, like a router or firewall, that sits between a local network and the internet) to control and quarantine a specific client device on the local network. The core of the method involves:

1. Restricting traffic destination: The gateway blocks all network traffic from the quarantined device, except for traffic going to a pre-approved list of network addresses (a "walled garden"). These allowed addresses are outside the client's immediate local network segment.
2. Restricting traffic type: Even for the allowed destinations, the gateway further restricts the traffic to only specific, pre-selected network protocols (e.g., only allowing web traffic via HTTP).
3. Informing the user: After restricting the client device, the gateway serves a web page to that device. This page informs the user about the restriction and offers a way to regain unrestricted internet access, such as by performing a specific action.

In simple terms, if a computer on a network is misbehaving (e.g., infected with a virus), this method allows the network gateway to isolate it, limit its access to only specific "safe" locations (like antivirus update servers), and tell the user what they need to do to fix the problem.

Claim 8 (Computer Program Product): This claim is substantively identical to claim 1 but is framed as a "computer program product." This means it covers a non-transitory computer-readable medium (like a hard drive, SSD, or CD-ROM) that stores instructions. When a processor executes these instructions, it performs the quarantine control method described in claim 1. This legal distinction allows the patent holder to protect the software that implements the method, not just the act of performing the method itself.

Claim 15 (Network Access Gateway Device): This claim covers the physical hardware itself. It describes a network access gateway device that is built to perform the method outlined in claim 1. The claim specifies that the device must have at least one processor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing the instructions to carry out the quarantine functions. This allows the patent holder to protect the actual gateway appliance (the router, firewall, etc.) that is sold with this functionality built-in.