Intellectual Property Summary - Acme Packet (APKT)
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By: Bruce Bahlmann - Contributing Author (your feedback is important to us!)

Last Update: November 20, 2006

Acme Packet has 16 patents that are public record including 5 issued patents, 11 pending applications, with 1 of the pending applications ready to issue. After an initial push, Acme Packet has been filing an average of 1 US patent a year for the past 4 of the 6 years it has been in operation. The remaining life span of the IP portfolio is from 16 to 20 years for issued patents, with an average life of 17 years. Patents in the pending application stage can expect a 20 year life from filing date once they have issued.

Acme Packet takes a comprehensive approach to Intellectual Property protection outside of the US. Subsequent to patent filings in the US, Acme Packet has filed for protection in European member states and Japan. Patents have issued from the European and Japanese patent offices on all issued US patents and some which are still pending in the US. It would be expected that this continue with pending and future applications.  

 The Acme Packet filings focus on two separate but related areas; first, early filings concentrated on the routing of voice calls through an IP network and the selection of an IP to PSTN gateway; second, later filings are in the primary product space of Acme Packet – the Session Border Controller.  The SBC related patents and applications provide coverage of both implementation aspects of the Acme Packet Net-Net family of SBC products as well as system level coverage. The patents on controlling flows through multiple networks (e.g., gateway selection) are broad and cover multiple aspects of systems and networks which perform this function. Noting that in current network architectures, the routing of PSTN traffic through intermediate IP networks is a key aspect of delivering service. Hence, the flow routing patents have potential high value. On the SBC side, Acme Packet has good coverage of their products and related technologies as well as broad coverage in session admission control, flow rerouting and encryption. 

According to Acme Packet, their main competition for the Session Boarder Control (SBC) market includes: Newport Networks and NexTone, and more established network equipment and component companies, such as Ditech Networks, through its acquisition of Jasomi, Juniper Networks, through its acquisition of Kagoor, and AudioCodes, through its acquisition of Netrake. In addition, Acme Packet competes with some of the companies with which they have distribution partnerships, such as Sonus Networks. A key concern moving forward would be Cisco Systems that has recently introduced SBC functionality into their 12000 Series Routers. This move highlights the risk of the border controller product functionality being assumed by traditional network components. 

During prosecution of its patent applications, Acme Packet has encountered previously filed or issued patents representing prior art from the likes of: Artisoft (ASFT), Avaya Technology Corp (AV), Bytemobile , Cisco (CSCO), Lucent (LU), MCI Communications, Motorola (MOT), Northern Telecom (NT), Telchemy, Telecom Technologies, 3Com (COMS). Other than Cisco, these companies have invested in technology in Acme Packet’s market but have not yet emerged or been recognized as competitors. However, Cisco does not appear to own any fundamental patents in the SBC area either, though they do have patents which are on the periphery, and hence is at potential risk of Acme Packet IP.  

While Acme Packet does not currently face any IP lawsuits, other public companies, that also have IP in this space, represent a potential threat to Acme Packet. In particular, Netrake acquired by AudioCodes has 9 issued and 7 pending patents in this space. In particular, policy gateways, packet inspection, content processing have the potential for overlap. However, there appears to be no current litigation in this area of technology.

Research Details: 

Relative timeline for inventions (based on discovered prior art)

• March, 1994 – delay monitoring data flows

Multimedia flows & directory services (’96)

• April, 1996 - measuring and enforcing multimedia flow rates
• August, 1996 – encryption of re-route multimedia flows
• November, 1996 – directory service driven communications
• September, 1997 - hardware filtering
• August, 1998 - routerless layer 3 forwarding in a network

Monitoring and management of real time networks (’99)

• February, 1999 - monitoring and management of the performance of real-time networks
• February, 1999 - dynamic jitter buffer management
• April 1999 – rapid reroute multimedia data flows
• November, 1999 - measuring network data packet delay, jitter and loss

QoS and policy-based routing (‘00)

• March, 2000 – policy based routing
• April, 2000 – quality of service monitor for multimedia communications

IP to PSTN convergence (’01)

• April, 2001 - establishing a call from a switched network to a user agent within a packet network
• May, 2001 - re-sequenced multi-media data flow packets (jitter)

IP source (’02)

• April 2002 - determining a source of an internet protocol (IP) packet

Issued Patents: 

Items in bold represent prior art exposed during prosecution that patent had to overcome to issue. 

• [7133923] assisting in controlling real-time transport protocol flow through multiple networks via screening (2001)
  • This matter references
  • [5999518] Alcatel, [6085245] Paradyne Corporation, [6335927] MCI Communications, [6366577] MCI WorldCom, [6374302] AT&T, [6584093] Cisco, [6741585] Lucent Technologies, [6754181] MCI Communications, [6765931] Broadcom Corporation, [6775269] Telecom Technologies, [20020027915], [20020112073] Acme Packet, [20020114282] Acme Packet, [20020137490] WorldCom, [20020145975] Acme Packet, [20030014644] Telcordia Technologies, [20040223488] AT&T
  • These matter(s) reference this patent – none (0)
• [7072303] assisting in controlling real-time transport protocol flow through multiple networks (2001)
  • This matter references
  • [5999518] Alcatel, [6085245] Paradyne Corporation, [6335927] MCI Communications, [6765931] Broadcom Corporation
  • These matter(s) reference this patent – none (0)
• [7031311] providing rapid rerouting of real-time multi-media flows (2001)
  • This matter references
  • [5513345] Fujitsu, [6032266] Hitachi, [6404733] MCI WorldCom, [6535481] Nortel Networks, [6678250] 3Com, [6687247] Cisco, [6741569] Telchemy, [6775280] Cisco, [6785273] IBM, [20010048660], [20020004843], [20020009073] Distribution Systems Research, [20020172157], [20030033418], [20040114595], [20050265228]
  • These matter(s) reference this patent – none (0)
• [7028092] assisting in controlling real-time transport protocol flow through multiple networks via media flow routing (2001)
  • This matter references
  • [5999518] Alcatel, [6084855] Nokia, [6085245] Paradyne Corporation, [6335927] MCI Communications, [6584093] Cisco, [6754181] MCI Communications, [6765931] Broadcom Corporation, [6775269] Telecom Technologies, [20020027915], [20020114282] Acme Packet, [20020137490] WorldCom, [2002145975] Acme Packet, [20020169887] Acme Packet, [20030014644] Telcordia Technologies, [20040223488] AT&T
  • These matter(s) reference this patent – none
• [7002973] assisting in controlling real-time transport protocol flow through multiple networks via use of a cluster of session routers (2001)
  • This matter references
  • [5999518] Alcatel, [6084855] Nokia, [6085245] Paradyne Corporation, [6335927] MCI Communications, [6584093] Cisco, [6754181] MCI Communications, [6765931] Broadcom Corporation, [6775269] Telecom Technologies, [20020027915], [20020112073] Acme Packet, [20020114282] Acme Packet, [20020137490] WorldCom, [20020169887] Acme Packet, [20030014644] Telcordia Technologies, [20040223488] AT&T
  • These matter(s) reference this patent - none

Applications: 

• [20020112073] assisting in controlling real-time transport protocol flow through multiple networks via media flow routing (2001)
  • Issued patent [7028092]
  • No useful prior art in non-final rejection
• [20020114282] assisting in controlling real-time transport protocol flow through multiple networks (2001)
  • Issued patent [7072303]
  • No non-final rejection, patent issued as filed*
• [20020145975] assisting in controlling real-time transport protocol flow through multiple networks via use of a cluster of session routers (2001)
  • Issued patent [7002973]
  • No useful prior art in non-final rejection
• [20020169887] assisting in controlling real-time transport protocol flow through multiple networks via screening (2001)
  • Issued patent [7133923]
  • Non-final rejection by:
    • [6775269] Kaczmarczyk of Telecom Technologies, Inc
      • Method and system for routing telephone calls between a public switched telephone network and an internet protocol network (3/29/2000)
      • “A system for screening a real-time transport protocol route prior to comparing said route to a local policy.”
    • [6754181] Elliott of MCI Communications
      • System and method for a directory service supporting a hybrid communication system architecture (11/18/1996)
• [20030016627] determining flow quality statistics for real-time transport protocol data flows (2001)
  • Prosecuting final rejection
  • Non-final rejection by:
    • [5450394] Gruber of Northern Telecom (NT)
      • Delay monitoring of telecommunications networks (3/10/1994)
      • “A method for determining latency for real-time transport protocol data flows”
    • [6741569] Clark of Telchemy, Inc.
      • Quality of service monitor for multimedia communications system (4/18/2000)
• [20030016664] providing rapid rerouting of real-time multi-media flows (2001)
  • Issued patent [7031311]
  • Non-final rejection by:
    • [6775280] Ma of Cisco (CSCO)
      • Methods and apparatus for routing packets using policy and network efficient information (4/29/1999)
      • “A method for providing rapid rerouting of real-time multi-media data flows”
• [20030051130] providing encryption for rerouting of real time multi-media flows (2001)
  • In prosecution, currently amending
  • Non-final rejection by:
    • [5966450] Hosford of Lucent Technologies (LU)
      • Variable mask for encryption generated independently at communications stations (8/13/1996)
      • “A method for providing encryption for the rerouting of multimedia data flow packets (i.e. it is also interpreted that a receiving station may also work as a sending station using the variable mask method of encryption generated independently at communications stations)”
    • [20020001302] Pickett of Vertical Networks, now Artisoft (ASFT)
      • Systems and methods for multiple mode voice and data communications using intelligently bridged TDM and packet buses and methods for performing telephony and data functions using the same (5/4/2001)
      • “re-sequenced multi-media data flow packets are transmitted within a calculated jitter buffer size”
• [20030091026] improving communication between a switched network and a packet network (2001)
  • In prosecution, currently amending
  • Non-final rejection by:
    • [20020154646] Dubois of ?
      • Programmable network services node (3/21/2002)
      • “a system for improving communication between a switched network and a packet network, comprising: a signaling gateway for converting signaling in a first protocol to a second protocol, and from a said second protocol to said first protocol”
    • [20020159439] Marsh of ?
      • Dynamically downloading telecommunications call services (4/25/2001)
      • “a method for establishing a call from a switched network to a user agent within a packet network”
• [20030145077] providing statistics gathering within a packet network (2002)
  • In prosecution, currently amending
  • Non-final rejection by:
    • [5768527] Zhu of Motorola (MOT)
      • Device, system and method of real-time multimedia streaming (4/23/1996)
      • “at last one network processor for converting received multimedia packets into multiple length cells, a traffic manager for measuring and enforcing multimedia flow rates; a host processor for performing multimedia flow quality measurement services on a per flow basis”
    • [6678250] Grabelsky of 3Com (COMS)
      • Method and system for monitoring and management of the performance of real-time networks (2/19/1999)
      • “at least one field programmable gate array for copying a received multimedia packet or portion of said received multimedia packet, wherein said copy of said received multimedia packet, or said copy of said portion of said received multimedia packet is utilized by said FPGA to perform said statistic gathering via use of a series of calculation engines”
    • [6360271] Schuster of 3Com (COMS)
      • System for dynamic jitter buffer management based on synchronized clocks (2/2/1999)
      • “transmitting a test packet to an endpoint connected to said system, said endpoint comparing when said test packet is received by said endpoint to when said test packet was transmitted by said system, to determine a round trip time, and dividing said round trip time by two to determine said latency in multimedia packet transmission”
    • [6868094] Bordonaro of Cisco (CSCO)
      • Method and apparatus for measuring network data packet delay, jitter and loss (11/4/1999)
      • “incrementing a counter if said lost packet calculation engine receives said sequence number and said sequence number is greater than a stored maximum sequence number,…”
• [20030161310] determining the source of an internet protocol packet (2002)
  • Notice of allowance (pre-issue)
  • Non-final rejection by:
    • [7031314] Craig of Bytemobile, Inc.
      • Providing differentiated services within a network communications system (4/19/2002)
      • “determining a source of an internet protocol (IP) packet”
• [20030179761] determining the destination for an internet protocol packet (2002)
  • Prosecuting final rejection
  • Non-final rejection by:
    • [6256314] Rodrig of Avaya Technology Corp (AV)
      • routerless layer 3 forwarding in a network (8/11/1998)
      • “determining a destination for an IP packet”
    • [6041058] Flanders of 3Com (COMS)
      • hardware filtering (9/11/1997)
      • “a hardware filtering method, especially for MAC address. If the value of the MAC is zero, then a frame will be discarded, but the frame will not be discarded if the value of the MAC filter is not equal to zero”
    • [6912223] Sloane of Network Technologies, Inc.
      • automatic router configuration (9/3/1998)
      • “the memory is a content addressable memory”
• [20040013119] providing session admission control (2002)
  • Not yet examined
• [20050014522] Communications system having pre-defined calling group  (2004)
  • Not yet examined
• [20060098577] assisting in controlling real-time transport protocol flow through multiple networks (2005)
  • Not yet examined
• [20060187927] providing rapid rerouting of real-time multi-media flows (2006)
  • Not yet examined

*Notes: Indicate an early patent within field or perhaps too narrow of claims were initially 

Filings by year:

• 2001 – 8
• 2002 – 4
• 2003 – 0
• 2004 – 1
• 2005 – 1
• 2006 – 1

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