PTAB

IPR2023-00187

Bright Data Ltd v. Oxylabs UAB

Key Events

Petition

petition

Title: Web page script management
Brief Description: The ’457 patent discloses a method for managing embedded scripts in web pages. The system uses a network appliance, positioned between a client device and a web server, to intercept web traffic, modify a web page by removing or replacing a first embedded script, and execute the removed script at the network appliance itself to reduce page size and improve latency for the client.

Prior Art Relied Upon: Athas (Application # 2013/0212462).
Core Argument for this Ground:
- Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that Athas disclosed every limitation of the challenged claims. Athas described a network appliance (a "proxy platform") that intercepts web content sent from a server to a client browser. This proxy platform determined whether the web page contained certain types of scripts ("non-MWL scripts"), modified the page by replacing these scripts with a second, different script (a "callback script"), and forwarded the modified page to the client browser. Crucially, Athas allegedly disclosed that the proxy platform executed the original, removed script in response to receiving an indication from the client browser that the second (callback) script had been executed. Petitioner asserted Athas also taught the limitations of dependent claims 2-5, including sending an identifier with the callback (claim 2), transmitting browser information to external services (claim 3), storing user information like geolocation (claim 4), and reducing script size for mobile devices (claim 5).

Prior Art Relied Upon: Hallak (Patent 8,464,318) and Matthys (Application # 2008/0306816).
Core Argument for this Ground:
- Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner asserted Hallak taught the core functionality of the invention. Hallak’s secure gateway, deployed between a client and server, intercepted web traffic, removed scripts from web pages, executed those scripts in a secure sandbox on the gateway, and sent a modified web page with minimal "callback scripts" to the client. The gateway then executed the original scripts in response to events triggered by the callback scripts. If Hallak was deemed not to explicitly teach intercepting and analyzing discrete network packets, Petitioner contended that Matthys supplied this teaching. Matthys disclosed a network device that intercepted and performed packet-level analysis to identify and replace scripts associated with advertisements.
- Motivation to Combine: A POSITA would combine Matthys’s packet-level analytics with Hallak’s secure gateway architecture to achieve more detailed filtering and enhanced security. The combination would use a known technique (packet analysis) to improve a similar device (a gateway) to yield the predictable result of more robust performance.
- Expectation of Success: A POSITA would have had a reasonable expectation of success because the combination involved applying a known analysis technique to a known gateway system for its intended purpose.

Prior Art Relied Upon: Scoda (Application # 2011/0307238) and Matthys (Application # 2008/0306816).
Core Argument for this Ground:
- Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that Scoda disclosed a system highly similar to that claimed. Scoda’s web content proxy server intercepted web pages, extracted JavaScript instructions, executed those instructions on the proxy server to obtain dynamic content, and then appended that content to an optimized web page sent to the client. This process maps to intercepting a page, removing a script, executing it on the network appliance, and forwarding a modified page. As in Ground 2, Petitioner argued that Matthys’s disclosure of packet-level filtering and script replacement would have been combined with Scoda to provide a more robust implementation if Scoda was found deficient in this area.
- Motivation to Combine: A POSITA would adapt Scoda’s web content proxy server to utilize the metadata and packet-level analytics taught by Matthys. This would provide more detailed user analysis and improve the monitoring and filtering capabilities of Scoda’s system, which was a recognized advantage in the art.
- Expectation of Success: The combination represented the application of known analytical methods to a known proxy server architecture to achieve predictable improvements in security and performance.

Petitioner argued that discretionary denial would be inappropriate. It asserted that the ’457 patent had not been challenged in any prior administrative proceeding, the prior art presented was not the same as that considered during prosecution, and the patent was not involved in any parallel district court litigation. Therefore, Petitioner contended that the factors set forth in General Plastic, Advanced Bionics, and Fintiv did not weigh in favor of denial.

Petitioner requests institution of an inter partes review and cancellation of claims 1-5 of the ’457 patent as unpatentable.