Prior art

Analysis of Prior Art Cited in U.S. Patent 9,961,097

As of May 5, 2026, a technical analysis of the prior art cited during the examination of U.S. Patent 9,961,097 ("the '097 patent") reveals several key references that were considered by the USPTO examiner. These references provide context for the state of the art at the time of the invention and help define the scope of the patent's claims. Below is a review of the most relevant cited patents and their potential impact on the claims of the '097 patent.

The '097 patent has a priority date of December 17, 1998, which is a critical factor in this analysis. Any prior art must have been publicly available before this date to be considered for anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

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Key Prior Art References and Potential Anticipation

The examiner of the '097 patent cited several earlier patents. The following are the most pertinent references and an analysis of the specific claims they might anticipate.

1. U.S. Patent 5,850,520: "System for providing personalized on-line services and for facilitating electronic commerce"

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent 5,850,520
• Publication Date: December 15, 1998
• Filing Date: June 7, 1995
• Brief Description: This patent, assigned to IBM, describes a system for providing personalized online services. It details a network architecture where users can connect to a server to access customized information and services. It includes concepts of user profiles, authentication, and the dynamic generation of content based on user identity and preferences. The system allows users to interact with various services through a network.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: This reference is highly relevant. It discloses a system with a user device (a "client system"), a network, and a server ("Web server") that authenticates a user and provides access to services. This architecture bears a strong resemblance to the system described in the '097 patent.
  • Claims 1, 19, 23: The '520 patent appears to teach the core elements of the independent claims: a user accessing a network via an address (URL), providing authentication, and the server responsively providing information or enabling control. It describes a "user profile" which could be analogous to the authentication data in the '097 patent that determines which resources a user can access. The concept of serving personalized information based on user identity mirrors the '097 patent's process of determining which "user premises" a user is authorized to access. However, a key distinction may lie in the '097 patent's specific configuration of a "connection gateway" at the user premises which establishes an on-demand, new communication session to the local network devices, as opposed to a more general-purpose server providing online services.

2. U.S. Patent 6,144,998: "Web-based remote control and monitoring system"

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent 6,144,998
• Publication Date: November 7, 2000
• Filing Date: March 28, 1997
• Brief Description: This patent discloses a system for remotely monitoring and controlling devices using a standard web browser. It describes a "control server" that communicates with various devices over a network. A remote user with a web browser can connect to this control server to view the status of and send commands to the connected devices. The system architecture involves a client, a server, and the end devices being controlled.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: This reference is also highly relevant as it explicitly deals with web-based remote control, a central theme of the '097 patent.
  • Claims 1, 19, 23: The '998 patent teaches the use of a web browser and a URL to access a server that in turn controls remote devices. This aligns with the initial steps outlined in the '097 patent's independent claims. The '998 patent describes a "control server" that functions similarly to the "second hardware processing circuitry" in the '097 patent. The potential point of novelty for the '097 patent would again be its specific architecture involving an intermediate "connection gateway" at the premises and the establishment of a new, on-demand session for communication, which might not be explicitly detailed in the '998 patent's system.

3. U.S. Patent 6,292,834: "Method and apparatus for providing a persistent network connection to a local device"

• Full Citation: U.S. Patent 6,292,834
• Publication Date: September 18, 2001
• Filing Date: October 28, 1998
• Brief Description: This patent, filed by 3Com Corporation, describes a system that allows a local device, which may not have a permanent IP address, to be accessible from a wide area network like the Internet. It involves a "rendezvous server" that maintains the current connection information for the local device. A client wanting to connect to the local device first contacts the rendezvous server to get the necessary information to establish a direct connection.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: This reference is significant because it addresses the problem of connecting to a local network that is not always "on" or publicly accessible, a scenario implied in the '097 patent's on-demand connection.
  • Claims 1, 19, 23: The '834 patent's "rendezvous server" performs a role analogous to the "second hardware processing circuitry" or "communications server" in the '097 patent. It facilitates the connection between a remote user and a local network device. The process of a remote client contacting a central server to initiate a connection to a specific local endpoint is a key element shared with the '097 patent. The distinction for the '097 patent may be its integration with a web browser-based URL access as the initiating step and the specific role of the "connection gateway" in managing multiple local devices and storing event data. The '097 patent's claims also include user authentication at the central network level to determine which of a plurality of premises to connect to, which may be a more specific implementation than that described in the '834 patent.