Patent Grant
9280613
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and data as described below and in the drawings that form a part of this document: Copyright 2013, Box, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
With the advancements in digital technologies, data proliferation and the ever increasing mobility of user platforms which enable and encourage development of third-party applications have become ubiquitous in sectors of modern society, and as a result, data becomes shared across multiple sources as is use of third-party applications. This has become relevant with the increase of electronic and digital content being used in enterprise or social settings or shared environments of digital content compared to standalone personal computers and mobile devices.
However, to date, content sharing across multiple platforms using various application lacks the capabilities that provide the third-party applications with access to content or files stored in a workspace that is shared among multiple users in an intuitive and integrated manner.
The present embodiments are illustrated by way of example and are not intended to be limited by the figures of the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
The same reference numbers and any acronyms identify elements or acts with the same or similar structure or functionality throughout the drawings and specification for ease of understanding and convenience.
Techniques are disclosed for a third-party application to access content stored within a cloud-based platform or environment. In one embodiment, a method comprises, responsive to a request to access or edit a file received in the cloud-based environment, grant access or edit of the file using the third-party application. The third-party application includes a user interface which is customized to enable storage of the accessed or edited file to the cloud-based environment. In some embodiments, the third-party application is restricted to store the accessed file back to the cloud-based environment. Among other advantages, embodiments disclosed herein provide both accessibility of content within a cloud-based workspace to third-party applications and controllability over the manner of the third-party applications' accesses, thereby allowing the users to enjoy the benefit of freedom in choosing their own preferred programs from a wide-variety of third-party applications while maintaining or enhancing the security of the content stored within the cloud-based workspace.
The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. References to one or an embodiment in the present disclosure can be, but not necessarily are, references to the same embodiment; and, such references mean at least one of the embodiments.
Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which can be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which can be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.
The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in the specific context where each term is used. Certain terms that are used to describe the disclosure are discussed below, or elsewhere in the specification, to provide additional guidance to the practitioner regarding the description of the disclosure. For convenience, certain terms can be highlighted, for example using italics and/or quotation marks. The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaning of a term; the scope and meaning of a term is the same, in the same context, whether or not it is highlighted. It will be appreciated that same thing can be said in more than one way.
Consequently, alternative language and synonyms can be used for any one or more of the terms discussed herein, nor is any special significance to be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. Synonyms for certain terms are provided. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms discussed herein is illustrative only, and is not intended to further limit the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given in this specification.
Without intent to limit the scope of the disclosure, examples of instruments, apparatus, methods and their related results according to the embodiments of the present disclosure are given below. Note that titles or subtitles can be used in the examples for convenience of a reader, which in no way should limit the scope of the disclosure. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, the present document, including definitions will control.
The client devices 102 can be any system and/or device, and/or any combination of devices/systems that is able to establish a communication or a connection, including wired, wireless, cellular connections with another device, a server and/or other systems such as host server 110 and/or a third-party application 120. Client devices 102 typically include a display and/or other output functionalities to present information and data exchanged between among the devices 102, the third-party application 120, and/or the host server 110.
For example, the client devices 102 can include mobile, hand held or portable devices or non-portable devices and can be any of, but not limited to, a server desktop, a desktop computer, a computer cluster, or portable devices including, a notebook, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a palmtop computer, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a PDA, a smart phone (e.g., a BlackBerry device such as BlackBerry Z10/Q10, an iPhone, Nexus 4, etc.), a Treo, a handheld tablet (e.g. an iPad, iPad Mini, a Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note II, Xoom Tablet, Microsoft Surface, Blackberry PlayBook, Nexus 7, 10 etc.), a phablet (e.g., HTC Droid DNA, etc.), a tablet PC, a thin-client, a hand held console, a hand held gaming device or console (e.g., XBOX live, Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation Portable, etc.), mobile-enabled powered watch (e.g., iOS, Android or other platform based), Google Glass, a Chromebook and/or any other portable, mobile, hand held devices, etc. running on any platform or any operating system (e.g., Mac-based OS (OS X, iOS, etc.), Windows-based OS (Windows Mobile, Windows 7, Windows 8, etc.), Android, Blackberry OS, Embedded Linux platforms, Palm OS, Symbian platform, Google Chrome OS, and the like. In one embodiment, the client devices 102, host server 110, and/or the third-party application 120 (e.g., a server hosting application 120) are coupled via a network 106. In some embodiments, the devices 102 and host server 100 and/or third-party application 120 may be directly connected to one another.
The input mechanism on client devices 102 can include touch screen keypad (including single touch, multi-touch, gesture sensing in 2D or 3D, etc.), a physical keypad, a mouse, a pointer, a track pad, motion detector (e.g., including 1-axis, 2-axis, 3-axis accelerometer, etc.), a light sensor, capacitance sensor, resistance sensor, temperature sensor, proximity sensor, a piezoelectric device, device orientation detector (e.g., electronic compass, tilt sensor, rotation sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer), or a combination of the above.
Signals received or detected indicating user activity at client devices 102 through one or more of the above input mechanism, or others, can be used by various users or collaborators (e.g., collaborators 108) for accessing, through network 106, a web-based collaboration environment or online collaboration platform (e.g., hosted by the host server 110). The collaboration environment or platform can have one or more collective settings 105 for an enterprise or an organization that the users belong, and can provide an user interface 104 for the users to access such platform under the settings 105.
The collaboration platform or environment hosts workspaces with work items that one or more users can access (e.g., view, edit, update, revise, comment, download, preview, tag, or otherwise manipulate, etc.). A work item can generally include any type of digital or electronic content that can be viewed or accessed via an electronic device (e.g., device 102). The digital content can include .pdf files, .doc, slides (e.g., Powerpoint slides), images, audio files, multimedia content, web pages, blogs, etc. A workspace can generally refer to any grouping of a set of digital content in the collaboration platform. The grouping can be created, identified, or specified by a user or through other means. This user may be a creator user or administrative user, for example.
In general, a workspace can be associated with a set of users or collaborators (e.g., collaborators 108) which have access to the content included therein. The levels of access (e.g., based on permissions or rules) of each user or collaborator to access the content in a given workspace may be the same or may vary among the users. Each user may have their own set of access rights to every piece of content in the workspace, or each user may be different access rights to different pieces of content. Access rights may be specified by a user associated with a workspace and/or a user who created/uploaded a particular piece of content to the workspace, or any other designated user or collaborator.
In general, the collaboration platform allows multiple users or collaborators to access or collaborate efforts on work items such each user can see, remotely, edits, revisions, comments, or annotations being made to specific work items through their own user devices. For example, a user can upload a document to a workspace for other users to access (e.g., for viewing, editing, commenting, signing-off, or otherwise manipulating). The user can login to the online platform and upload the document (or any other type of work item) to an existing workspace or to a new workspace. The document can be shared with existing users or collaborators in a workspace.
In general, network 106, over which the client devices 102 and the host server 110 communicate may be a cellular network, a telephonic network, an open network, such as the Internet, or a private network, such as an intranet and/or the extranet, or any combination or variation thereof. For example, the Internet can provide file transfer, remote log in, email, news, RSS, cloud-based services, instant messaging, visual voicemail, push mail, VoIP, and other services through any known or convenient protocol, such as, but is not limited to the TCP/IP protocol, Open System Interconnections (OSI), FTP, UPnP, iSCSI, NSF, ISDN, PDH, RS-232, SDH, SONET, etc.
The network 106 can be any collection of distinct networks operating wholly or partially in conjunction to provide connectivity to the client devices 102 and the host server 110 and may appear as one or more networks to the serviced systems and devices. In one embodiment, communications to and from the client devices 102 can be achieved by, an open network, such as the Internet, or a private network, such as an intranet and/or the extranet. In one embodiment, communications can be achieved by a secure communications protocol, such as secure sockets layer (SSL), or transport layer security (TLS).
In addition, communications can be achieved via one or more networks, such as, but are not limited to, one or more of WiMax, a Local Area Network (LAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Personal area network (PAN), a Campus area network (CAN), a Metropolitan area network (MAN), a Wide area network (WAN), a Wireless wide area network (WWAN), or any broadband network, and further enabled with technologies such as, by way of example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Personal Communications Service (PCS), Bluetooth, WiFi, Fixed Wireless Data, 2G, 2.5G, 3G (e.g., WCDMA/UMTS based 3G networks), 4G, IMT-Advanced, pre-4G, LTE Advanced, mobile WiMax, WiMax 2, WirelessMAN-Advanced networks, enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), General packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced GPRS, iBurst, UMTS, HSPDA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, UMTS-TDD, 1×RTT, EV-DO, messaging protocols such as, TCP/IP, SMS, MMS, extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), real time messaging protocol (RTMP), instant messaging and presence protocol (IMPP), instant messaging, USSD, IRC, or any other wireless data networks, broadband networks, or messaging protocols.
Third-party applications 120 can be located from one or more third-party service application providing servers, and/or they can be provided by third-party software application vendors to run on the host server 110, either of which may be accessed over the network 106 (e.g., in forms of web-based applications). Third-party applications 120 can also be provided to the user directly and can be accessed at/from/via, installed, executed and run on the user devices 102. These three different configurations (or suitable combinations of which) are illustrated in
The embodiments disclosed herein recognize that, with the growing prevalence of the communication networks (e.g., the Internet) and smart portable devices (e.g., smart phones), there are many third-party applications 120 that need access to a cloud-based collaboration service/platform, and/or cloud-based file and content storage services in order to best facilitate an intuitive and straightforward user experience,
For example, a user using a smart phone or a tablet computer may wish to run a third-party software application 120 (e.g., Google QuickOffice), to create or open a document, save the document back to a cloud-based collaboration and/or storage (e.g., cloud-based collaboration and/or storage services provided by Box, Inc., repository 130) and share it with a selected group of collaborators or in an enterprise including colleagues. One colleague as a reviewer may use another third-party software application 120 (e.g., Nuance Paperport) to annotate it, and another colleague may use yet another third-party software application 120 (e.g., Adobe Echosign) to sign the document, all accessing the same document on the cloud-based collaboration, interaction and/or storage services. For another example, a user of a third-party service application 120 (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook or other application) may want to store his or her resume and/or other content on a user profile page provided by the third-party service application 120, which in turn would desirably store these files on a cloud-based environment/platform/services (e.g., collaboration and/or storage services) of the user.
However, whether it is for collaboration or for personal use or for both, existing techniques lack a user friendly, integrated way for the third-party applications and the users to enjoy a streamlined cloud-based environment/platform/services (e.g., collaboration, editing, sharing, and/or storage) experience without multiple uploading, downloading steps across multiple applications or devices which may further interrupt the user's work flow or potentially further risk a breach of security and/or privacy.
For example, some approaches lack the capability to provide the flexibility of using third-party applications to access content stored in the cloud-based workspace and the security assurances necessary toward such access, for example, in an enterprise setting where sensitive and/or confidential documents are often involved.
One way to provide access to content stored in a cloud-based collaborative environment is to allow the user and/or collaborators to download a copy of the content of interest (e.g., a file) so as to create a local copy of the file (e.g., on one of the user devices 102). Then, the user can use a suitable third-party application (e.g., which may be installed on the user device 102 as an application, or may be provided as a web browser plug-in that can access the application via the browser) of his or her own preference to access, view, edit, or otherwise modify the file.
However, this approach relinquishes access control over the file by simply allowing the file to be downloaded and copied without technical restrictions; it puts heavy reliance on the user and/or the third-party application to store back the file to the cloud-based platform, to control the access to the local copy of the file, and to delete any copies created for/during the access.
To overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, one way is to provide access to a cloud-based collaborative environment is for a provider (e.g., who hosts the host server 110) of the cloud-based environment to also provide integrated editing tools, typically in forms of web-based applications (e.g., accessible via a web browser). However, this approach provides security and access controllability at the expense of flexibility; indeed, the users are forced to accept and use whichever applications or tools developed and/or deployed by the cloud service provider. Oftentimes, functionalities of these tools are simple and can be limited as compared to other third-party applications that are professionally developed.
Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods that provide techniques for a third-party application to access content stored within a cloud-based platform or environment in an integrated, secure manner. In accordance with some embodiments, a system (e.g., host server 110, or user devices 102) implementing the techniques disclosed herein is provided that enables (e.g., through a software framework, an application programming interface, a software library, and/or an agent application) the third-party application 120 to connect to the host server 110 which hosts the cloud-based platform for accessing content that is stored in the cloud (e.g., in cloud repository 130).
In some embodiments, when a user desires to access content (e.g., a file) stored in the cloud-based platform using the third-party application 120, the user can first select to access the file in the cloud-based platform. For example, the user can utilize a user interface 104 (e.g., in forms of a mobile application installed on user devices 102, or in forms of webpages accessible by a browser) of the cloud-based environment to select the file of his or her interest. For purposes of discussion, assume the user interface 104 is provided through a mobile application. Then, when the user selects the file in the user interface 104 for accessing (e.g., for viewing, editing, signing, etc.), the mobile application can prompt the user to choose which third-party application 120 that he or she desires to use. Thereafter, the user devices 102 launches the third-party application 120, which can communicate with the mobile application so that the third-party application 120 can access the file through the mobile application. Some embodiments provide that the third-party application 120 is launched on the user devices 102 using a controlled launching interface that is different from an application launching interface provided by an operating system of the user devices 102.
More specifically, according to some implementations, the mobile application can handling authentication, navigation and upload/download of the file(s) of the user's interest. From one practical standpoint, the mobile application reduces the necessary effort for a developer of the third-party application 120 to build out the functionality and user interface for accessing the cloud-based platform/environment/workspace. From another practical standpoint, the controlled launching interface also provides a convenient means for the developers of the third-party applications 120 to advertise their software.
The users viewing files in the cloud-based environment (e.g., via user interface 104 as provided by the mobile application) can browse, install, choose, select, and/or operate third-party applications 120 (e.g., via the controlled launching interface) that incorporate the software library or framework that implements the disclosed techniques. The controlled launching interface can further filter the selection based on the type of file the user is trying to access. Among others, by providing a consistent user interface and level of security across the third-party applications 120 accessing the cloud-based platform, the software library or framework which implements the techniques disclosed herein provides flexibility to the user in choosing own preferred third-party applications 120, improves user experience, and reduces administrative burdens of those information technology (IT) personnel.
It is noted that the aforementioned embodiments with respect to the mobile application and/or the software library/framework are merely some aspects of the present disclosed techniques. More implementation details regarding the host server 110 and the third-party application 120 are discussed below.
The web-based platform for collaborating on projects or jointly working on documents can be used by individual users and shared among collaborators. In addition, the collaboration platform can be deployed in an organized setting including but not limited to, a company (e.g., an enterprise setting), a department in a company, an academic institution, a department in an academic institution, a class or course setting, or any other types of organizations or organized setting.
When deployed in an organizational setting, multiple workspaces (e.g., workspace A, B C) can be created to support different projects or a variety of work flows. Each workspace can have its own associate work items. For example, workspace A 205 can be associated with work items 215, workspace B 225 can be associated with work items 235, and workspace N can be associated with work items 255. The work items 215, 235, and 255 can be unique to each workspace but need not be. For example, a particular word document can be associated with only one workspace (e.g., workspace A 205) or it can be associated with multiple workspaces (e.g., Workspace A 205 and workspace B 225, etc.).
In general, each workspace has a set of users or collaborators associated with it. For example, workspace A 205 is associated with multiple users or collaborators 206. In some instances, workspaces deployed in an enterprise can be department specific. For example, workspace B can be associated with department 210 and some users shown as example user A 208 and workspace N 245 can be associated with departments 212 and 216 and users shown as example user B 214.
Each user associated with a workspace can generally access the work items associated with the workspace. The level of access depends on permissions associated with the specific workspace, and/or with a specific work item. Permissions can be set for the workspace or set individually on a per work item basis. For example, the creator of a workspace (e.g., one of user A 208 who creates workspace B) can set one permission setting applicable to all work items 235 for other associated users and/or users associated with the affiliate department 210, for example. Creator user A 208 can also set different permission settings for each work item, which can be the same for different users, or varying for different users.
In each workspace A, B . . . N, when an action is performed on a work item by a given user or any other activity is detected in the workspace, other users in the same workspace can be notified (e.g., in real time or in near real time, or not in real time). Activities which trigger real time notifications can include, by way of example but not limitation, adding, deleting, or modifying collaborators in the workspace, uploading, downloading, adding, deleting a work item in the workspace, creating a discussion topic in the workspace.
In some embodiments, items or content downloaded or edited can cause notifications to be generated. Such notifications can be sent to relevant users to notify them of actions surrounding a download, an edit, a change, a modification, a new file, a conflicting version, an upload of an edited or modified file.
In one embodiment, in a user interface to the web-based collaboration platform where notifications are presented, users can, via the same interface, create action items (e.g., tasks) and delegate the action items to other users including collaborators pertaining to a work item 215, for example. The collaborators 206 can be in the same workspace A 205 or the user can include a newly invited collaborator. Similarly, in the same user interface where discussion topics can be created in a workspace (e.g., workspace A, B or N, etc.), actionable events on work items can be created and/or delegated/assigned to other users such as collaborators of a given workspace 206 or other users. Through the same user interface, task status and updates from multiple users or collaborators can be indicated and reflected. In some instances, the users can perform the tasks (e.g., review or approve or reject, etc.) via the same user interface.
Each of users 316, 318, and 320 can individually use multiple different devices to access and/or manipulate work items 324 in the workspace 302 with which they are associated with. For example users 316, 318, 320 can be collaborators on a project to which work items 324 are relevant. Since the work items 324 are hosted by the collaboration environment (e.g., a cloud-based environment), each user can access the work items 324 anytime, and from any physical location using any device (e.g., including devices they own or any shared/public/loaner device).
Work items to be edited or viewed can be accessed from the workspace 302. Users can also be notified of access, edit, modification, and/or upload related-actions performed on work items 324 by other users or any other types of activities detected in the workspace 302. For example, if user 316 modifies a document, one or both of the other collaborators 318 and 320 can be notified of the modification in real time, or near real-time, or not in real time. The notifications can be sent through any of all of the devices associated with a given user, in various formats including, one or more of, email, SMS, or via a pop-up window in a user interface in which the user uses to access the collaboration platform. In the event of multiple notifications, each notification can be depicted preferentially (e.g., ordering in the user interface) based on user preferences and/or relevance to the user (e.g., implicit or explicit).
For example, a notification of a download, access, read, write, edit, or uploaded related activities can be presented in a feed stream among other notifications through a user interface on the user device according to relevancy to the user determined based on current or recent activity of the user in the web-based collaboration environment.
In one embodiment, the notification feed stream further enables users to create or generate actionable events (e.g., as task) which are or can be performed by other users 316 or collaborators 322 (e.g., including admin users or other users not in the same workspace), either in the same workspace 302 or in some other workspace. The actionable events such as tasks can also be assigned or delegated to other users via the same user interface.
For example, a given notification regarding a work item 324 can be associated with user interface features allowing a user 316 to assign a task related to the work item 324 (e.g., to another user 316, admin user 318, creator user 320 or another user). In one embodiment, a commenting user interface or a comment action associated with a notification can be used in conjunction with user interface features to enable task assignment, delegation, and/or management of the relevant work item or work items in the relevant workspaces, in the same user interface.
Now, with reference to both
As previously mentioned, when user 316 or his/her collaborators 322 desire to access content (e.g., a work item 324) stored in the workspace 302 using a third-party application (e.g., application 120,
In some of those embodiments that include the mobile application, the selected work item 324 is downloaded to the user devices 304-314, and the mobile application has access control over the downloaded work item 324. For example, the mobile application can store the work item 324 on the device or in a memory space (e.g., a cache, a RAM, or a Flash memory) on the devices 304-314, and limits access to the device or the memory space that stores the work item 324 so as to prevent unauthorized reading of, editing to, or modifying of the work item 324. Unauthorized access can include an access from any application not using an application programming interface (API) or a software library/framework that is provided the provider of workspace 302, and/or an access not granted or otherwise controlled by the mobile application. Alternatively, the mobile application can directly access the work item 324 in workspace 302 by temporarily caching the at least partially download file that includes the content of work item 324, a well-known technique that can also be employed in some of those embodiments where the user interface 104 is web-based.
Additionally, the mobile application can launch the third-party application 120 using a controlled launching interface that is different from an application launching interface provided by an operating system of the user devices 304-314 so that additional functionalities can be provided. In some embodiments, the mobile application can prompt (e.g., via the controlled launching interface) the user to select which third-party application the user wishes to use for accessing or content editing. The selection prompted can include, for example, a plurality of applications already installed on user devices 304-314, and/or can include one or more suggested applications for the user to download and install. Further, the selection can be based on a type (e.g., a documentation (.doc), a presentation slide (.ppt), or a video clip (.avi)) of the work item 324 that the user currently selects for accessing.
Then, the mobile application provides (e.g., in response to a request sent by the launched third-party application 120 via the provided API or the software library/framework, or automatically as a part of the controlled launching mechanisms of the user interface 104) the file to the third-party application 120 for one or more actions (e.g., accesses or edits) to be performed on the file by the third-party application 120, and in the meantime, the mobile application also restricts the third-party application 120 to store the accessed file or content back to the workspace 302. In some embodiments, the mobile application restricts the third-party application 120 by an operating system (OS) level hook, or the API/software library/framework restricts the third-party application 120 so that any sharing or saving mechanisms of the third-party application 120 other than storing back to the workspace 302 is prohibited. For purposes of discussion herein, a “software hook” or “hooking” includes various suitable techniques known to a person having ordinary skill in the art to alter or augment the behavior of the OS and of the third-party applications 120 by intercepting function calls or messages and/or events passed between components of the OS and the third-party applications 120.
Further, in some embodiments, the third-party applications 120 include a user interface which is customized to enable storage of the accessed file (e.g., work item 324) back to the cloud-based environment (e.g., workspace 302). One example of this customized user interface which enables the third-party application 120 to store back accessed content to the workspace 302 is illustrated in
After the user accesses or edits the work item 324 using the third-party application 120 (e.g., provided in a customized view, and/or with a customized toolbar 405), and after the user selects the designated button 410, the mobile application retrieves the work item 324 from the third-party application 120. Additionally, all the metadata, for example, tags or other data which characterize the work item 324 such as who the author and collaborators are, or version histories, are retrieved back along with the work item 324. The metadata can also include information about the file or work item 324's location and its storage in the cloud-based platform (such as workspace 302 provided by the host server 110) including, for example, folder identifier (ID), file ID, folder path to the file, file name, folder name and/or any other identifying information. Additionally, the metadata can include information about how to control the data for security purposes including, for example, whether the file or the work item 324 can be stored in the third-party application 120, or whether the file or work item 324 needs to be sent back to the workspace 302 immediately without leaving any temporary or cache copies. Another example of such information is whether the file can be shared out to other third-party applications. In some embodiments, copies created by the third-party application 120 during the access, if any, are deleted after the edited or accessed work item 324 is retrieved (e.g., based on the information contained in metadata). According to one or more embodiments, the retrieval is performed using the software library provided by the provider of workspace 302.
After the mobile application retrieves the work item 324, it can manage the upload back to a host server (e.g., host server 110,
In this way, the mobile application implementing the techniques disclosed herein acts as a mediator between the workspace 302 and the third-party applications 120, manages uploads and downloads, and ensures that file transfer happens securely through the software API/library/framework provided by the provider of workspace 302. As said above, the disclosed techniques grants the third-party applications 120 access to content of the cloud-based platform and ensures security by providing no sharing or saving mechanism other than storage back to the cloud-based platform to the third-party application 120. The disclosed techniques also include deletion of files on user devices 304-314 once the files are retrieved and transferred back to the cloud-based platform. Also, since upload management such as all uploading activities, errors, and retries are controlled and performed by the mobile application, developers of the third-party applications 120 can benefit from the reduced workload in designing such uploading functionalities.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the disclosed techniques include providing the third-party application 120 with access to the cloud-based collaborative environment (e.g., workspace 302) where the third-party application is provided to the users as a web-based application (e.g., accessible via a web browser). The third-party application can be running on the host server 110 or on a separate third-party application server.
In some embodiments, a system implementing the disclosed techniques can, responsive to a request to access or edit a work item 324 in the workspace 302, grant access of the work item 324 to the third-party application 120. The request of access or edit of the file is from any one of a collaborator 322 of the file. The third-party application 120 can include a user interface (e.g., toolbar 405,
More specifically, in some embodiments, the third-party application 120 is integrated with the workspace 302 such that the work item 324 accessed or edited using the third-party application 120 through the workspace 302 is restricted to be stored back to the workspace 302 after the access or edit. In one or more embodiments, the work item 324 is retrieved, from the third-party application 120 after the work item 324 is accessed or edited, to be viewed via a web application to the workspace 302. The storage of the accessed or edited file (or work item 324) to the cloud-based environment (or workspace 302) includes metadata.
Moreover, according to some embodiments, after the access or the edit using the third-party application 120, the work item 324 is uploaded to the cloud-based workspace 302 for storage. During or after the access or the edit of the file using the third-party application 120, sharing or saving mechanisms of the third-party application 120 is prohibited by the cloud-based environment.
In some examples, copies of the file not stored in the cloud-based environment after the access or the edit are deleted. Additionally or alternatively, the cloud-based environment can manage uploads of files accessed and edited using the third-party application 120 back to the cloud-based environment. In some examples, the cloud-based environment can also manage error handling of file access or file edits using the third-party application 120.
Further, in some embodiments disclosed herein, the third-party application can be selected by the user of the cloud-based environment among multiple third-party applications available for selection in the cloud-based environment. In addition, the third-party application 120 can be authored by a partnering entity of the provider of the cloud-based platform. In a mutually beneficial manner, those third-party applications which adhere to guidelines and/or policies in implementing secured access of the cloud-based platform (e.g., by using API/software library/software framework as provided by the cloud service provider) can get promoted or advertised by the provider of such cloud-based platform. As an option, the third-party application 120 can be provided within a view (e.g., similar to the interface as shown in
In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, an option is provided in a user interface of the third-party application 120 for accessing the cloud-based platform. An example of such option is illustrated as option 510 in screenshot 500 of
Additionally, in some embodiments, if the option is selected by the user, and yet the mobile application is not installed on the user's device, then a link is populated or presented to the user to prompt the user to install the mobile application so that the uploading can be handled.
Depending on the application, in some alternative embodiments, the user interface of the third-party can still limit the third-party application 120 to save the content accessed using the third-party application 120 to the workspace 302 or a server hosting the third-party application 120. In some implementations, the user interface prevents sharing of the content accessed using the third-party application besides saving the content. The user interface of the third-party application can be customized using tools provided by the cloud-based platform. Additionally or alternatively, the third-party application is provided within a view by the cloud-based environment, and the view constrains the third-party application to save the content back to an original location of the file.
In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, another configuration of the third-party application 120 can be adopted which can further enhance information security of the work item 324. In this configuration, the third-party application 120's normal operations involve the third-party application 120 operating on, for example, the user devices 304-314, and a server being associated with the third-party application 120 (or a “third-party application server”) to supply or supplement data/information that facilitates the normal operations of the third-party application 120. In some embodiments, the server associated with the third-party application 120 is operated by a vendor or an author entity of the third-party application 120.
In some of the embodiments, when user 316 or his/her collaborators 322 desire to access content (e.g., a work item 324) stored in the workspace 302 using a third-party application (e.g., application 120,
Then, when the user selects the file in the user interface 104 (e.g., via one or more tapping on file 1010,
According to one or more embodiments, the third-party application 120 is listed in a list of approved third-party applications. Some embodiments provide that the third-party application 120 is launched on the user devices 102 using a controlled launching interface that is different from an application launching interface provided by an operating system of the user devices 102. In one or more embodiments, if such approved third-party application 120 is not currently installed on the user device 304-314, then at least a portion of the list of approved third-party applications can be populated in the controlled launching interface (or, alternative or additionally, in another separate interface, e.g., an application store as provided by the OS of device 304-314, or an application gallery which can be provided by the third-party application 120) for downloading. An example of such application gallery containing approved third-party applications is illustrated in a screenshot 1200 of
Upon the user's selection, the mobile application (which can be also referred to as a “mobile client” herein) sends metadata that identifies the work item 324 to the third-party application 120. After receiving the metadata from the mobile application, the third-party application 120 transmits the metadata to the third-party application server, which in turn utilizes those metadata to request the work item 324 from the host server 110. That is to say, the third-party application server can request the work item 324 from the host server 110 by transmitting the metadata to the host server 110.
Next, the host server 110 returns the requested work item 324 as identified by the metadata to third-party application server. After receiving the requested work item 324 from the host server 110, third-party application server communicates with and/or renders information to the third-party application 120. More specifically, the third-party application server transmits at least a portion of the file or work item 324 to the third-party application 120 for one or more actions to be performed on the portion of the work item 324. In some embodiments, the part of the work item 324 received by the third-party application 120 includes information that is capable to create a view of at least a partial content of the work item 324. For example, the information can be capable to generate several views of a PDF file, a first few slides of a Powerpoint presentation, a number of pages of a Word document, and so forth. In some embodiments, the part of the work item 324 received by the third-party application 120 includes data that are included the file. Some embodiments of the third-party application server is to transmit the entire file instead of a portion of the file.
After the access, the third-party application 120 transmits the work item 324 back to the third-party application server. In some alternative embodiments, the third-party application 120 transmits only an accessed portion of the work item 324 back to the third-party application server to conserve network resources. The third-party application receives the accessed portion of the work item 324 from the third-party application 120, and saves the accessed file or content back to the host server 110.
The third-party application 120 can also launch/awake/switch to the mobile application and notifies the mobile application to reload the work item 324 from the host server 110.
As a part of the security enhancing features, the third-party application 120 can receive an instruction from the cloud-based environment (e.g., from the host server 110) to delete the received part of the work item 324. In another example, the third-party application 120 may be restricted the to store the received content back to the cloud-based environment. In some embodiments, the third-party application server can keep a history of the access. The history can includes information regarding, for example, which third-party application accessed what content through what method from what location at what time.
As additional or alternative embodiments, upon returning to the third-party application 120, the mobile application can prompt user 316 when it is about to discard previously opened content. More specifically, when user 316 works on a file passed from the mobile application of the cloud-based environment and subsequently exits the third-party application 120 without saving or closing the edit view, if the user 316 returns to the third-party application 120, the mobile application can allow the user 316 to continue editing. For example, activating “close” (e.g., button 1110,
In still another aspect of the present disclosure, among others already mentioned above, some additional or alternative methods and apparatuses can provide a third-party application with access to content in a cloud-based environment without the need of having a mobile application (or a mobile client) installed on the user devices 304-314. According to some embodiments, a mobile application framework/API/library can enable the third-party application 120 to directly access (e.g., opens, edits, saves back, etc.) the work item 324 in a cloud-based environment such as workspace 302.
It is noted that the third-party application 120 is hosted by an entity different from that of the cloud-based environment, and the direct access to the content in the cloud-based environment is provided to the third-party application 120 and accomplished without a need to access an application (e.g., the mobile application/mobile agent) that is native to the cloud-based environment. The direct access to the content includes direct save of the content to or retrieval of the content from the cloud-based environment. Other examples of the direct access to the content can include, but not limited to, previewing the content in the cloud-based environment, collaborating on the content in the cloud-based environment among multiple collaborators of the user. In some embodiments, the direct access is provided through a web interface of the third party application. In some other embodiments, the direct access is provided through integration of the third-party application with an application program interface (API) or web API provided by the cloud-based environment. The application program interface or the web API can be further used for one or more of navigation, file management, file transfer, collaboration in the cloud-based environment, and/or for caching in the cloud-based environment.
Generally speaking, the embodiments of third-party application 120 that implement these direct-access techniques, which can be authored by a “partnering entity,” are better written applications in terms of quality and/or functionality, and they generally have a more complete, secure integration (in various manners that are discussed herein including, for example, remote delete, or limited saving/sharing mechanisms, etc.) with the workspace 302. These applications may be endorsed and put on a list of approved third-party applications. Further, they may be populated or advertised using the controlled launching interface or a separate downloading interface as above described.
For example, some of these third-party application 120 (e.g., application 1100 shown in
More specifically, to access the work item 324 in the workspace 302, the third-party application 120 can transmit a request to the host server 110. In some embodiments, a vendor of the third-party application 120 can, for example, pre-register with the host server 110 so that an API key that identifies the third-party application 120 (or the vendor of the application 120) can be received.
During third-party application 120's normal operation, application 120 can use the API key to first request from the host server 110 a ticket. For one example, the third-party application 120 can make the following API call:
GET https://www.box.com/api/1.0/rest?action=get_ticket&api_key=[API KEY] and the third-party application 120 may receive from the host server 110, for example, an XML response that contains the ticket.
In one or more embodiments, the ticket automatically expires after a predetermined amount of time, for example, 10 minutes. After receiving the ticket, the third-party application 120 then makes the request, which includes the ticket, to the host server 110 for a login view.
In response to such request, the host server 110 can provides the third-party application 120 with the login view to verify an identity of a user. The login view is generated from the host server 110. For example, the third-party application 120 can include a login view controller which embeds a web view and handles the whole login process. In one embodiment, the provided login view is embedded in an interface of the third-party application 120.
Further, in some embodiments, the login view is provided based on whether the user is logged into the cloud-based environment. According to some embodiments, the login view is provided if the user is not logged into the workspace 302.
Then, upon the verification of the user's identity, the host server 110 provides the requested work item 342 to the third-party application 120. In some embodiments, to further security, when the host server 110 determines that it is the third-party application 120 which sends out the request, the host server 110 only responds to such request if the third-party application 120 is listed in a list of approved third-party applications.
Additionally or alternatively, the host server 110 further transmits an authentication token to the third-party application 120 after the user's identity is verified. In some embodiments, the workspace 302 is encrypted, and the authentication token includes a decryption key to decrypt the workspace 302. Some examples of such encryption/decryption algorithms include AES, DES, as well as other suitable cryptologic algorithms. Some implementation of the authentication token can automatically expire after a certain period of time, which may be predetermined, and/or may be dynamically and automatically selected. In some embodiments, the authentication token does not expire over time, and the third-party application 120 can therefore store the authentication token for future use, so that user 316 only needs to authenticate with the third-party application 120 once. The authentication tokens can be deleted, for example, when user 316 “logs out”, when re-authenticating a user, or when the user removing the third-party application 120 manually.
The third-party application 120 can store the authentication token in a “keychain” or other suitable, secure storage after receiving the authentication token. Then, either the host server 110 or the third-party application 120 or both can detect presence of the authentication token that is previously sent and still valid. In some embodiments, the login view is not generated again by the host server 110 if, upon receiving a subsequent request from the application 120 to access the workspace 302, the authentication token is present on the third-party application 120.
In manners similar to those already discussed above, some embodiments of the third-party application 120 has a user interface customized to enable storage of the accessed content back to the cloud-based environment. Moreover, in one or more embodiments, the third-party application 120 is listed in a list of approved third-party applications.
Further, the host server 110 can keep a history of the access, such as information regarding which third-party application accessed what content. The third-party application can also receive an instruction from the cloud-based environment to delete the received content (e.g., work item 324). The third-party application 120 is restricted to store the received work item 324 back to the workspace 302.
Overall, among other features, the third-party application 120 provides independent encryption of the files in the mobile application (or mobile client) of the workspace 302 and/or the third-party application 120. It can support remote wipe and logout to ensure content downloaded (if any) from the workspace 302 can be removed if so desired. Some embodiments also provide that only a specified list of trusted (e.g., approved by administrator) applications can access the cloud-based workspace 302. The administrator can also specify from which devices 304-314 user 316 can access the workspace 302. The host server 110 can provide audit trail to track which third-party applications 120 and/or user 316 accessed what content. Data leakage can be prevented by, in some embodiments, only allowing sharing and collaboration through the mobile application of the workspace 302 or an approved third-party application 120. With the embodiments disclosed herein, security audits or reports can be generated (e.g., from those tracking histories) by either the third-party application 120 or the host server 110 for administrative reviews. Administrators can oversee devices 304-314 and installed third-party applications 120 remotely.
In some embodiments, the third-party applications 120 can further set tiers for its users based on one or more suitable criteria. For example, if a partnering third-party application 120 (or an approved application) does not require certain security or user interface functionality for free users, the application 120 can still provide those additional functionalities or can selectively enforce those security restrictions for paid customers (e.g., employees whose employers pay for the software) if applicable administrators set so.
In this way, the users can enjoy the flexibility in selecting the third-party applications they so prefer, which potentially enables the users to perform a wider variety of tasks on the files from a location and/or a device of their preference. Also, because the files are stored and managed and/or controlled in the cloud-based platform, business enterprise users or administrators can also enjoy the security assurances from having unified, standardized, and integrated access controls over content stored in the cloud-based platform.
First, with reference to
Then, the agent receives a request to access the work item 324 stored in the workspace 302. The request can be made from the third-party application 120, or the file opening process can be made automatic so that no express request from the third-party application 120 is necessary (e.g., the request can be made from OS calls, or from other suitable mechanisms). In all cases, in response to the request to access the work item 324 in the workspace 302, the agent grants (610) access of the work item 324 to the third-party application 120. In some embodiments, the third-party application 120 includes a user interface (e.g., a third-party application toolbar 405 which includes a designated button 410) which is customized to enable storage of the accessed work item 324 back to the workspace 302. In some embodiments, the agent restricts (614) the third-party application 120 to store the accessed work item 324 back to the workspace 302. The restriction can be performed, for example, by an OS level hook, or by other suitable means.
After the third-party application 120 performs accesses or edits to the work item 324, the agent retrieves (620) the work item 324 from the third-party application 120. In some embodiments, the agent deletes (622) copies created by the third-party application 120 during the access. Next, the agent uploads (630) the retrieved work item 324 to the host server 110 that hosts the workspace 302.
First, with reference to
Then, in response to activation of the option, the agent receives (720) a file from the third-party application 120. Next, the agent uploads (730) the received file to the host server 110 that hosts the workspace 302. Additionally or alternatively, if the option is activated and if the agent is not present, then a link is presented to the user (e.g., user 316,
Continuing with the examples discussed with respect to processes 600 and 700, in some embodiments, the agent can employ process 800 of
First, the agent determines (810) whether the host server 110 hosting the workspace 302 is accessible. If the host server 110 is determined accessible, then the agent transmits (820) the retrieved or received file(s) to the host server 110. In addition, the agent deletes (830) the file the device or from a memory space of the client's user devices 102, 304-314 that stores the file.
On the other hand, if the host server 110 is determined inaccessible, then the agent retains (840) the file on the user device or in the memory space of the client's user devices 102, 304-314 until the host server 110 becomes accessible.
Overall, the techniques disclosed herein provide both accessibility of content within a cloud-based workspace to third-party applications and controllability over the manner of the third-party applications' accesses, thereby allowing the users to enjoy the freedom and benefit of choosing their own preferred programs from a wide-variety of third-party applications while maintaining or enhancing the security of the content stored within the cloud-based workspace.
First, to access content (e.g., work item 324,
Further, in some embodiments, the login view is provided (1320, 1416) based on whether the user is logged into the cloud-based environment. According to some embodiments, the login view is provided if the user is not logged into the workspace 302. Depending on the embodiment, either the host server 110 or the third-party application 120 can make the determination as to the user's login status with respect to the cloud-based environment, and can accordingly generate/request the login view.
Then, upon the verification of the user's identity, the host server 110 provides (1420) the requested work item 342 to the third-party application 120. The third-party application 120 receives (1330) the work item 342 to perform one or more actions. In some embodiments, to further security, when the host server 110 determines that it is the third-party application 120 which sends out the request, the host server 110 only responds to such request if the third-party application 120 is listed (1412) in a list of approved third-party applications.
Additionally or alternatively, the host server 110 further transmits (1340, 1430) an authentication token to the third-party application 120 after the user's identity is verified. In some embodiments, the workspace 302 is encrypted (1342, 1434), and the authentication token includes (1342, 1434) a decryption key to decrypt the workspace 302. Some examples of such encryption/decryption algorithms include AES, DES, as well as other suitable cryptologic algorithms. Some implementation of the authentication token can automatically expire after a certain period of time, which may be predetermined, and/or may be dynamically and automatically selected. In some embodiments, the authentication token does not expire over time, and the third-party application 120 can therefore store the authentication token for future use, so that user 316 only needs to authenticate with the third-party application 120 once. The authentication tokens can be deleted, for example, when user 316 logs out, when re-authenticating a user, or when the user removing the third-party application 120 manually.
The third-party application 120 can store the authentication token in a “keychain” or other suitable, secure storage after receiving the authentication token. Then, either the host server 110 or the third-party application 120 or both can detect (1350) presence of the authentication token that is previously sent and still valid. In some embodiments, the login view is not generated again (1352, 1432) by the host server 110 if, upon receiving a subsequent request from the application 120 to access the workspace 302, the authentication token is present on the third-party application 120.
Further, the host server 110 can keep (1440) a history of the access, such as information regarding which third-party application accessed what content. The third-party application can also receive an instruction from the cloud-based environment to delete the received content (e.g., work item 324). The third-party application 120 is restricted to store the received work item 324 back to the workspace 302.
First, an agent application (e.g., a mobile application, or a web application) of the cloud-based platform (e.g., workspace 302,
Upon the user's selection, the mobile application sends metadata that identifies the work item 324 to the third-party application 120. After the third-party application 120 receives (1510) the metadata from the mobile application (1512), the third-party application 120 transmits (1520) the metadata to a third-party application server which is associated to the third-party application 120. The third-party application server receives (1610) the metadata, and transmits (1620) those metadata to request (1620) the work item 324 from the host server 110.
Next, the host server 110 returns the requested work item 324 as identified by the metadata to third-party application server. The third-party application server receives (1630) the requested work item 324 from the host server 110, and then communicates with and/or renders information to the third-party application 120. More specifically, the third-party application server transmits (1640) at least a portion of the file or work item 324 to the third-party application 120. After the third-party application 120 receives (1530) the at least a portion of the work item 324, one or more actions can be performed on the portion of the work item 324 by the third-party application 120. In some embodiments, the part of the work item 324 received by the third-party application 120 includes information that is capable to create a view of at least a partial content of the work item 324. In some embodiments, the part of the work item 324 received by the third-party application 120 includes data that are included the file.
After the access, the third-party application 120 transmits (1540) the work item 324 back to the third-party application server. In some alternative embodiments, the third-party application 120 transmits (1540) only an accessed portion of the work item 324 back to the third-party application server to conserve network resources. The third-party application receives (1650) the accessed portion of the work item 324 from the third-party application 120, and saves (1660, 1542) the accessed file or content back to the host server 110.
The third-party application 120 can also launch/awake/switch to the mobile application and notifies (1550) the mobile application to reload the work item 324 from the host server 110.
Processes 900 and 905 can be employed by the mobile application of the cloud-based environment in the manners described above. More specifically, those embodiments in which the mobile application acts as an agent application in providing the third-party application 120 with access to content in the cloud-based workspace/platform/environment can adopt these processes 900 and/or 905 in enhancing security. Each of the processes 900 and 905 incorporates security enhancing measurements (e.g., AES-256 bit, as illustrated in
First, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 13-14, process 900 is described. If user 316 selects to open a file in the cloud-based environment (e.g., workspace 302,
In addition to or as an alternative to process 900, process 905 can be implemented in the embodiments disclosed herein. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 13-14, process 905 is described.
If user 316 selects to open a file in the cloud-based environment (e.g., workspace 302,
In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device or can be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine can operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.
The machine can be a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a user device, a tablet, a phablet, a laptop computer, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a thin-client device, a cellular telephone, an iPhone, an iPad, a Blackberry, a processor, a telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, a console, a hand-held console, a (hand-held) gaming device, a music player, any portable, mobile, hand-held device, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine.
While the machine-readable medium or machine-readable storage medium is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the presently disclosed technique and innovation.
In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the disclosure, can be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programs typically comprise one or more instructions set at various times in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processing units or processors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operations to execute elements involving the various aspects of the disclosure.
Moreover, while embodiments have been described in the context of fully functioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the disclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.
Further examples of machine-readable storage media, machine-readable media, or computer-readable (storage) media include, but are not limited to, recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks, (DVDs), etc.), among others, and transmission type media such as digital and analog communication links.
The network interface device enables the machine 2800 to mediate data in a network with an entity that is external to the host server, through any known and/or convenient communications protocol supported by the host and the external entity. The network interface device can include one or more of a network adaptor card, a wireless network interface card, a router, an access point, a wireless router, a switch, a multilayer switch, a protocol converter, a gateway, a bridge, bridge router, a hub, a digital media receiver, and/or a repeater.
The network interface device can include a firewall which can, in some embodiments, govern and/or manage permission to access/proxy data in a computer network, and track varying levels of trust between different machines and/or applications. The firewall can be any number of modules having any combination of hardware and/or software components able to enforce a predetermined set of access rights between a particular set of machines and applications, machines and machines, and/or applications and applications, for example, to regulate the flow of traffic and resource sharing between these varying entities. The firewall can additionally manage and/or have access to an access control list which details permissions including for example, the access and operation rights of an object by an individual, a machine, and/or an application, and the circumstances under which the permission rights stand.
Other network security functions can be performed or included in the functions of the firewall, can be, for example, but are not limited to, intrusion-prevention, intrusion detection, next-generation firewall, personal firewall, etc. without deviating from the novel art of this disclosure.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling of connection between the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or plural number can also include the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or,” in reference to a list of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.
The above detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the teachings to the precise form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the disclosure are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the disclosure, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments can perform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks can be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative or subcombinations. Each of these processes or blocks can be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks can instead be performed in parallel, or can be performed at different times. Further, any specific numbers noted herein are only examples: alternative implementations can employ differing values or ranges.
The teachings of the disclosure provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.
Any patents and applications and other references noted above, including any that can be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the disclosure can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the disclosure.
These and other changes can be made to the disclosure in light of the above Detailed Description. While the above description describes certain embodiments of the disclosure, and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the teachings can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system can vary considerably in its implementation details, while still being encompassed by the subject matter disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the disclosure should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the disclosure with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the disclosure to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the disclosure encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the disclosure under the claims.
While certain aspects of the disclosure are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of the disclosure in any number of claim forms. For example, while only one aspect of the disclosure is recited as a means-plus-function claim under 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶6, other aspects can likewise be embodied as a means-plus-function claim, or in other forms, such as being embodied in a computer-readable medium. (Any claim intended to be treated under 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶6 begins with the words “means for”.) Accordingly, the applicant reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the disclosure.
The application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/897,421, entitled “METHODS, ARCHITECTURES AND SECURITY MECHANISMS FOR A THIRD-PARTY APPLICATION TO ACCESS CONTENT IN A CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM”, filed May 19, 2013, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/650,840, entitled “PLATFORM AND APPLICATION AGNOSTIC METHOD FOR SEAMLESS FILE ACCESS IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT”, filed May 23, 2012; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/653,876, entitled “PLATFORM AND APPLICATION AGNOSTIC METHOD FOR SEAMLESS FILE ACCESS IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT”, filed May 31, 2012, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. This application is therefore entitled to an effective filing date of May 23, 2012. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/886,147, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A THIRD-PARTY APPLICATION TO ACCESS CONTENT WITHIN A CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM”, filed May 2, 2013, which is entitled to the benefit of and/or the right of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/641,824, entitled “PLATFORM AND APPLICATION AGNOSTIC METHOD FOR SEAMLESS FILE ACCESS IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT”, filed May 2, 2012, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 858619 | O'Farrell | Jul 1907 | A |
| 5748735 | Ganesan | May 1998 | A |
| 5787175 | Carter | Jul 1998 | A |
| 5799320 | Klug | Aug 1998 | A |
| 5848415 | Guck | Dec 1998 | A |
| 5864870 | Guck | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5999908 | Abelow | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6016467 | Newsted et al. | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6034621 | Kaufman | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6055543 | Christensen et al. | Apr 2000 | A |
| 6073161 | DeBoskey et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6098078 | Gehani et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6226618 | Downs et al. | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6233600 | Salas et al. | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6260040 | Kauffman et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
| 6289345 | Yasue | Sep 2001 | B1 |
| 6292803 | Richardson et al. | Sep 2001 | B1 |
| 6336124 | Alam et al. | Jan 2002 | B1 |
| 6342906 | Kumar et al. | Jan 2002 | B1 |
| 6345386 | Delo et al. | Feb 2002 | B1 |
| 6370543 | Hoffert et al. | Apr 2002 | B2 |
| 6374260 | Hoffert et al. | Apr 2002 | B1 |
| 6385606 | Inohara et al. | May 2002 | B2 |
| 6396593 | Laverty et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6441641 | Pang et al. | Aug 2002 | B1 |
| 6515681 | Knight | Feb 2003 | B1 |
| 6539381 | Prasad et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
| 6584466 | Serbinis et al. | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6636872 | Heath et al. | Oct 2003 | B1 |
| 6636897 | Sherman et al. | Oct 2003 | B1 |
| 6654737 | Nunez | Nov 2003 | B1 |
| 6662186 | Esquibel et al. | Dec 2003 | B1 |
| 6687878 | Eintracht et al. | Feb 2004 | B1 |
| 6714968 | Prust | Mar 2004 | B1 |
| 6735623 | Prust | May 2004 | B1 |
| 6742181 | Koike et al. | May 2004 | B1 |
| 6760721 | Chasen et al. | Jul 2004 | B1 |
| 6947162 | Rosenberg et al. | Sep 2005 | B2 |
| 6952724 | Prust | Oct 2005 | B2 |
| 6996768 | Elo et al. | Feb 2006 | B1 |
| 7003667 | Slick et al. | Feb 2006 | B1 |
| 7010752 | Ly | Mar 2006 | B2 |
| 7020697 | Goodman et al. | Mar 2006 | B1 |
| 7039806 | Friedman et al. | May 2006 | B1 |
| 7069393 | Miyata et al. | Jun 2006 | B2 |
| 7130831 | Howard et al. | Oct 2006 | B2 |
| 7133834 | Abelow | Nov 2006 | B1 |
| 7143136 | Drenan et al. | Nov 2006 | B1 |
| 7149787 | Mutalik et al. | Dec 2006 | B1 |
| 7152182 | Ji et al. | Dec 2006 | B2 |
| 7155483 | Friend et al. | Dec 2006 | B1 |
| 7165107 | Pouyoul et al. | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| 7178021 | Hanna et al. | Feb 2007 | B1 |
| 7222078 | Abelow | May 2007 | B2 |
| 7275244 | Bell et al. | Sep 2007 | B1 |
| 7296025 | Kung et al. | Nov 2007 | B2 |
| 7346778 | Guiter et al. | Mar 2008 | B1 |
| 7353252 | Yang et al. | Apr 2008 | B1 |
| 7362868 | Madoukh et al. | Apr 2008 | B2 |
| 7363330 | Ellman et al. | Apr 2008 | B1 |
| 7386535 | Kalucha et al. | Jun 2008 | B1 |
| 7401117 | Dan et al. | Jul 2008 | B2 |
| 7543000 | Castro et al. | Jun 2009 | B2 |
| 7581221 | Lai et al. | Aug 2009 | B2 |
| 7620565 | Abelow | Nov 2009 | B2 |
| 7647559 | Yozell-Epstein et al. | Jan 2010 | B2 |
| 7650367 | Arruza | Jan 2010 | B2 |
| 7661088 | Burke | Feb 2010 | B2 |
| 7665093 | Maybee et al. | Feb 2010 | B2 |
| 7676542 | Moser et al. | Mar 2010 | B2 |
| 7698363 | Dan et al. | Apr 2010 | B2 |
| 7734600 | Wise et al. | Jun 2010 | B1 |
| 7756843 | Palmer | Jul 2010 | B1 |
| 7774412 | Schnepel | Aug 2010 | B1 |
| 7814426 | Huesken et al. | Oct 2010 | B2 |
| 7886287 | Davda | Feb 2011 | B1 |
| 7886295 | Burger et al. | Feb 2011 | B2 |
| 7890964 | Vogler-Ivashchanka et al. | Feb 2011 | B2 |
| 7937663 | Parker et al. | May 2011 | B2 |
| 7958353 | Matsuzaki et al. | Jun 2011 | B2 |
| 7958453 | Taing | Jun 2011 | B1 |
| 7979296 | Kruse et al. | Jul 2011 | B2 |
| 7996374 | Jones et al. | Aug 2011 | B1 |
| 8027976 | Ding et al. | Sep 2011 | B1 |
| RE42904 | Stephens, Jr. | Nov 2011 | E |
| 8090361 | Hagan | Jan 2012 | B2 |
| 8103662 | Eagan et al. | Jan 2012 | B2 |
| 8117261 | Briere et al. | Feb 2012 | B2 |
| 8140513 | Ghods et al. | Mar 2012 | B2 |
| 8151183 | Chen et al. | Apr 2012 | B2 |
| 8185830 | Saha et al. | May 2012 | B2 |
| 8200582 | Zhu | Jun 2012 | B1 |
| 8214747 | Yankovich et al. | Jul 2012 | B1 |
| 8224934 | Dongre et al. | Jul 2012 | B1 |
| 8230348 | Peters et al. | Jul 2012 | B2 |
| 8239918 | Cohen | Aug 2012 | B1 |
| 8326814 | Ghods et al. | Dec 2012 | B2 |
| 8347276 | Schadow | Jan 2013 | B2 |
| 8358701 | Chou et al. | Jan 2013 | B2 |
| 8370803 | Holler et al. | Feb 2013 | B1 |
| 8429540 | Yankovich et al. | Apr 2013 | B1 |
| 8464161 | Giles et al. | Jun 2013 | B2 |
| 8515902 | Savage | Aug 2013 | B2 |
| 8527549 | Cidon | Sep 2013 | B2 |
| 8549066 | Donahue et al. | Oct 2013 | B1 |
| 8549511 | Seki et al. | Oct 2013 | B2 |
| 8582777 | Urivskiy et al. | Nov 2013 | B2 |
| 8583619 | Ghods et al. | Nov 2013 | B2 |
| 8607306 | Bridge et al. | Dec 2013 | B1 |
| 8620578 | Brown et al. | Dec 2013 | B1 |
| 8650498 | Mihovilovic | Feb 2014 | B1 |
| 8719445 | Ko | May 2014 | B2 |
| 8745267 | Luecke et al. | Jun 2014 | B2 |
| 8825597 | Houston et al. | Sep 2014 | B1 |
| 8849955 | Prahlad et al. | Sep 2014 | B2 |
| 8868574 | Kiang et al. | Oct 2014 | B2 |
| 8892679 | Destagnol et al. | Nov 2014 | B1 |
| 8914856 | Velummylum et al. | Dec 2014 | B1 |
| 8914900 | Smith et al. | Dec 2014 | B2 |
| 8918387 | Sokolov | Dec 2014 | B1 |
| 8949939 | Peddada | Feb 2015 | B2 |
| 8959579 | Barton et al. | Feb 2015 | B2 |
| 8966062 | Giese et al. | Feb 2015 | B1 |
| 8990955 | Hymel et al. | Mar 2015 | B2 |
| 9135462 | Scharf et al. | Sep 2015 | B2 |
| 9195519 | Tan et al. | Nov 2015 | B2 |
| 20010027492 | Gupta | Oct 2001 | A1 |
| 20020029218 | Bentley et al. | Mar 2002 | A1 |
| 20020062218 | Pianin | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20020091738 | Rohrabaugh et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020099772 | Deshpande et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020116544 | Barnard et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020133509 | Johnston et al. | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020147770 | Tang | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| 20020194177 | Sherman et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20030041095 | Konda et al. | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030084306 | Abburi et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20030093404 | Bader et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20030108052 | Inoue et al. | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030110264 | Whidby et al. | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030115326 | Verma et al. | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030135536 | Lyons | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030135565 | Estrada | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030154306 | Perry | Aug 2003 | A1 |
| 20030204490 | Kasriel | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030217171 | Von Stuermer et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030228015 | Futa et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20040021686 | Barberis | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| 20040088647 | Miller et al. | May 2004 | A1 |
| 20040098361 | Peng | May 2004 | A1 |
| 20040103147 | Flesher et al. | May 2004 | A1 |
| 20040111415 | Scardino et al. | Jun 2004 | A1 |
| 20040117438 | Considine et al. | Jun 2004 | A1 |
| 20040122949 | Zmudzinski et al. | Jun 2004 | A1 |
| 20040128359 | Horvitz et al. | Jul 2004 | A1 |
| 20040177138 | Salle et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20040181579 | Huck et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20040196307 | Zak et al. | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040201604 | Kraenzel et al. | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040218214 | Kihara et al. | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040230624 | Frolund et al. | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040246532 | Inada | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040267836 | Armangau et al. | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20050005276 | Morgan | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| 20050010860 | Weiss et al. | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| 20050022229 | Gabriel et al. | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| 20050038997 | Kojima et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050050228 | Perham et al. | Mar 2005 | A1 |
| 20050063083 | Dart et al. | Mar 2005 | A1 |
| 20050097225 | Glatt et al. | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050102328 | Ring et al. | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050108406 | Lee et al. | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050114305 | Haynes et al. | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050114378 | Elien et al. | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050138118 | Banatwala et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050182966 | Pham et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050198299 | Beck et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050198452 | Watanabe | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050234864 | Shapiro | Oct 2005 | A1 |
| 20050234943 | Clarke | Oct 2005 | A1 |
| 20050239447 | Holzman et al. | Oct 2005 | A1 |
| 20050261933 | Magnuson | Nov 2005 | A1 |
| 20050283800 | Ellis et al. | Dec 2005 | A1 |
| 20060005163 | Huesken et al. | Jan 2006 | A1 |
| 20060026502 | Dutta | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060026535 | Hotelling et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060036568 | Moore et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060041603 | Paterson et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060041752 | Tuvell et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060047804 | Fredricksen et al. | Mar 2006 | A1 |
| 20060053088 | Ali et al. | Mar 2006 | A1 |
| 20060053380 | Spataro et al. | Mar 2006 | A1 |
| 20060070083 | Brunswig et al. | Mar 2006 | A1 |
| 20060075071 | Gillette | Apr 2006 | A1 |
| 20060095526 | Levergood et al. | May 2006 | A1 |
| 20060117247 | Fite et al. | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060123062 | Bobbitt et al. | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060133340 | Rybak et al. | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060168550 | Muller et al. | Jul 2006 | A1 |
| 20060174051 | Lordi et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
| 20060174054 | Matsuki | Aug 2006 | A1 |
| 20060179070 | George et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
| 20060179309 | Cross et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
| 20060242204 | Karas et al. | Oct 2006 | A1 |
| 20060242206 | Brezak et al. | Oct 2006 | A1 |
| 20060259524 | Horton | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060265719 | Astl et al. | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060271510 | Harward et al. | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060288043 | Novak et al. | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20070011261 | Madams et al. | Jan 2007 | A1 |
| 20070016680 | Burd et al. | Jan 2007 | A1 |
| 20070038934 | Fellman | Feb 2007 | A1 |
| 20070050635 | Popp | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20070067349 | Jhaveri et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20070079242 | Jolley et al. | Apr 2007 | A1 |
| 20070100830 | Beedubail et al. | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20070115845 | Hochwarth et al. | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20070118598 | Bedi et al. | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20070124460 | McMullen et al. | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20070124737 | Wensley et al. | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20070124781 | Casey et al. | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20070126635 | Houri | Jun 2007 | A1 |
| 20070130143 | Zhang et al. | Jun 2007 | A1 |
| 20070130163 | Perez et al. | Jun 2007 | A1 |
| 20070162610 | Un et al. | Jul 2007 | A1 |
| 20070192630 | Crane et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
| 20070198609 | Black et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
| 20070208878 | Barnes-Leon et al. | Sep 2007 | A1 |
| 20070214180 | Crawford | Sep 2007 | A1 |
| 20070220016 | Estrada et al. | Sep 2007 | A1 |
| 20070220590 | Rasmussen et al. | Sep 2007 | A1 |
| 20070240057 | Satterfield et al. | Oct 2007 | A1 |
| 20070250762 | Mansfield | Oct 2007 | A1 |
| 20070256065 | Heishi et al. | Nov 2007 | A1 |
| 20070266304 | Fletcher et al. | Nov 2007 | A1 |
| 20070282848 | Kiilerich et al. | Dec 2007 | A1 |
| 20070283443 | McPherson et al. | Dec 2007 | A1 |
| 20070288290 | Motoyama et al. | Dec 2007 | A1 |
| 20080005135 | Muthukrishnan et al. | Jan 2008 | A1 |
| 20080005195 | Li | Jan 2008 | A1 |
| 20080016146 | Gan et al. | Jan 2008 | A1 |
| 20080021959 | Naghi et al. | Jan 2008 | A1 |
| 20080028323 | Rosen et al. | Jan 2008 | A1 |
| 20080040173 | Aleong et al. | Feb 2008 | A1 |
| 20080040503 | Kleks et al. | Feb 2008 | A1 |
| 20080046828 | Bibliowicz et al. | Feb 2008 | A1 |
| 20080059656 | Saliba et al. | Mar 2008 | A1 |
| 20080077631 | Petri | Mar 2008 | A1 |
| 20080091763 | Devonshire et al. | Apr 2008 | A1 |
| 20080091790 | Beck | Apr 2008 | A1 |
| 20080104277 | Tian | May 2008 | A1 |
| 20080114720 | Smith et al. | May 2008 | A1 |
| 20080133674 | Knauerhase et al. | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| 20080140732 | Wilson et al. | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| 20080147790 | Malaney et al. | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| 20080151817 | Fitchett et al. | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| 20080154873 | Redlich et al. | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| 20080182628 | Lee et al. | Jul 2008 | A1 |
| 20080183467 | Yuan et al. | Jul 2008 | A1 |
| 20080184130 | Tien et al. | Jul 2008 | A1 |
| 20080194239 | Hagan | Aug 2008 | A1 |
| 20080215883 | Fok et al. | Sep 2008 | A1 |
| 20080222654 | Xu et al. | Sep 2008 | A1 |
| 20080243855 | Prahlad et al. | Oct 2008 | A1 |
| 20080250333 | Reeves et al. | Oct 2008 | A1 |
| 20080250348 | Alimpich et al. | Oct 2008 | A1 |
| 20080263099 | Brady-Kalnay et al. | Oct 2008 | A1 |
| 20080271095 | Shafton | Oct 2008 | A1 |
| 20080276158 | Lim et al. | Nov 2008 | A1 |
| 20080294899 | Gazzetta et al. | Nov 2008 | A1 |
| 20090015864 | Hasegawa | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| 20090019093 | Brodersen et al. | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| 20090019426 | Baeumer et al. | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| 20090030710 | Levine | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| 20090043848 | Kordun | Feb 2009 | A1 |
| 20090044128 | Baumgarten et al. | Feb 2009 | A1 |
| 20090049131 | Lyle et al. | Feb 2009 | A1 |
| 20090119322 | Mills et al. | May 2009 | A1 |
| 20090125469 | McDonald et al. | May 2009 | A1 |
| 20090132651 | Roger et al. | May 2009 | A1 |
| 20090138808 | Moromisato et al. | May 2009 | A1 |
| 20090150417 | Ghods et al. | Jun 2009 | A1 |
| 20090150627 | Benhase et al. | Jun 2009 | A1 |
| 20090158142 | Arthursson et al. | Jun 2009 | A1 |
| 20090164438 | Delacruz | Jun 2009 | A1 |
| 20090171983 | Samji et al. | Jul 2009 | A1 |
| 20090177754 | Brezina et al. | Jul 2009 | A1 |
| 20090193107 | Srinivasan et al. | Jul 2009 | A1 |
| 20090193345 | Wensley et al. | Jul 2009 | A1 |
| 20090198772 | Kim et al. | Aug 2009 | A1 |
| 20090210459 | Nair et al. | Aug 2009 | A1 |
| 20090214115 | Kimura et al. | Aug 2009 | A1 |
| 20090235167 | Boyer et al. | Sep 2009 | A1 |
| 20090235181 | Saliba et al. | Sep 2009 | A1 |
| 20090235189 | Aybes et al. | Sep 2009 | A1 |
| 20090249224 | Davis et al. | Oct 2009 | A1 |
| 20090254589 | Nair et al. | Oct 2009 | A1 |
| 20090260060 | Smith et al. | Oct 2009 | A1 |
| 20090265430 | Bechtel et al. | Oct 2009 | A1 |
| 20090271708 | Peters et al. | Oct 2009 | A1 |
| 20090276771 | Nickolov et al. | Nov 2009 | A1 |
| 20090282212 | Peterson | Nov 2009 | A1 |
| 20090282483 | Bennett | Nov 2009 | A1 |
| 20090300527 | Malcolm et al. | Dec 2009 | A1 |
| 20090327358 | Lukiyanov et al. | Dec 2009 | A1 |
| 20090327405 | FitzGerald et al. | Dec 2009 | A1 |
| 20090327961 | De Vorchik et al. | Dec 2009 | A1 |
| 20100011292 | Marinkovich et al. | Jan 2010 | A1 |
| 20100011447 | Jothimani | Jan 2010 | A1 |
| 20100017262 | Iyer et al. | Jan 2010 | A1 |
| 20100017619 | Errico | Jan 2010 | A1 |
| 20100036929 | Scherpa et al. | Feb 2010 | A1 |
| 20100042720 | Stienhans et al. | Feb 2010 | A1 |
| 20100057560 | Skudlark et al. | Mar 2010 | A1 |
| 20100057785 | Khosravy et al. | Mar 2010 | A1 |
| 20100076946 | Barker et al. | Mar 2010 | A1 |
| 20100082634 | Leban | Apr 2010 | A1 |
| 20100083136 | Komine et al. | Apr 2010 | A1 |
| 20100088150 | Mazhar et al. | Apr 2010 | A1 |
| 20100092126 | Kaliszek et al. | Apr 2010 | A1 |
| 20100093310 | Gbadegesin et al. | Apr 2010 | A1 |
| 20100107225 | Spencer et al. | Apr 2010 | A1 |
| 20100131868 | Chawla et al. | May 2010 | A1 |
| 20100151431 | Miller | Jun 2010 | A1 |
| 20100153835 | Xiong et al. | Jun 2010 | A1 |
| 20100162365 | Del Real | Jun 2010 | A1 |
| 20100162374 | Nair | Jun 2010 | A1 |
| 20100179940 | Gilder et al. | Jul 2010 | A1 |
| 20100185463 | Noland et al. | Jul 2010 | A1 |
| 20100185932 | Coffman et al. | Jul 2010 | A1 |
| 20100191689 | Cortes et al. | Jul 2010 | A1 |
| 20100198783 | Wang et al. | Aug 2010 | A1 |
| 20100198871 | Stiegler et al. | Aug 2010 | A1 |
| 20100198944 | Ho et al. | Aug 2010 | A1 |
| 20100205537 | Knighton et al. | Aug 2010 | A1 |
| 20100218237 | Ferris et al. | Aug 2010 | A1 |
| 20100223378 | Wei | Sep 2010 | A1 |
| 20100229085 | Nelson et al. | Sep 2010 | A1 |
| 20100235526 | Carter et al. | Sep 2010 | A1 |
| 20100235539 | Carter et al. | Sep 2010 | A1 |
| 20100241611 | Zuber | Sep 2010 | A1 |
| 20100241972 | Spataro et al. | Sep 2010 | A1 |
| 20100250120 | Waupotitsch et al. | Sep 2010 | A1 |
| 20100251340 | Martin et al. | Sep 2010 | A1 |
| 20100257457 | De Goes | Oct 2010 | A1 |
| 20100262582 | Garcia-Ascanio et al. | Oct 2010 | A1 |
| 20100267588 | Nelson et al. | Oct 2010 | A1 |
| 20100274765 | Murphy et al. | Oct 2010 | A1 |
| 20100274772 | Samuels | Oct 2010 | A1 |
| 20100281118 | Donahue et al. | Nov 2010 | A1 |
| 20100306379 | Ferris | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20100318893 | Matthews et al. | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20100322252 | Suganthi et al. | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20100325155 | Skinner et al. | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20100325527 | Estrada et al. | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20100325559 | Westerinen et al. | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20100325655 | Perez | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20100332401 | Prahlad et al. | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20100332962 | Hammer et al. | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20100333116 | Prahlad et al. | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20110001763 | Murakami | Jan 2011 | A1 |
| 20110016409 | Grosz et al. | Jan 2011 | A1 |
| 20110022559 | Andersen et al. | Jan 2011 | A1 |
| 20110022812 | van Der Linden et al. | Jan 2011 | A1 |
| 20110029883 | Lussier et al. | Feb 2011 | A1 |
| 20110040812 | Phillips | Feb 2011 | A1 |
| 20110041083 | Gabai et al. | Feb 2011 | A1 |
| 20110047413 | McGill et al. | Feb 2011 | A1 |
| 20110047484 | Mount et al. | Feb 2011 | A1 |
| 20110052155 | Desmarais et al. | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20110054968 | Galaviz | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20110055299 | Phillips | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20110055721 | Jain et al. | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20110061045 | Phillips | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20110061046 | Phillips | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20110065082 | Gal et al. | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20110066951 | Ward-Karet et al. | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20110083167 | Carpenter et al. | Apr 2011 | A1 |
| 20110093567 | Jeon et al. | Apr 2011 | A1 |
| 20110099006 | Sundararaman et al. | Apr 2011 | A1 |
| 20110107088 | Eng et al. | May 2011 | A1 |
| 20110107205 | Chow et al. | May 2011 | A1 |
| 20110113320 | Neff et al. | May 2011 | A1 |
| 20110119313 | Sung et al. | May 2011 | A1 |
| 20110125847 | Cocheu et al. | May 2011 | A1 |
| 20110131299 | Sardary | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110137991 | Russell | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110142410 | Ishii | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110145589 | Camenisch et al. | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110145744 | Haynes et al. | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110154180 | Evanitsky et al. | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110154231 | Cherdron et al. | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110161289 | Pei et al. | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110167125 | Achlioptas | Jul 2011 | A1 |
| 20110167353 | Grosz et al. | Jul 2011 | A1 |
| 20110167435 | Fang | Jul 2011 | A1 |
| 20110185292 | Chawla et al. | Jul 2011 | A1 |
| 20110197156 | Strait et al. | Aug 2011 | A1 |
| 20110202424 | Chun et al. | Aug 2011 | A1 |
| 20110202599 | Yuan et al. | Aug 2011 | A1 |
| 20110207436 | van Gent et al. | Aug 2011 | A1 |
| 20110208958 | Stuedi et al. | Aug 2011 | A1 |
| 20110209064 | Jorgensen et al. | Aug 2011 | A1 |
| 20110213765 | Cui et al. | Sep 2011 | A1 |
| 20110219419 | Reisman | Sep 2011 | A1 |
| 20110225417 | Maharajh et al. | Sep 2011 | A1 |
| 20110238458 | Purcell et al. | Sep 2011 | A1 |
| 20110238621 | Agrawal | Sep 2011 | A1 |
| 20110239135 | Spataro et al. | Sep 2011 | A1 |
| 20110246294 | Robb et al. | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20110246950 | Luna et al. | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20110252071 | Cidon | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20110252320 | Arrasvuori et al. | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20110252339 | Lemonik et al. | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20110258461 | Bates | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20110258561 | Ladouceur et al. | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20110277027 | Hayton et al. | Nov 2011 | A1 |
| 20110282710 | Akkiraju et al. | Nov 2011 | A1 |
| 20110289433 | Whalin et al. | Nov 2011 | A1 |
| 20110296022 | Ferris et al. | Dec 2011 | A1 |
| 20110313803 | Friend et al. | Dec 2011 | A1 |
| 20110320197 | Conejero et al. | Dec 2011 | A1 |
| 20120036370 | Lim et al. | Feb 2012 | A1 |
| 20120057696 | Chew | Mar 2012 | A1 |
| 20120064879 | Panei | Mar 2012 | A1 |
| 20120072436 | Pierre et al. | Mar 2012 | A1 |
| 20120079095 | Evans et al. | Mar 2012 | A1 |
| 20120089659 | Halevi et al. | Apr 2012 | A1 |
| 20120092055 | Peschke et al. | Apr 2012 | A1 |
| 20120096521 | Peddada | Apr 2012 | A1 |
| 20120110005 | Kuo et al. | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20120110436 | Adler, III et al. | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20120110443 | Lemonik et al. | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20120117626 | Yates et al. | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20120124306 | Abercrombie et al. | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20120124547 | Halbedel | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20120130900 | Tang et al. | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20120134491 | Liu | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20120136936 | Quintuna | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20120144283 | Hill et al. | Jun 2012 | A1 |
| 20120150888 | Hyatt et al. | Jun 2012 | A1 |
| 20120151551 | Readshaw et al. | Jun 2012 | A1 |
| 20120158908 | Luna et al. | Jun 2012 | A1 |
| 20120159178 | Lin et al. | Jun 2012 | A1 |
| 20120159310 | Chang et al. | Jun 2012 | A1 |
| 20120166516 | Simmons et al. | Jun 2012 | A1 |
| 20120173612 | Vegesna-Venkata et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120173625 | Berger | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120179981 | Whalin et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120185355 | Kilroy | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120185913 | Martinez et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120192055 | Antebi et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120192086 | Ghods et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120203670 | Piersol | Aug 2012 | A1 |
| 20120203908 | Beaty et al. | Aug 2012 | A1 |
| 20120204032 | Wilkins et al. | Aug 2012 | A1 |
| 20120214444 | McBride et al. | Aug 2012 | A1 |
| 20120218885 | Abel et al. | Aug 2012 | A1 |
| 20120221789 | Felter | Aug 2012 | A1 |
| 20120224691 | Purohit | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120226767 | Luna et al. | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120233155 | Gallmeier et al. | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120233205 | McDermott | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120233543 | Vagell et al. | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120240061 | Hillenius et al. | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120240183 | Sinha | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120257249 | Natarajan | Oct 2012 | A1 |
| 20120259964 | Lin et al. | Oct 2012 | A1 |
| 20120263166 | Cho et al. | Oct 2012 | A1 |
| 20120266203 | Elhadad et al. | Oct 2012 | A1 |
| 20120284290 | Keebler et al. | Nov 2012 | A1 |
| 20120284638 | Cutler et al. | Nov 2012 | A1 |
| 20120284664 | Zhao | Nov 2012 | A1 |
| 20120291011 | Quine | Nov 2012 | A1 |
| 20120296790 | Robb | Nov 2012 | A1 |
| 20120309540 | Holme et al. | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20120311157 | Erickson et al. | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20120317239 | Mulder et al. | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20120317487 | Lieb et al. | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20120328259 | Seibert, Jr. et al. | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20120331177 | Jensen | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20120331441 | Adamson | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20130007074 | Weicher | Jan 2013 | A1 |
| 20130007245 | Malik et al. | Jan 2013 | A1 |
| 20130007471 | Grab et al. | Jan 2013 | A1 |
| 20130007894 | Dang et al. | Jan 2013 | A1 |
| 20130013560 | Goldberg et al. | Jan 2013 | A1 |
| 20130014023 | Lee et al. | Jan 2013 | A1 |
| 20130042106 | Persaud et al. | Feb 2013 | A1 |
| 20130055127 | Saito et al. | Feb 2013 | A1 |
| 20130067232 | Cheung et al. | Mar 2013 | A1 |
| 20130073403 | Tuchman et al. | Mar 2013 | A1 |
| 20130080919 | Kiang et al. | Mar 2013 | A1 |
| 20130110565 | Means, Jr. et al. | May 2013 | A1 |
| 20130117337 | Dunham | May 2013 | A1 |
| 20130117376 | Filman et al. | May 2013 | A1 |
| 20130124638 | Barreto et al. | May 2013 | A1 |
| 20130124984 | Kuspa | May 2013 | A1 |
| 20130138608 | Smith | May 2013 | A1 |
| 20130138615 | Gupta et al. | May 2013 | A1 |
| 20130159411 | Bowen | Jun 2013 | A1 |
| 20130159707 | Jogand-Coulomb et al. | Jun 2013 | A1 |
| 20130163289 | Kim et al. | Jun 2013 | A1 |
| 20130167253 | Seleznev et al. | Jun 2013 | A1 |
| 20130185347 | Romano | Jul 2013 | A1 |
| 20130185558 | Seibert et al. | Jul 2013 | A1 |
| 20130191339 | Haden et al. | Jul 2013 | A1 |
| 20130198474 | Shaath | Aug 2013 | A1 |
| 20130198600 | Lockhart et al. | Aug 2013 | A1 |
| 20130212067 | Piasecki et al. | Aug 2013 | A1 |
| 20130212486 | Joshi et al. | Aug 2013 | A1 |
| 20130218978 | Weinstein et al. | Aug 2013 | A1 |
| 20130239049 | Perrodin et al. | Sep 2013 | A1 |
| 20130246901 | Massand | Sep 2013 | A1 |
| 20130246932 | Zaveri et al. | Sep 2013 | A1 |
| 20130262210 | Savage et al. | Oct 2013 | A1 |
| 20130262862 | Hartley | Oct 2013 | A1 |
| 20130268480 | Dorman | Oct 2013 | A1 |
| 20130268491 | Chung et al. | Oct 2013 | A1 |
| 20130275398 | Dorman et al. | Oct 2013 | A1 |
| 20130275429 | York et al. | Oct 2013 | A1 |
| 20130275509 | Micucci et al. | Oct 2013 | A1 |
| 20130282830 | Besen et al. | Oct 2013 | A1 |
| 20130305039 | Gauda | Nov 2013 | A1 |
| 20130326344 | Masselle et al. | Dec 2013 | A1 |
| 20130347070 | Cairns et al. | Dec 2013 | A1 |
| 20140007205 | Oikonomou | Jan 2014 | A1 |
| 20140013112 | Cidon et al. | Jan 2014 | A1 |
| 20140019497 | Cidon et al. | Jan 2014 | A1 |
| 20140019498 | Cidon et al. | Jan 2014 | A1 |
| 20140032489 | Hebbar et al. | Jan 2014 | A1 |
| 20140032616 | Nack | Jan 2014 | A1 |
| 20140033277 | Xiao et al. | Jan 2014 | A1 |
| 20140033291 | Liu | Jan 2014 | A1 |
| 20140052939 | Tseng et al. | Feb 2014 | A1 |
| 20140059217 | Pizurica | Feb 2014 | A1 |
| 20140068589 | Barak | Mar 2014 | A1 |
| 20140074629 | Rathod | Mar 2014 | A1 |
| 20140150023 | Gudorf et al. | May 2014 | A1 |
| 20140156373 | Roberts et al. | Jun 2014 | A1 |
| 20140172595 | Beddow et al. | Jun 2014 | A1 |
| 20140344456 | Buzbee et al. | Nov 2014 | A1 |
| 20140359286 | Wen et al. | Dec 2014 | A1 |
| 20150019723 | Kweon et al. | Jan 2015 | A1 |
| 20150200948 | Cairns et al. | Jul 2015 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2724521 | Nov 2009 | CA |
| 101997924 | Mar 2011 | CN |
| 102264063 | Nov 2011 | CN |
| 0348614 | Jan 1990 | EP |
| 0921661 | Jun 1999 | EP |
| 1349088 | Oct 2003 | EP |
| 1528746 | May 2005 | EP |
| 1933242 | Jun 2008 | EP |
| 2372574 | Oct 2011 | EP |
| 2610776 | Jul 2013 | EP |
| 2453924 | Apr 2009 | GB |
| 2471282 | Dec 2010 | GB |
| 09-101937 | Apr 1997 | JP |
| 11-025059 | Jan 1999 | JP |
| 2003273912 | Sep 2003 | JP |
| 2004310272 | Nov 2004 | JP |
| 09-269925 | Oct 2007 | JP |
| 2008250944 | Oct 2008 | JP |
| 20020017444 | Mar 2002 | KR |
| 20040028036 | Apr 2004 | KR |
| 20050017674 | Feb 2005 | KR |
| 20060070306 | Jun 2006 | KR |
| 20060114871 | Nov 2006 | KR |
| 20070043353 | Apr 2007 | KR |
| 20070100477 | Oct 2007 | KR |
| 20100118836 | Nov 2010 | KR |
| 20110074096 | Jun 2011 | KR |
| 20110076831 | Jul 2011 | KR |
| WO-0007104 | Feb 2000 | WO |
| WO-0219128 | Mar 2002 | WO |
| WO-2004097681 | Nov 2004 | WO |
| WO-2006028850 | Mar 2006 | WO |
| WO-2007024438 | Mar 2007 | WO |
| WO-2007035637 | Mar 2007 | WO |
| WO-2007113573 | Oct 2007 | WO |
| WO-2008011142 | Jan 2008 | WO |
| WO-2008076520 | Jun 2008 | WO |
| WO-2011109416 | Sep 2011 | WO |
| WO-2012167272 | Dec 2012 | WO |
| WO-2013009328 | Jan 2013 | WO |
| WO-2013013217 | Jan 2013 | WO |
| WO-2013041763 | Mar 2013 | WO |
| WO-2013166520 | Nov 2013 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2013/029520, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Jun. 26, 2013, 10 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2013/023889, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Jun. 24, 2013, 13 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2013/035404, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Jun. 26, 2013, 13 pages. |
| “Conceptboard”, One-Step Solution for Online Collaboration, retrieved from websites http://conceptboard.com and https://www.youtube.com/user/ConceptboardApp?feature=watch, printed on Jun. 13, 2013, 9 pages. |
| “PaperPort Professional 14,” PC Mag. Com review, published Feb. 2012, Ziff Davis, Inc., 8 pages. |
| “PaperPort,” Wikipedia article (old revision), published May 19, 2012, Wikipedia Foundation, 2 pages. |
| “Quickoffice Enhances Android Mobile office Application for Improved Productivity on latest Smartphone and Table Devices,” QuickOffice Press Release, Nov. 21, 2011, QuickOffice Inc., 2 pages. |
| “QuickOffice,” Wikipedia Article (old revision), published May 9, 2012, Wikipedia Foundation, 2 pages. |
| Exam Report for EP13158415.3, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Jun. 4, 2013, 8 pages. |
| Exam Report for EP13168784.0, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Nov. 21, 2013, 7 pages. |
| Exam Report for EP13185269.1, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Jan. 28, 7 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1300188.8, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed May 31, 2013, 8 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1306011.6, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Apr. 18, 2013, 8 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1309209.3, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Oct. 30, 2013, 11 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1310666.1, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Aug. 30, 2013, 10 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1311417.8, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Dec. 20, 2013, 5 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1312095.1, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Dec. 12, 2013, 7 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1312874.9, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Dec. 20, 2013, 11 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1313559.5, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Aug. 22, 2013, 19 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1316532.9, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Oct. 31, 2013, 10 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1316533.7, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Oct. 8, 2013, 9 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1316971.9, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Nov. 26, 2013, 10 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1317600.3, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Nov. 21, 2013, 8 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1318373.6, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Dec. 17, 2013, 4 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1320902.8, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Dec. 20, 2013, 4 pages. |
| Gedymin, “Cloud computing with an emphasis on Google App Engine,” Master Final Project, Sep. 2011, 146 pages. |
| Google Docs, http://web.Archive.org/web/20100413105758/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google—docs, Apr. 13, 2010, 6 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2013/034662, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed May 31, 2013, 10 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2013/034765, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Jan. 20, 2014, 15 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2013/039782, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Aug. 28, 2013, 15 pages. |
| Patent Court Document of Approved Judgment for GB0602349.3 and GB0623571.7; Mar. 3, 2009, 17 pages. |
| “Average Conversion Time for a D60 Raw file?” http://www.dpreview.com, Jul. 22, 2002, 4 pages. |
| Burns, “Developing Secure Mobile Applications for Android,” Oct. 2008, Version 1.0, 1-28 pages. |
| Comes, “MediaXchange User's Manual,” Version 1.15.15, Feb. 1, 2009, pp. 1-90. |
| Exam Report for GB1308842.2, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Mar. 10, 2014, 4 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1312264.3, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Mar. 24, 2014, 7 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1314771.5, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Feb. 17, 2014, 7 pages. |
| John et al., “Always Sync Support Forums—View topic—Allway sync funny behavior,” Allway Sync Support Forum at http://sync-center.com, Mar. 28, 2011, XP055109680, 2 pages. |
| Search Report for EP 11729851.3, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Feb. 7, 2014, 9 pages. |
| Search Report for EP14151588.2, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Apr. 15, 2014, 12 pages. |
| Search Report for EP14153783.7, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Mar. 24, 2014, 7 pages. |
| Search Report for EP13187217.8, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Apr. 15, 2014, 12 pages. |
| Rao, “Box Acquires Crocodoc to Add HTML5 Document Converter and Sleek Content Viewing Experience to Cloud Storage Platform,” retrieved from the internet, http://techcrunch.com, May 9, 2013, 8 pages. |
| Walker, “PDF.js project meeting notes,” retrieved from the internet, http://groups.google.com, May 15, 2014, 1 page. |
| Sommerer, “Presentable Document Format: Improved On-demand PDF to HTML Conversion,” retrieved from the internet, http://research.microsoft.com, 8 pages. |
| “Tulsa TechFest 2012—Agenda,” retrieved from the website, http://web.archive.org, Oct. 2, 2012, 2 pages. |
| Delendik, “Evolving with Web Standards—The Story of PDF.JS,” retrieved from the internet, http://people.mozilla.org, Oct. 12, 2012, 36 pages. |
| Delendik, “My PDF.js talk slides from Tulsa TechFest,” retrieved from the internet, http://twitter.com, Oct. 12, 2012, 2 pages. |
| Cohen, “Debating the Definition of Cloud Computing Platforms,” retrieved from the internet, http:://forbes.com, Feb. 3, 2014, 7 pages. |
| “How-to Geek, How to Sync Specific Folders With Dropbox,” downloaded from the internet http://www.howtogeek.com, Apr. 23, 2013, 5 pages. |
| “Microsoft Office SharePoint 2007 User Guide,” Feb. 16, 2010, pp. 1-48. |
| “Understanding Metadata,” National Information Standards Organization, NISO Press, 2004, 20 pages. |
| Cisco, “FTP Load Balancing on ACE in Routed Mode Configuration Example,” DocWiki, Jun. 2011, 7 pages. |
| Conner, “Google Apps: The Missing Manual,” published by O'Reilly Media, May 27, 2008, 24 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2008/012973 dated Apr. 30, 2009, pp. 1-11. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2010/070366, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Mar. 24, 2013, 10 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2011/039126 mailed on Oct. 6, 2011, pp. 1-13. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2011/041308 Mailed Jul. 2, 2012, pp. 1-16. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2011/047530, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Mar. 22, 2013, pp. 1-10. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2011/056472 mailed on Jun. 22, 2012, pp. 1-12. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2011/057938, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Mar. 29, 2013, 10 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2011/060875 Mailed Oct. 30, 2012, pp. 1-10. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2012/056955, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Mar. 27, 2013, pp. 1-11. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2012/063041, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Mar. 29, 2013, 12 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2012/065617, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Mar. 29, 2013, 9 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2012/067126, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed Mar. 29, 2013, 10 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2013/020267, Applicant: Box, Inc., Mailed May 7, 2013, 10 pages. |
| Internet Forums, http://web.archive.org/web/20100528195550/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet—forums, Wikipedia, May 30, 2010, pp. 1-20. |
| Langfeld L. et al., “Microsoft SharePoint 2003 Unleashed,” Chapters 11 and 15, Jun. 2004, pp. 403-404, 557-561, 578-581. |
| Lars, “35 Very Useful Online Tools for Improving your project Management and Team Collaboration,” Apr. 31, 2010, tripwiremagazine.com, pp. 1-32. |
| Palmer, “Load Balancing FTP Servers,” BlogNav, Oct. 2008, 2 pages. |
| Parr, “Google Docs Improves Commenting, Adds E-mail Notifications,” Apr. 16, 2011, mashable.com, pp. 1-6. |
| Partial International Search Report for PCT/US2011/041308 dated Feb. 27, 2012, pp. 1-2. |
| Supplementary European Search Report European Application No. EP 08 85 8563 dated Jun. 20, 2011 pp. 1-5. |
| Wayback, “Wayback machine,” Wayback, Jun. 1, 2011, 1 page. |
| Wiki, http://web.archive.org/web/20100213004936/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki, Feb. 13, 2010, pp. 1-16. |
| Yahoo! Groups, http://web.archive.org/web/20090320101529/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!—Groups, Wikipedia, Mar. 20, 2009, pp. 1-6. |
| “Conceptboard”, One-Step Solution for Online Collaboration, from websites http://conceptboard.com and https://www.youtube.com/user/ConceptboardApp?feature=watch, printed on Jun. 13, 2013, 9 pages. |
| “Revolving sync conflicts; frequently asked questions,” Microsoft Tech Support, Jul. 16, 2012, retrieved from the Internet: http://web.archive.org/web, 2 pages. |
| “Troubleshoot sync problems,” Microsoft Tech Support: May 2, 2012, retrieved from the internet, http://web. Archive.org/web, 3 pages. |
| Duffy, “The Best File-Syncing Services,” pcmag.com, retrieved from the internet: http://www.pcmag.com, Sep. 28, 2012, 7 pages. |
| Exam Report for EP13177108.1, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed May 26, 2014, 6 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1318792.7, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed May 22, 2014, 2 pages. |
| Partial Search Report for EP131832800, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed May 8, 2014, 5 pages. |
| Pyle et al., “How to enable Event logging for Offline Files (Client Side Caching) in Windows Vista,” Feb. 18, 2009, retrieved from the internet: http://blogs.technet.com, 3 pages. |
| Search Report for EP141509422, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed May 8, 2014, 7 pages. |
| Tulloch et al., “Windows Vista Resource Kit,” Apr. 8, 2007, Microsoft Press, XP055113067, 6 pages. |
| Sommerer, “Presentable Document Format: Improved On-demand PDF to HTML Conversion,” retrieved from the internet, http://research.microsoft.com, Nov. 2004, 8 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1410569.6 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Jul. 11, 2014, 9 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1312874.9 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Sep. 26, 2014, 2 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1415126.0 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Oct. 2, 2014, 8 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1415314.2 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Oct. 7, 2014, 6 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1309209.3 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Oct. 7, 2014, 3 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1315232.7 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Oct. 9, 2014, 5 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1318789.3 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Oct. 30, 2014, 6 pages. |
| Microsoft Windows XP Professional Product Documentation: How Inheritance Affects File and Folder Permissions, Apr. 11, 2014, 2 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1317393.5 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Nov. 7, 2014, 6 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1311417.8 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Nov. 7, 2014, 2 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1311421.0 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Nov. 7, 2014, 4 pages. |
| No Stated Author, Amazon Simple Storage Services FAQs, 2012, https://web.archive.org.web/20120615092600/http://aws.amazon.com/s3/faqs/>; pp. 1-14. |
| Mogull, “DLP Content Discovery: Best Practices for Stored Data Discovery and Protection,” 2009, pp. 1-16. |
| No Stated Author, “CheckPoint Virtual Appliance for Amazon Web Services,” 2012, pp. 1-6. |
| Exam Report for GB1309209.3; Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Jul. 15, 2015, 8 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1316532.9 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Mar. 27, 2015, 6 pages. |
| Burney, “How to Move Document from Your Computer to Your iPad and Back Again,” May 31, 2011, 3 pages. |
| “Dropbox: Sync only specific folders,” posted on Feb. 9, 2012, available online at http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/20865/dropbox-sync-only-specific-folders/, 4 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1316682.2 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Nov. 19, 2014, 6 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1312095.1 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Nov. 19, 2014, 5 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1313559.5 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Nov. 4, 2014, 2 pages. |
| User's Guide for SMART Board Software for Windows, published Dec. 2004, 90 pages. |
| Zambonini et al., “Automated Measuring of Interaction with User Interfaces,” Published as WO2007113573 Oct. 2007, 19 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1309209.3 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Jan. 19, 2015, 6 pages. |
| “Agilewords—How to Request Approval,” YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Ov3DYNN3Q, Jan. 31, 2011, 2 pages. |
| “Agilewords—Features, Powerful Features Yet Simple,” Jun. 1, 2011, http://web.archive.org/web/20110601223756/http://agilewords.com/product/features, 3 pages. |
| Conner, “Google Apps: The Missing Manual,” published by O'Reilly Media, May 27, 2008, 42 pages. |
| Exam Report for EP 13177108.1, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Feb. 17, 2015, 6 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1312264.3 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Jan. 30, 2015, 5 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1312874.9 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Feb. 10, 2015, 7 pages. |
| Exam Report for GB1316685.5 Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Feb. 17, 2015, 5 pages. |
| Exam Report for EP 13185269.1, Applicant: Box, Inc. Mailed Feb. 13, 2015, 8 pages. |
| Wei, et al., “Managing Security of Virtual Machine Images in a Cloud Environment,” CCSW'09, Nov. 13, 2009, pp. 91-96. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20130318125 A1 | Nov 2013 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61653876 | May 2012 | US | |
| 61650840 | May 2012 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13897421 | May 2013 | US |
| Child | 13898200 | US |
