VMware and Decho/Mozy Assigned Patent

VMware, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, and Decho Corporation, Seattle, WA, Mozy a EMC company, has been assigned a patent (8,996,884) developed by Hartley, David John, Bellevue, WA, for a “high privacy of file synchronization with sharing functionality.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Systems and methods for providing privacy of file synchronization with sharing functionality are presented. In embodiments, a file synchronization system comprises one or more folders associated with one or more non-shared encryption keys, which may be a managed key shared across an organization, and/or a personal key that is not shared or has limited third-party sharing. The one or more non-shared encryption keys are not known to the data storage service. The file synchronization system may also include one or more folders associated with a shared encryption key that is shared with the data storage service, and in embodiments, with a set of users of the service. The system may include a mapping correlating folders to encryption type so items in each folder can be handled appropriately. The system may have additional folders, such as one or more public folders that may be available with limited or no restrictions.“

The patent application was filed on March 24, 2014 (14/223,888).