Obviousness

To analyze the obviousness of US Patent 9,008,055 under 35 U.S.C. § 103, we must identify combinations of prior art references that would render the independent claims obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) at the time of the invention (priority date: April 28, 2004). This analysis will focus on independent claims 1 (method), 15 (system), and 29 (computer-readable medium), as dependent claims are typically obvious if their parent independent claim is obvious, or if they add elements that are themselves obvious in light of other prior art.

The core inventive concepts of US9008055, as outlined in its independent claims, include:

1. Establishing a "home relationship" between a mobile device and a server of a home network.
2. Storing identification information on the device and server as part of this relationship.
3. Allowing a user to set preferences for automatic services during the establishment of this relationship.
4. The mobile device connecting to the Internet through a separate, remote local network (e.g., a public Wi-Fi hotspot).
5. The home server receiving identifying information from the remote mobile device and recognizing it.
6. The server automatically activating at least one pre-set service to initiate a data transfer between the device and the server.
7. The use of secure connections (e.g., VPN).

Several prior art documents, published before the priority date of April 28, 2004, collectively disclose these elements and provide a strong motivation for a PHOSITA to combine them.

Identified Prior Art References and Their Relevance:

The following patents are cited in US9008055's prosecution history and published prior to the priority date:

• US6119001A to Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (published Sep. 12, 2000): This patent describes "Roamer service auto-activation and deactivation in a home location register". It teaches the fundamental concept of a mobile device having a "home" network/server (via a home location register, HLR) and being able to automatically activate services when "roaming" in a visited network. This establishes the "home relationship" and "automatic service activation" for remote connections.
• US20010054101A1 to Wilson (published Dec. 20, 2001): This reference teaches a "Server and method to provide access to a network by a computer configured for a different network". This directly addresses the scenario of a device configured for a "home" network accessing its services via a "different" or remote network, providing a foundational element for remote access.
• US20030058343A1 to Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. (published Mar. 27, 2003): This patent discloses an "Image data transfer method, digital camera, and program". It provides explicit teaching of transferring image data from a digital camera, directly addressing the "transfer of data, such as uploading images" aspect of US9008055.
• US20030207685A1 to U.S. Philips Corporation (published Nov. 6, 2003): This patent describes a "User profiling communications system". This reference teaches the concept of user preferences and profiles, which would logically be used to define and store rules for "automatic services."
• US20040046868A1 to Anderson, Eric C. (published Mar. 11, 2004): Notably, this patent shares the same inventor and was published before the priority date of US9008055. It describes "Automatically configuring a web-enabled digital camera to access the Internet." This reference highlights the known ability to automatically configure a mobile imaging device for network access, which is a prerequisite for establishing a home relationship and enabling remote services.
• US6502192B1 to Cisco Technology, Inc. (published Dec. 31, 2002): This patent teaches "Security between client and server in a computer network". This reference, along with other general knowledge of network security at the time (e.g., VPNs, encryption keys), provides the basis for establishing a secure connection between the mobile device and the home server.

Obviousness Analysis Under 35 U.S.C. § 103

A PHOSITA in 2004, aware of the proliferation of mobile wireless devices (especially digital cameras and camera phones) and the increasing availability of public Wi-Fi hotspots, would be motivated to combine the teachings of these prior art references to enable convenient and automatic remote services.

Combination Argument:

1. Establishing a "Home Relationship" and Remote Connectivity: A PHOSITA, starting with the teachings of US20040046868A1 (Anderson) on automatically configuring a web-enabled digital camera for Internet access, would readily understand the benefit of establishing a persistent "home" association for such a device. The well-known cellular concept of "home location registers" and "roaming" for mobile devices, as taught by US6119001A (Ericsson), would provide a clear motivation to adapt this model to Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Ericsson teaches that a mobile device maintains a relationship with its home network/server and can receive services even when connecting through a visited/remote network. Furthermore, US20010054101A1 (Wilson) explicitly teaches how a server can provide access to a network for a device configured for a "different network" (i.e., its home network). Thus, the idea of a mobile device connecting to its home server via a separate, remote local network was known and the mechanisms for it were being developed.

2. User Preferences for Automatic Services: To make the "roamer services" truly useful and automated, a PHOSITA would find it obvious to allow users to define what services should be automatically performed. US20030207685A1 (Philips) describes a "User profiling communications system" which includes managing user preferences for services. It would be a straightforward design choice to integrate such user preference settings into the initial "home relationship" establishment process, similar to how settings are configured for a device upon its first use or registration. This would enable the system to perform actions without further user intervention, enhancing convenience.

3. Automatic Data Transfer (e.g., Images): Given the rise of digital cameras and camera phones, the need for efficient image management and backup was clear. US20030058343A1 (Fuji) explicitly teaches methods for transferring image data from a digital camera. A PHOSITA would be motivated to combine the "auto-activation of services" concept from Ericsson (US6119001A) with Fuji's image transfer methods (US20030058343A1). For instance, upon a remote camera (configured by Anderson '868 and operating under Ericsson's roaming model) connecting to a public Wi-Fi hotspot (per Wilson '101), the home server would recognize it and, based on user preferences set (per Philips '685), automatically initiate an image upload. This directly addresses the problem of quickly backing up photos and freeing up camera memory while traveling.

4. Secure Connection: Anytime personal data (like images) is transferred over a public network (like the Internet via a Wi-Fi hotspot), security is a paramount concern. US6502192B1 (Cisco) teaches "Security between client and server in a computer network". Therefore, it would be an obvious engineering choice for a PHOSITA to incorporate known secure communication protocols, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or public/private key encryption, to establish a secure "tunnel" or data channel between the remote mobile device and the home server. This ensures data integrity and privacy during the automatic transfers.

Conclusion of Obviousness:

Based on the combination of these prior art references, the independent claims of US Patent 9,008,055 would have been obvious to a PHOSITA in 2004. The elements of a home relationship, remote access, user-set preferences for automatic services, automatic data transfer (including images), and secure communication were all known in the art. The motivation to combine these elements stems from the clear and identifiable need to provide convenient, automated, and secure data management services for mobile wireless devices (especially digital cameras) accessing the Internet through various local networks. Such a combination would merely involve applying known techniques in a predictable way to achieve a predictable result: seamless remote access to home-based services for mobile users.

Therefore, Claims 1, 15, and 29, which describe the method, system, and non-transitory computer-readable medium for this invention, respectively, would be considered obvious. If the method is obvious, the system and software implementing that method using known components and programming techniques would also be obvious.