Prior art

The following analysis identifies the most relevant prior art for US Patent 9135418, focusing on patents cited within its documentation that describe systems and methods for secure applications, mobile device management, application wrapping, and secure environments.

The claims of US9135418 generally pertain to methods and systems for creating secure applications from target applications without access to source code. This involves decomposing target applications, binding intercepts to modify predictable instructions (e.g., byte codes or references), repackaging the secure application, imposing secure namespaces for interprocess communications (IPC), and enforcing various policies to control secure application behavior.

Most Relevant Prior Art for US9135418

The following cited patents are considered highly relevant prior art, particularly as many share the same original assignee (OpenPeak Inc.) and address similar technological problems in securing applications on computing devices.

1. US20130091494A1 - Mobile device management

• Full Citation: US20130091494A1, Wade; Christopher Michael et al., "Mobile device management", filed July 9, 2011, published April 11, 2013. Assignee: OpenPeak Inc.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes systems and methods for remotely managing a mobile device using a device management system (DMS). It enables administrators to provision devices, manage applications and content, control network access, enforce security settings, and protect corporate data. This management is achieved by sending DMS directives that include system commands and intelligence information for a DMS agent to interpret, without requiring updates to the agent's core code.
• Potential Anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102:
  • Claims 14, 15, 23 (Behavior Modification based on Policies): This reference broadly anticipates the management of applications through policies, including preventing operation during predetermined times or locations, based on licensing, uninstalling/deleting, encrypting data, locking/deleting if offline, requiring re-authentication, or preventing operation due to compromised device privileges. The patent explicitly states the DMS allows IT administrators to "set policies and protect corporate data."
  • Claims 13, 42 (Dynamic Policies): The patent's description of DMS directives including "intelligence information not previously stored on the fielded device that is necessary for the DMS agent to interpret the system command" suggests the concept of dynamically modifiable policies.
  • Claims 1, 17, 33, 44 (High-level concepts of creating/configuring secure applications): While not detailing the specific "decomposition, intercept binding, and repackaging" steps, the patent anticipates the broader objective of managing and securing applications (e.g., "managed applications") on a device without requiring source code modifications to the management agent itself.

2. US20130091492A1 - System and method for providing secure applications

• Full Citation: US20130091492A1, Wade; Christopher Michael et al., "System and method for providing secure applications", filed July 9, 2011, published April 11, 2013. Assignee: OpenPeak Inc.
• Brief Description: This patent application discloses methods and systems for providing secure applications by establishing a secure environment (e.g., a secure partition) on a computing device. It focuses on converting non-secure applications into secure applications, often through "wrapping" or "securitizing" processes, without access to source code. Key aspects include isolating secure applications, restricting inter-process communications (IPC), encrypting data, and enforcing various policies to control application behavior within the secure environment.
• Potential Anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102:
  • Claims 2, 3, 4, 22, 24-27, 35, 36, 48, 50-52 (Namespace/IPC Security and Partitions): This reference directly teaches creating "secure partitions" and restricting inter-process communications between secure and non-secure applications, as well as enabling data sharing only among secure applications within the secure partition. It explicitly addresses preventing unauthorized access to data (e.g., copy and paste) from non-secure applications.
  • Claims 13, 14, 15, 23, 28-32, 42, 53-57 (Policies and Behavior Modification/Overriding): The patent clearly describes enforcing policies (e.g., temporal, geographical restrictions, licensing, authentication, data encryption, locking/deleting applications) to modify application behavior. The concept of overriding a "first application behavior with a second application behavior" based on policy is strongly anticipated.
  • Claims 1, 17, 33, 44 (High-level methods/systems for creating secure applications without source code): This reference describes the overarching process of converting applications into secure applications ("wrapping" or "securitizing") without source code modification, which broadly anticipates the creation/configuration aspects of these claims, though the detailed mechanisms of byte code/reference injection in US9135418's specific claims would need further comparison.

3. US8555291B2 - System and method for enabling a secure workspace on a mobile device

• Full Citation: US8555291B2, Brown; John R. et al., "System and method for enabling a secure workspace on a mobile device", granted October 15, 2013. Filed: October 10, 2011, Assignee: OpenPeak Inc.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for creating and managing a secure workspace (e.g., a secure partition) on a mobile device. It focuses on isolating secure applications and their associated data from non-secure applications and the personal workspace. It covers aspects of data protection (e.g., encryption), access control, and policy enforcement within the secure workspace for "managed applications" (secure applications).
• Potential Anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102:
  • Claims 2, 3, 4, 22, 24-27, 35, 36, 48, 50-52 (Namespace/IPC Security and Partitions): This patent directly teaches the creation and management of "secure workspaces" or "secure partitions" to isolate secure applications and their data, including restricting inter-process communications and data sharing (e.g., copy/paste) between secure and non-secure environments.
  • Claims 13, 14, 15, 23, 28-32, 42, 53-57 (Policies and Behavior Modification/Overriding): It details the management of secure applications through policies, covering operational restrictions (time, location, licensing), data encryption, authentication, and remote wiping. These concepts align with the policy-driven behavior modification and overriding mechanisms in US9135418.

4. US8555292B2 - System and method for secure application environment

• Full Citation: US8555292B2, Brown; John R. et al., "System and method for secure application environment", granted October 15, 2013. Filed: October 10, 2011. Assignee: OpenPeak Inc.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for providing a secure application environment on a computing device. It utilizes a "secure container" or "secure partition" to host secure applications, ensuring data protection, secure inter-process communication, and policy enforcement to control application behavior. The concept of "wrapping" or "securitization" to convert standard applications into secure ones without source code modification is discussed to achieve this secure environment.
• Potential Anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102:
  • Claims 2, 3, 4, 22, 24-27, 35, 36, 48, 50-52 (Namespace/IPC Security and Partitions): This patent explicitly teaches the use of a "secure container" or "secure partition" and mechanisms to control and restrict inter-process communications between secure and non-secure applications, directly anticipating the namespace and data sharing restriction claims.
  • Claims 13, 14, 15, 23, 28-32, 42, 53-57 (Policies and Behavior Modification/Overriding): It describes enforcing policies for secure applications, including authentication, data encryption, and operational restrictions, aligning with the policy-driven behavior modification and overriding of application behavior in US9135418's claims.

5. US20130174246A1 - System and method for providing secure application environment

• Full Citation: US20130174246A1, Brown; John R. et al., "System and method for providing secure application environment", filed October 10, 2011, published July 4, 2013. Assignee: OpenPeak Inc.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes establishing a secure application environment on a computing device, including methods for protecting applications and their data, securing inter-process communications, and encrypting data. It discusses enforcing policies to control application behavior and converting existing applications to secure ones without access to their source code.
• Potential Anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102:
  • Claims 2, 3, 4, 22, 24-27, 35, 36, 48, 50-52 (Namespace/IPC Security and Partitions): Directly addresses creating a secure application environment, implicitly or explicitly teaching the isolation of inter-process communications and data to prevent unauthorized access from non-secure applications, thus anticipating the namespace and partition-related claims.
  • Claims 13, 14, 15, 23, 28-32, 42, 53-57 (Policies and Behavior Modification/Overriding): This prior art details the use of policies to control the operation of secure applications, including restrictions, data protection, and authentication, which aligns with the policy-driven behavior modification and overriding claims of US9135418.

6. US20130283286A1 - Secure application provisioning and enforcement

• Full Citation: US20130283286A1, Brown; John R. et al., "Secure application provisioning and enforcement", filed October 10, 2011, published October 31, 2013. Assignee: OpenPeak Inc.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes methods and systems for provisioning secure applications to computing devices and enforcing policies on their operation. It covers converting applications into managed (secure) applications that operate within a secure runtime environment, including controlling resource access, communication, and data handling to protect corporate data and intellectual property.
• Potential Anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102:
  • Claims 1, 17, 33, 44 (High-level methods/systems for creating/configuring secure applications): This reference directly addresses "secure application provisioning" and converting applications to "managed applications" for a secure runtime environment. The broad concept of creating and configuring secure applications without source code modification (through a wrapping or securitization process) is strongly anticipated.
  • Claims 2, 3, 4, 22, 24-27, 35, 36, 48, 50-52 (Namespace/IPC Security and Partitions): Its focus on a "secure runtime environment" and controlling application access and communication implies or directly describes mechanisms to isolate secure applications and restrict inter-process communications, thus anticipating the namespace and partition-related claims.
  • Claims 13, 14, 15, 23, 28-32, 42, 53-57 (Policies and Behavior Modification/Enforcement/Overriding): "Enforcement" of policies is a central theme, covering operational restrictions, data encryption, authentication, and other behavioral controls. This strongly anticipates the policy-driven behavior modification and overriding of application behavior in US9135418.

7. US8627341B2 - System and method for managing mobile applications

• Full Citation: US8627341B2, Brown; John R. et al., "System and method for managing mobile applications", granted January 7, 2014. Filed: October 10, 2011. Assignee: OpenPeak Inc.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a comprehensive system and method for managing mobile applications on computing devices, especially in an enterprise context. It includes deployment, configuration, updating, and enforcing security policies on applications. The aim is to provide centralized control, ensure compliance with enterprise standards, and protect data, often without requiring modifications to the original application source code.
• Potential Anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102:
  • Claims 13, 14, 15, 23, 28-32, 42, 53-57 (Policies and Behavior Modification/Overriding): The core of "managing mobile applications" involves enforcing policies. This patent would highly anticipate the various policy-driven behavior modifications, operational restrictions, and security features described in these claims of US9135418.
  • Claims 2, 3, 4, 22, 24-27, 35, 36, 48, 50-52 (IPC Security and Partitions): This patent would likely encompass aspects of isolating managed applications and controlling their interactions, aligning with the concepts of secure inter-process communication and partitions.

Note on US20140317679A1 and US8869150B2:

• US20140317679A1 - System and method for creating secure applications: This is the patent application publication that ultimately matured into US9135418. Therefore, it describes the same invention and would inherently anticipate all claims of US9135418. It is typically not considered prior art for invalidation purposes against its own granted patent unless the claims of the granted patent are not fully supported by the original filing date.
• US8869150B2 - System and method for creating secure applications: This is a granted patent that shares significant common priority with US9135418, belonging to the same patent family and addressing the same inventive concepts. As such, it would also technically anticipate all claims of US9135418, as it discloses substantially the same invention or aspects thereof.

These analyzed patents and patent applications collectively demonstrate significant prior art in the field of creating and managing secure applications, particularly concerning secure partitions, IPC control, and policy-driven behavior modification without requiring access to source code. While the specific granular technical details of byte code or reference injection as described in certain claims of US9135418 (e.g., Claims 5-11, 18-20, 37-41, 45-47) might represent novel advancements over the broad disclosures of some of these prior arts, the higher-level inventive concepts and objectives are well-covered.