SSH Communications Security Corporation v Sony Mobile Communications AB & Ors

SSH Communications Security Corporation v Sony Mobile Communications AB & Ors

The NAT Minutes and Guidelines clearly and unmistakably disclose a method of maintaining communication of datagrams between two devices using a NAT by sending keepalive packets before timeout, thereby anticipating claim 1 of the patent. Any difference between the disclosure and the invention would have been obvious...

Source-derived case information.

Parties
Appellant: SSH Communications Security Corporation; Respondent: Sony Mobile Communications AB and others
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
11 October 2018
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Judgment on Appeal
Outcome
appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Patent Validity, Novelty, Obviousness, Network Address Translation, Keepalive Packets
Intellectual Property Patents Patent Validity Novelty Obviousness Network Address Translation Keepalive Packets

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Parties

SSH Communications Security Corporation

Appellant

Sony Mobile Communications AB and others

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Judgment on Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether European Patent EP (UK) 2,254,311 is anticipated or obvious over the NAT Minutes and Guidelines
  2. 2 Whether the patent claims are invalid for lack of novelty or obviousness

Ratio Decidendi

The NAT Minutes and Guidelines clearly and unmistakably disclose a method of maintaining communication of datagrams between two devices using a NAT by sending keepalive packets before timeout, thereby anticipating claim 1 of the patent. Any difference between the disclosure and the invention would have been obvious to the skilled person. Claim 3, which adds the feature that the keepalive packet header equals the datagram headers, is not disclosed but would have been obvious, as the skilled person would know that keepalives must be sent with equal headers to refresh the NAT mapping.

Court Disposition

appeal dismissed

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed; patent claims 1 and 3 invalid for anticipation and obviousness over NAT Minutes and Guidelines