- Mianyang Boe Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. / Wuhan China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd. et al. v. Samsung Display Co., Ltd.Some claims unpatentablePTAB · Jan 6, 2025 · IPR2023-00988 · APJ John A Hudalla · IPR · Final written decision
Claims 1, 4–10, 13, and 15 are unpatentable over Phan; claim 2 was not shown unpatentable over the asserted grounds.
RulingsFinal written decision- Skill levelSkill level petitioner adoptedDecided for petitioner
“experience or over 30 years of experience, for example. In addition, the ’683 patent is directed to “a pixel arrangement structure of an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display” (Ex. 1001, 1:19–21), whereas Patent Owner’s proposed experience is tied to “active-matrix displays.” PO Resp. 5. Given that the field of OLED displays includes both passive and active matrix designs (see generally Ex. 2009 ¶¶ 40–56), we see no reason to restrict the relevant experience to active matrix displays. For these reasons, we do not adopt Patent Owner’s definition of the level of ordinary skill in the art.” slip op. at 13
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successMotivation foundMotivation not foundMixed
“Invention” section, Phan states that “[t]he invention [of Phan] relates to a display comprising pixels and dots, including but not limited to” various “display technologies” including “Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED).” Ex. 1005, 1:17–29 (emphasis added). Accordingly, we find that Phan fairly suggests that the pixel arrangements disclosed in Phan—which are part of Phan’s “invention”—may be applied to OLEDs. See Twitter, Inc. v. VidStream LLC, 825 F. App’x 844, 850 (Fed. Cir. 2020) (quoting Bradium Techs. LLC v. Iancu, 923 F.3d 1032, 1049 (Fed. Cir. 2019)) (“[W]hen conducting an obviousness analysis, the Board must consider a prior art reference ‘not only for what it expressly teaches, but also for what it fairly suggests.’”). In making this finding, we note that obviousness is determined from the perspective of a person of ordinary skill in the art (see 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)), who in this case would have had “2 years of professional experience working with display design, including OLED displays.” See supra § II.B. In light of this specific experience, we find that an ordinarily skilled artisan would have been inclined to link Phan’s disclosed pixel arrangements with OLEDs based on the plain statement about related “display technologies” in Phan’s “Field of the Invention” section. See, e.g., Ex. 1003 ¶¶ 321, 410–414. For these reasons, we disagree with Patent Owner’s assertion that “Phan does not teach about OLED displays.” PO Resp. 32.” slip op. at 20
- Obviousness (§103) › Objective indicia / secondary considerations › NexusObjective indicia no nexusDecided for petitioner
“6 In its Opposition to Petitioner’s first motion to strike, which was filed after the Patent Owner Response, Patent Owner implies that the teardown images in the Response speak for themselves and, as such, are entitled to a presumption of nexus. See 1st Strike Opp. 3–4; see also Tr. 102:19–103:15 (similar argument by Patent Owner’s counsel at the oral hearing). Petitioner argues that Patent Owner did not assert an entitlement to a presumption of nexus in the Response, and that Patent Owner’s Opposition is an improper vehicle to introduce such an argument. 1st Strike Reply 1. We agree with Petitioner that Patent Owner did not address in the Response whether the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone is coextensive with the claims of the ’683 patent. See id.; Pet. Reply 20. Accordingly, we decline to consider any argument that Patent Owner is entitled to a presumption of nexus.” slip op. at 34
- Strike new argumentNew argument disregardedGranted in part
“6 In its Opposition to Petitioner’s first motion to strike, which was filed after the Patent Owner Response, Patent Owner implies that the teardown images in the Response speak for themselves and, as such, are entitled to a presumption of nexus. See 1st Strike Opp. 3–4; see also Tr. 102:19–103:15 (similar argument by Patent Owner’s counsel at the oral hearing). Petitioner argues that Patent Owner did not assert an entitlement to a presumption of nexus in the Response, and that Patent Owner’s Opposition is an improper vehicle to introduce such an argument. 1st Strike Reply 1. We agree with Petitioner that Patent Owner did not address in the Response whether the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone is coextensive with the claims of the ’683 patent. See id.; Pet. Reply 20. Accordingly, we decline to consider any argument that Patent Owner is entitled to a presumption of nexus.” slip op. at 34
Patent outcomesUS 10,854,683 mixed§ 103 obviousnesscites Phillips · KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 10,854,683 - Microsoft Corporation v. D3d Technologies, Inc.Some claims unpatentablePTAB · Feb 13, 2023 · IPR2021-01325 · APJ Jameson Lee · IPR · Final written decision
Claims 70–73, 75–80, 84, 89–92, 94–97, 99, 103, and 107 are unpatentable as obvious; claims 74 and 93 were not shown unpatentable.
RulingsFinal written decision- Skill levelSkill level board ownDecided for petitioner
“In the Decision to Institute, we adopted Petitioner’s articulation of the level of ordinary skill in the art, sans the qualifier “at least” for the level of education and for the amount of experience, to keep the level from being vague and overbroad and extending into the level of an expert. Inst. Dec. 11. Post institution, neither party disputes our adopted level of ordinary skill in the art. That level is consistent with what is reflected by the content of the applied prior art references. Cf. Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1354–55 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (the applied prior art may reflect an appropriate level of skill). Accordingly, we adhere to the level of ordinary skill in the art as adopted in the Decision to Institute, i.e., one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a Bachelor’s degree in an academic area emphasizing electrical engineering, computer science, or a similar discipline, and two years of experience in the field working with, teaching, or researching stereoscopic and/or virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR) display technologies. C.” slip op. at 11
- Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Plain and ordinary meaning to a POSITATerm construed petitioner constructionDecided for petitioner
“Pet. 8 (footnote omitted). Patent Owner has not proposed a construction for either “cursor,” “3D cursor,” or “three-dimensional cursor.” Nor did Patent Owner express disagreement in its Preliminary Response with Petitioner’s proposed construction. In the Decision to Institute, we agreed with and adopted Petitioner’s proposed construction. Inst. Dec. 13. Post institution of review, Patent Owner has not objected to or disagreed with the construction we adopted. Accordingly, we adhere to our preliminary construction that “three-dimensional cursor” means “three-dimensional indicator movable within a three-dimensional image, image space, and volume.”9” slip op. at 15
- Expert testimonyPetitioner expert discountedDecided for patent owner
“known term of art (Reply 15),10 Petitioner does not specifically articulate what that meaning is as an established term of art. In that regard, Petitioner cites to paragraph 17 of the second declaration of Dr. Fuchs (Ex. 1039), which states, in its entirety: Based on my experience, a POSITA would have understood “measurement markings” to mean markings that are used for measurements. The measurements can be of various types, e.g., distances, locations, orientation. MS-1001, 6:47–7:8. This would be the plain and ordinary meaning of the term according to a POSITA. Ex. 1039 ¶ 17. That testimony does not support treating “measurement markings” as an established term of art having a common meaning to those of ordinary skill in the art. Dr. Fuchs cites to no examples of how the term 10 Petitioner also states that the term should be construed according to its plain and ordinary meaning. Reply 15. common and specific meaning across those patents and publications, and in particular with the broad meaning urged by Petitioner. We accord very little weight to his testimony with regard to Petitioner’s assertion that “measurement markings” is a term of art. See 37 C.F.R. § 42.65 (“Expert testimony that does not disclose the underlying facts or data on which the opinion is based is entitled to little or no weight”). The general testimony also does not comport with or match the more narrow usage within the disclosure of the ’457 patent as discussed above. See Wi-Lan, Inc. v. Apple Inc., 811 F.3d 455, 462 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (extrinsic evidence “is generally of less significance than the intrinsic record” in matters of claim construction). Dr. Fuchs also does not state that “measurement markings” is an established term of art with a common meaning to those of ordinary skill in the art.” slip op. at 23
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successMotivation foundReasonable expectation foundDecided for petitioner
“[A] POSITA would have combined Avila’s display interface that shows orthogonal cross-sectional imaging slices and a selected 3D ROI on the same display screen (see Avila’s FIG. 10) with Acosta’s teachings so that a viewer (e.g., a physician) could see a 3D image of an anatomical structure and corresponding 2D orthogonal cross-sectional imaging slices in areas of interest. MS-1003, ¶[61]. In other implementations, the 3D sampling probe/cursor can be displayed along with background portions of the 3D volume and 2D cross-sectional imaging slices. MS-1007, 6:12–67; MS-1005, ¶[0096]. In this manner, the viewer would have multiple views of the selected 3D ROI by itself or within a 3D image (options disclosed by Acosta) along with relevant slice views. MS-1005, ¶[0096]; MS-1003, ¶[61]. Pet. 17. Acosta and Avila such that orthogonal cross-sectional imaging slices would be displayed in Acosta’s system has evidentiary support and rational underpinning. Patent Owner presents no argument regarding the alleged reasoning to combine teachings. We are persuaded by Petitioner’s articulation of the reasoning to combine such that orthogonal cross-sectional imaging slices as taught by Avila would be displayed in Acosta together with the 3D cursor.” slip op. at 46
Patent outcomesUS 10,795,457 mixedClaim construction§ 103 obviousnesscites KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 10,795,457 - Shenzhen Carku Technology Co., Ltd. v. The Noco CompanySome claims unpatentablePTAB · Nov 3, 2021 · IPR2020-00944 · APJ Jameson Lee · IPR · Final written decision
Claims 1–10 and 12–23 are unpatentable over the listed grounds; claim 11 was not shown unpatentable because the evidence did not establish the claimed connection sequence.
RulingsFinal written decision- Expert testimonyOther
“Q. So Richardson contemplates a flow of control where the shunt calibration flag was not set, correct? A. That is reasonable. He shows an option -- an option of a “no” result from Step 406. Ex. 1047, 110:14–18. Dr. Wood also agrees that when the shunt calibration flag is not set and the procedure advances to Step 420, the contact relay in Richardson is still open: Q. Now, if the shunt calibration flag is not set and we go to Step 420, the starter contact relay in Richardson is still open, correct? A. That is my understanding. Id. at 77:10–13. Dr. Wood further agrees that when the shunt calibration flag is not set and the procedure advances to Step 214, where reverse polarity connection is tested, the starter contact relay is still open: Q. Okay. Then if we continue to Step 214 in this example, where the shunt calibration flag was not set, when we’re testing for the condition reverse jumper cable voltage, the starter contact relay is still open, right? A. That appears to be the case.” slip op. at 65
- Novelty / Anticipation (§102) › Anticipation standard (single reference, every element)UnpatentableUnpatentable
“Referring to FIG. 3, Klang states: “[t[he reverse polarity sensor 48, connected in a like manner across the battery terminals 20, 22, senses negative voltage indicating that the battery leads are connected backwards.” Ex. 1007, 6:20–23. Klang’s reverse polarity sensor provides an output signal (sensed negative voltage) indicating whether the battery has a proper polarity connection. Klang states: “[i]f the start button has not been pressed, at step 144, the OCV [battery open circuit voltage] is compared to a low negative voltage to determine whether the conducting cables 18 are properly connected to the battery 16. If the OCV is less than -0.5V, the method proceeds at step 146 to notify the operator that the leads are reversed.” Ex. 1007, 8:55– 60.” slip op. at 26
- Obviousness (§103) › Objective indicia / secondary considerationsNot reached
“references. Accordingly, consideration and discussion of the objective evidence of nonobviousness is unnecessary.” slip op. at 92
- ExcludeMotion to exclude, deniedDenied
“discussed below, the Motion is denied.” slip op. at 94
Patent outcomesUS 9,007,015 mixed§ 102 anticipation§ 103 obviousnesscites Phillips · KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 9,007,015 - Apple Inc. / ZTE Corporation And ZTE (USA) Inc. v. E-Watch, Inc.Some claims unpatentablePTAB · May 6, 2016 · IPR2015-01366 · APJ Jameson Lee · IPR · Final written decision
Claims 12–14 are unpatentable as obvious over McNelley and Umezawa; claims 1–8 were not shown unpatentable because the claimed user interface was not established.
RulingsFinal written decision- BurdenFwd mixedMixed
“3. Claims 1, 6, and 12 With respect to claims 1 and 6, as explained below, Petitioner has not established the unpatentability of either claim by a preponderance of the evidence. With respect to claim 12, notwithstanding the arguments and evidence presented by Patent Owner, which are discussed below, we are persuaded by the arguments and evidence presented by Petitioners. Claim 12 has been shown as unpatentable by a preponderance of the evidence.” slip op. at 21
- Claim Construction › Threshold & procedure › Whether a term needs construction (O2 Micro)Term construed petitioner constructionDecided for petitioner
“Id. at 8–10. Despite the representations made by Patent Owner regarding the exchanges between the Applicant and the Examiner during prosecution, we agree with Petitioners that Patent Owner’s proposed constructions for these terms are excessively narrow under the rule of broadest reasonable interpretation. The prosecution history recounted by Patent Owner above indicates that the articulated distinction from the Ida reference centers on Ida’s failure to describe displaying an image selected from within the memory. Whether Ida’s memory stores one image or a plurality of images was not of significance. Under this circumstance, it is not justifiable, under the rule of broadest reasonable interpretation, to require a selection from among a plurality of images stored in memory. The claims are broad enough to encompass storing just one image in memory and having that image selected for displaying and for transmission. The fact that the Specification of the ’871 patent discloses embodiments in which more than one images is stored in memory does not justify importing limitations from the Specification into the claims. See SuperGuide Corp., 358 F.3d at 875. We find no express definition in the Specification of the ’871 patent or in any of the prosecution history identified by Patent Owner, for the terms at issue here, much less one set forth with reasonable clarity, deliberateness, and precision. If a patentee desires to be his or her own lexicographer, the purported definition must be set forth in the specification or prosecution history. CCS Fitness, Inc., 288 F.3d at 1366. Such a definition must be set forth with reasonable clarity, deliberateness, and precision. Renishaw PLC, 158 F.3d at 1249; Paulsen, 30 F.3d at 1480. Patent Owner also identifies nothing in the Specification or prosecution history of the ’871 patent that constitutes a disclaimer or disavowal with regard to these terms that is sufficiently specific so as to require the storage of more than one image in the memory.” slip op. at 13
- Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Plain and ordinary meaning to a POSITATerm construed petitioner constructionDecided for petitioner
“Patent Owner argues that “alphanumeric” means “consisting of both letters and numbers and often other symbols,” citing a dictionary definition (Ex. 2009). Id. at 26. The Specification of the ’871 patent does not contain any definition for the term “alphanumeric.” Dictionaries are a relevant source of information, but they are not controlling. We also are cognizant that there are numerous dictionaries and their entries for the same term are not necessarily the same. For example, in this instance, Petitioner has submitted two dictionary definitions for “alphanumeric” that are broader than that offered by Patent Owner: (1) “Consisting of letters or digits, or both, and sometimes including control characters, space characters, and other special characters” (Ex. 1015, 3); and (2) “[a]ny letter of the English alphabet, upper or lower case, or any of the decimal digits, 0 to 9” (Ex. 1016, 3). Reply 5. As discussed above, in this proceeding, we apply the broadest reasonable interpretation, to construe the meaning of claim terms. We note further that, as pointed out by Petitioner (Reply 5), even the definition offered by Patent Owner indicates that an alphanumeric character is a character in an alphanumeric system. Ex. 2009. That would mean although a character cannot be both a letter and a numeral, it still can be an alphanumeric character. Applying the rule of broadest reasonable interpretation, we agree with Petitioner that “alphanumeric” is sufficiently broad to encompass each of these three cases: all numerals, all letters, or a combination of numerals and letters. Patent Owner’s argument to the contrary is unpersuasive, and rejected.” slip op. at 33
- Skill levelSkill level board ownDecided for patent owner
“does not expressly set forth a definition. Patent Owner asserts: The technical art associated with the ’871 Patent relates to the field of integrating a camera together with a mobile phone to create a device capable of both audio and image communications on cellular networks. A person of ordinary skill in the relevant art (“POSITA”) of the ’871 Patent would have had at least a bachelor’s degree and/or relevant professional experience in electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field, and at least one year of experience related to the design of both cellular communications devices and digital imaging products. PO Resp. 3–4. We are not persuaded that one with ordinary skill in the art necessarily would have had experience in designing cellular communications devices. Based on the Specification of the ’871 patent, we determine that the invention is not about achieving improvements in cellular communication technology. Rather, it is necessary for one with ordinary skill in the art only to be familiar with what a cellular communication network required as an input source and what the expected format and/or protocol would be for sending and receiving information to and from the cellular network. It is noted that even Patent Owner’s stated definition does not require any actual experience in designing cellular communication devices, but just experience “related to” the design of cellular communication devices. Other than the foregoing, we determine that no express finding is necessary, on this record, and that the level of ordinary skill in the art is reflected by the prior art of record. See Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2001); In re GPAC Inc., 57 F.3d 1573, 1579 (Fed. Cir. 1995); In re Oelrich, 579 F.2d 86, 91 (CCPA 1978).” slip op. at 16
Patent outcomesUS 7,365,871 mixedClaim construction§ 103 obviousnesscites Phillips · KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 7,365,871 - Apple Inc. / ZTE Corporation et al. v. E-Watch, Inc.Some claims unpatentablePTAB · May 6, 2016 · IPR2015-00412 · APJ Jameson Lee · IPR · Final written decision
Claims 12–14 are unpatentable as obvious over McNelley and Umezawa; claims 1–8 were not shown unpatentable because the required user interface was not established.
RulingsFinal written decision- Skill levelSkill level board ownDecided for patent owner
“The technical art associated with the ’871 Patent relates to the field of integrating a camera together with a mobile phone to create a device capable of both audio and image communications on cellular networks. A person of ordinary skill in the relevant art (“POSITA”) of the ’871 Patent would have had at least a bachelor’s degree and/or relevant professional experience in electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field, and at least one year of experience related to the design of both cellular communications devices and digital imaging products. PO Resp. 3–4. We are not persuaded that one with ordinary skill in the art necessarily would have had experience in designing cellular communications devices. Based on the Specification of the ’871 patent, we determine that the invention is not about achieving improvements in cellular communication technology. Rather, it is necessary for one with ordinary skill in the art only to be familiar with what a cellular communication network required as an input source and what the expected format and/or protocol would be for sending and receiving information to and from the cellular network. It is noted that even Patent Owner’s stated definition does not require any actual experience in designing cellular communication devices, but just experience “related to” the design of cellular communication devices. Other than the foregoing, we determine that no express finding is necessary, on this record, and that the level of ordinary skill in the art is reflected by the prior art of record. See Okajima v. Bourdeau, 261 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2001); In re GPAC Inc., 57 F.3d 1573, 1579 (Fed. Cir. 1995); In re Oelrich, 579 F.2d 86, 91 (CCPA 1978).” slip op. at 16
- Claim Construction › Intrinsic evidence (Phillips canons) › Plain and ordinary meaning to a POSITATerm construed petitioner constructionDecided for petitioner
“The prosecution history recounted by Patent Owner above indicates that the articulated distinction from the Ida reference centers on Ida’s failure to describe displaying an image selected from within the memory. Whether Ida’s memory stores one image or a plurality of images was not of significance. Under this circumstance, it is not justifiable, under the rule of broadest reasonable interpretation, to require a selection from among a plurality of images stored in memory. The claims are broad enough to encompass storing just one image in memory and having that image selected for displaying and for transmission. The fact that the Specification of the ’871 patent discloses embodiments in which more than one images is stored in memory does not justify importing limitations from the Specification into the claims. See SuperGuide Corp., 358 F.3d at 875. We find no express definition in the Specification of the ’871 patent or in any of the prosecution history identified by Patent Owner, for the terms at issue here, much less one set forth with reasonable clarity, deliberateness, and precision. If a patentee desires to be his or her own lexicographer, the purported definition must be set forth in the specification or prosecution history. CCS Fitness, Inc., 288 F.3d at 1366. Such a definition must be set forth with reasonable clarity, deliberateness, and precision. Renishaw PLC, 158 F.3d at 1249; Paulsen, 30 F.3d at 1480. Patent Owner also identifies nothing in the Specification or prosecution history of the ’871 patent that constitutes a disclaimer or disavowal with regard to these terms that is sufficiently specific so as to require the storage of more than one image in the memory.” slip op. at 14
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successMotivation foundDecided for petitioner
“PO Resp. 34 (emphasis added). We see no reason to disparage the above-referenced reasoning of Petitioners as “boilerplate language” that “does little” to clarify why prior art teachings may be combined. To the contrary, the language conveys substantial meaning. The fact that Petitioners use the same reasoning multiple times does not, somehow, diminish its significance.” slip op. at 51
- Strike new argumentNew argument disregardedDecided for patent owner
“purported reasoning, i.e., that a user creating a video message recording for McNelley’s device used as an answering machine obviously would have selected the recorded video greeting for viewing to check if it is satisfactory for actual use, and thus any transmission of the recorded message upon actual use would have been a “subsequent” transmission as is required by claim 6. Tr. 73–75. The argument is inappropriate because it is a new argument raised for the first time at oral argument.4 It would be unjust to Patent Owner to consider it at this late stage, without Patent Owner having had a fair opportunity to respond. See Dell Inc. v. Acceleron, LLC, Nos. 2015-1513, -1514, 2016 WL 1019075, at *6–7 (Fed. Cir. March 15, 2016); CBS Interactive Inc. v. Helferich Patent Licensing, LLC, Case IPR2013- 00033, slip op. at 2–3 (PTAB October 23, 2013) (Paper 118) (discussing new argument and demonstrative exhibits at oral hearing). Thus, the argument is not considered. Moreover, the argument does not cure the deficiency that in the answering machine mode, neither dialing controls 186 nor telecamcorder controls 188 is used to cause transmission of the recorded message. During oral argument, counsel for Petitioners presents still another new reasoning, i.e., that if the answering machine answers two calls, then the second transmission would be subsequent to a first display. Tr. 75:16–23. The argument also is belatedly presented, for the first time at oral argument, and thus it is not considered. In any event, like the first new argument mentioned above, this new argument also does not cure the deficiency that in the answering machine mode, neither dialing controls 186 nor telecamcorder controls 188 is used to cause transmission of the recorded message.” slip op. at 40
Patent outcomesUS 7,365,871 mixedClaim construction§ 103 obviousnesscites Phillips · KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 7,365,871
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.