- Apple Inc. v. THX Ltd.Some claims unpatentablePTAB · Jun 9, 2015 · IPR2014-00235 · APJ Brian P Murphy · IPR · Final written decision
Claims 1 and 2 are unpatentable as obvious over Tomonori and Sadaie; claim 3 was not shown unpatentable over Tomonori, Virva, and Sadaie.
RulingsFinal written decision- Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Plain and ordinary meaning to a POSITATerm construed board ownDecided for petitioner
“In sum, the ’483 patent describes and claims a sound reflecting surface that redirects sound waves output from the speaker towards the elongate output slot, whereas sound damping material absorbs standing waves inside the sound duct. The ’483 patent goes to great lengths to distinguish a sound reflecting surface from a sound damping surface. Furthermore, given that “sound damping material” is different from a “sound reflecting surface” and both are recited as separate claim limitations, it follows that a sound reflecting surface is not made of sound damping material. For the reasons given above, we construe “sound reflecting surface,” in the context of claim 1 and in light of the ’483 patent specification, as “a surface that redirects sound waves output from a speaker, not made of sound damping material.”” slip op. at 12
- Claim Construction › Threshold & procedure › Whether a term needs construction (O2 Micro)No construction neededNot reached
“2. Other Terms Petitioner proposes to construe additional claim terms. Pet. 11–14. We determine that no express construction of these additional terms is necessary for purposes of this decision.” slip op. at 13
- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successMotivation foundMotivation not foundMixed
“suppress standing waves inside a duct. Pet. 44 (citing Ex. 1002 ¶ 112). Dr. Vipperman identifies the reason for Sadaie’s use of side wall sound damping as enabling “the sharpness of a fundamental wave resonance of a standing wave determined by the length of the sound path . . . to be suppressed because a substantial length of the sound path cannot be primarily determined.” Ex. 1002 ¶ 112 (citing Ex. 1003, 14). We agree with Petitioner’s reasoning, therefore, that “[e]xtending the damping material of Tomonori along the sidewalls of the duct,” as taught by Sadaie, would have been one of a limited number of known solutions further minimizing the presence of spurious resonances and standing waves inside the duct. Id. at 45 (citing Ex. 1002 ¶ 113). The quoted statements of Petitioner and Dr. Vipperman with respect to Tomonori and Sadaie are consistent with the principles set forth in KSR.10 Petitioner and Dr. Vipperman provide an analysis of why one of ordinary skill in the art of speaker design would have been motivated by Sadaie’s disclosure of side wall sound damping to modify Tomonori’s narrow sound duct, such that sound damping material forms the sides of the sound duct but not the bottom (sound reflecting) surface. In particular, Dr. Vipperman’s Declaration provides a sufficient analysis to support the obvious modification of Tomonori’s narrow profile speaker, by a speaker designer of ordinary skill, such that “sound damping material form[s] sides of the sound duct” to help suppress the presence of spurious resonances and standing waves inside the duct. Ex. 1002 ¶¶ 112, 113.” slip op. at 28
Patent outcomesUS 7,433,483 mixedClaim construction§ 103 obviousnesscites KSRPatents in suitUS 7,433,483
Holdings, summaries, rulings, issues, outcomes, winners and claim constructions shown for a decision were generated by a large language model reading the opinion. They are a guide to the decision, not the decision. Confirm every one against the court's own text before relying on it. Outcomes read from the patent owner’s side. Party names are extracted from the decision and are missing on about 900 short Director denials and scans, which carry the trial number instead.