Splunk Inc.

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

Sep 28, 2020

2019002686 (P.T.A.B. Sep. 28, 2020)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
14/929,187 10/30/2015 Sudhakar Muddu 112509-8024.US01 3275
134200 7590 09/28/2020
Perkins Coie LLP - Splunk Inc.
P.O. Box 1247
Seattle, WA 98111-1247
EXAMINER
DADA, BEEMNET W
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2435
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
09/28/2020 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
patentofficecorrespondence@splunk.com
patentprocurement@perkinscoie.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________

BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
____________

Ex parte SUDHAKAR MUDDU, CHRISTOS TRYFONAS,
RAVI PRASAD BULUSU, and MARIOS ILIOFOTOU

Appeal 2019-002686
Application 14/929,187
Technology Center 2400
____________

Before MAHSHID D. SAADAT, MARC S. HOFF, and
IRVIN E. BRANCH, Administrative Patent Judges.

SAADAT, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL1

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), Appellant2 appeals from the
Examiner’s decision to reject claims 1–30, which constitute all the claims
pending in this application. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We REVERSE.

1 An oral hearing scheduled for August 11, 2020, was waived.
2 We use the word “Appellant” to refer to “applicant” as defined in
37 C.F.R. § 1.42(a). Appellant identifies the real party in interest as Splunk
Inc. Appeal Br. 2.
Appeal 2019-002686
Application 14/929,187

2
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Appellant’s disclosure is directed to “distributed data processing
systems, and more particularly, to intelligence generation and activity
discovery from events in a distributed data processing system.” Spec. ¶ 3.
Claim 1, which is illustrative of the invention, reads as follows:
1. A method comprising:
receiving, by a computer system, event data representing
a plurality of events on a computer network, the event data being
indicative of a plurality of entities and at least one anomaly
involved in the events;
acquiring, for each event, an event-specific relationship
graph indicative of entities involved in the event and one or more
relationships between the entities involved in the event, each
event-specific relationship graph including a plurality of nodes
and a plurality of edges interconnecting the nodes, the nodes
representing the entities involved in the event, each edge
representing an interaction between a pair of entities involved in
the event;
acquiring anomaly data indicative of a plurality of
security-related anomalies detected from the event data;
combining the event-specific relationship graphs for the
plurality of events with the anomaly data into a composite
relationship graph, the composite relationship graph including
nodes that represent the entities involved in the plurality of
events and nodes that represent the anomalies detected based on
the event data, wherein the entities involved in the plurality of
events include at least two types of entities, the composite
relationship graph further including edges that represent the
relationships between the entities involved in the plurality of
events and the anomalies; and
detecting, by the computer system, a security threat by
processing at least a portion of the composite relationship graph
with a decision engine.
Appeal 2019-002686
Application 14/929,187

3
Claims 1–30 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being
anticipated by Vasseur et al. (US 2016/0219066 Al; pub. July 28, 2016)
(“Vasseur”). See Final Act. 3–14.
ANALYSIS
With respect to the rejection of claim 1, Appellant describes Vasseur’s
system as one that “utilizes graph-based anomaly detection at multiple
devices in a computer network and a process of correlating the detected
anomalies across the computer network.” Appeal Br. 7 (citing Vasseur
Abstract). According to Appellant, Vasseur’s correlating process involves
“one or more network events from [] one or more additional graph-based
anomaly detection models.” Appeal Br. 7–8. Based on this summary,
Appellant contends that Vasseur does not disclose the recited step of
“acquiring, for each event, an event-specific relationship graph indicative of
entities involved in the event.” Appeal Br. 8. Appellant refers to paragraphs
69–73 of Vasseur and argues the disclosed process relates to a graph-based
model that shows different nodes or devices and the traffic between them,
instead of the recited event-specific relationship graph that is specific to each
event observed on the network. See Appeal Br. 8–10. Additionally,
Appellant contends Vasseur’s Figure 3B does not disclose the recited
“combining the event-specific relationship graphs for the plurality of events
with the anomaly data into a composite relationship graph” and instead, is
directed to correlating events and identifying the nodes. See Appeal Br. 11–
13.
In response, the Examiner explains
Vasseur teaches acquiring, for each event, an event specific
relationship graph (i.e., weighted/unweighted graphs according
Appeal 2019-002686
Application 14/929,187

4
to volume of traffic [paragraph 0044 & Fig. 3A] and graph based
model at certain time of the day [paragraph 0046 & Fig 3B] and
indicative of entities involved in the event and one or more
relationships between the entities involved in the event, each
event-specific relationship graph including a plurality of nodes
(i.e., Nodes represent actual devices, Fig 3A & 3B) and a
plurality of edges interconnecting the nodes, the nodes
representing the entities involved in the event, each edge
representing an interaction between a pair of entities involved in
the event (i.e., edges connecting the nodes representing traffic
between the devices, Fig 3A & 3B).
Ans. 3–4. With respect to combining the event-specific relation graphs, the
Examiner further explains Vasseur’s Figure 3B shows a composite
relationship graph that includes nodes and edges representing the entities
involved in the anomaly. Ans. 4–5.
We are persuaded by Appellant’s contentions that the Examiner erred.
Although Vasseur’s Figure 3B shows the nodes involved in two different
events, anomaly #1 and anomaly #2, it represents two different graphs
corresponding to different sets of devices. See Reply Br. 4. As also stated
by Appellant, graphs 330 or 340 do not represent a composite relationship
graph creates by combining two graphs containing anomaly data, but include
the different deices distributed throughout the network. Reply Br. 4–5;
Vasseur ¶ 46. We are further persuaded by Appellant’s assertion that
Vasseur’s paragraph 46 describes Figure 3B as two graph-based models
constructed by different devices in the network with overlapping nodes,
which cannot be reasonably characterized as the recited composite
relationship graph. Reply Br. 5–6. Appellant also asserts:
Instead, every graph-based model described in Vasseur includes
nodes that represent devices on a computer network. See e.g.,
graphs 300, 330, and 340 in FIGS. 3A-3B in Vasseur. At most,
Appeal 2019-002686
Application 14/929,187

5
Vasseur describes detecting anomalies based on activity
(represented as edges) between the devices (represented by the
nodes). This is further supported by paragraph [0046] which
describes, for example, “that an anomaly is detected from graph-
based model 340 between nodes 326 and 332,” and that “other
anomalies may be detected between node pairs {320,326}, {320,
328}, and {326, 328}.” Vasseur, par. [0046], emphasis added.
Each of the nodes 320, 326, 328, and 332 represent devices and
anomalies are detected based on traffic between the devices.
None of these nodes represent the detected anomalies.
Reply Br. 6–7 (bold emphasis omitted). We agree. In other words, Vasseur
uses the graph-based model including different devices or nodes and their
corresponding traffic to detect anomalies based on their characteristics.
Such representation does not consider or disclose a composite relationship
graph for the involved nodes based on the event data, as recited in claim 1.
Summary
Accordingly, on the record before us, we do not sustain the 35 U.S.C.
§ 102(a)(1) rejection of claim 1, other independent claims 29 and 30, or
claims 2–28 dependent therefrom.
CONCLUSION
In summary:
Claims
Rejected
35 U.S.C. §  Basis Affirmed Reversed
1–30 102(a)(1)   Vasseur 1–30
Overall
Outcome
1–30

REVERSED