- PTAB · Dec 23, 2024 · IPR2024-01060 · APJ Jon M Jurgovan · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted review of all challenged claims on all asserted grounds and granted DIRECTV’s motion to join the DISH IPR.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“We have authority to institute review under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a), which provides that an inter partes review may not be instituted “unless . . . there is a reasonable likelihood that the petitioner would prevail with respect to at least 1 of the claims challenged in the petition.” For the reasons set forth below, we institute an inter partes review of claims 1 and 3 of the ’518 patent and grant Petitioner’s Motion for Joinder.” slip op. at 2
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Joinder §315(c) / SAS all-or-nothingJoinder, grantedGranted
“(2) identify any new grounds of unpatentability asserted in the petition; (3) explain what impact, if any, joinder would have on the trial schedule for the existing review; and (4) address specifically how briefing and discovery may be simplified. See Kyocera Corp. v. Softview LLC, IPR2013-00004, Paper 15 at 4 (PTAB April 24, 2013).” slip op. at 4
NonePatents in suitUS 7,594,249 - PTAB · Dec 23, 2024 · IPR2024-01059 · APJ Jon M Jurgovan · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted IPR on claims 1 and 3 on all petition grounds and joined DIRECTV to the DISH IPR, finding a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on at least one challenged claim.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“For the reasons set forth in the 393 Decision, we determine that Petitioner has demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing with respect to at least one challenged claim of the ’518 patent. Thus, we institute an inter partes review on all grounds and all challenged claims of the ’518 patent set forth in the Petition.” slip op. at 4
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Joinder §315(c) / SAS all-or-nothingJoinder, grantedGranted
“Upon review of Petitioner’s arguments, which were not opposed by Patent Owner, we agree that joinder of this proceeding with the DISH IPR is appropriate. Accordingly, we grant Petitioner’s Motion for Joinder.” slip op. at 5
NonePatents in suitUS 7,295,518 - PTAB · May 9, 2024 · IPR2024-00158 · APJ William V Saindon · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted review of claims 1–4, 7–14, 16, 17, 21, and 22 on all asserted grounds, finding a reasonable likelihood that claim 1 is obvious over Pham and Wu, and granted joinder.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“4. Conclusion for Claim 1 Having reviewed the Petition and Preliminary Response, we determine that Petitioner has a reasonable likelihood of success in showing that the subject matter of claim 1 would have been obvious in view of Pham and Wu. E. Conclusion on the Merits of the Petition We have found that the Petition warrants institution based on Petitioner’s showings for claim 1. We have reviewed Patent Owner’s arguments about the other grounds, but they largely rely on the earlier unpersuasive arguments for claim 1. On whole, we determine that Petitioner has shown that the Petition warrants institution.” slip op. at 18
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Joinder §315(c) / SAS all-or-nothingJoinder, grantedGranted
“FURTHER ORDERED that the Motion for Joinder with IPR2023- 00703 is granted, and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. and Fortinet, Inc. are joined as a party in IPR2023-00703;” slip op. at 27
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › Fintiv (parallel litigation)Decided for petitioner
“based on the related district court matters identified above. Opp. Mot. Join 4–12. Our analysis under Fintiv is guided by the USPTO Director’s Memorandum issued on June 21, 2022, titled “Interim Procedure for Discretionary Denials in AIA Post Grant Proceedings with Parallel District Court Litigation” (“Director’s Memo”). Pursuant to the Director’s Memo, we “will not discretionarily deny institution . . . where a petitioner presents a [Sotera] stipulation.” Director’s Memo at 3. Because Petitioner has offered a stipulation like in Sotera, i.e., to “not pursue in the copending district court litigation the specific ground asserted in the petition, or any other ground that was raised or could have been reasonably raised in an IPR (i.e., grounds that could have been raised under §§ 102 or 103 on the basis of prior art patent or printed publications)” (Reply Mot. Join 4–5), we do not discretionarily deny institution under Fintiv.” slip op. at 21
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › General Plastic (serial petitions)Decided for petitioner
“factor one necessarily outweighs the other General Plastic factors.”) (Director Review). Patent Owner focuses its analysis on factor 5 and proposed factor 8. Id. at 13–15. As to factor 5, which looks for an explanation of the time between petition filing, we determine that Petitioner sufficiently explained the time between Cisco’s petition and its own when it noted that it merely filed its petition and request for joinder when the statute permitted it. Reply Mot. Join 6 (citing 37 C.F.R. § 42.122(b)). In particular, the statute requires the earlier petition to be instituted before joining a party. 35 U.S.C. § 315(c) (requiring joinder to be to instituted proceedings). Thus, the time elapsed between filings is motivated by the statutory and regulatory procedures. See also 37 C.F.R. § 42.122(b) (requiring the joinder motion to be filed “no later than one month after the institution date of any inter partes review for which joinder is requested”). As to proposed factor 8, we agree with Petitioner that the present situation does not apply. Reply Mot. Join. 6–7; see also Shenzhen, IPR2018-00761, Paper 15, 18–19 (Saindon, concurring) (“There are legitimate reasons why a petition may be filed after [a decision on institution)].”). Proposed factor 8 analyzes situations where a second petitioner strategically waits to file its petition to see what happens to an earlier filed petition. Shenzhen, IPR2018-00898, Paper 9 at 7. If both of the petitioners were sued at or around the same time, but one waits until the other goes first, it can lead to an inference that the delay in filing a different petition was to gain an unfair advantage. Id. at 14 (looking with disfavor on a wait-and-see strategy to use the first petition as a “test case”). That is not the case here, where the second petition is a copycat petition. The Petition here cannot be said to have been filed second in order to glean knowledge from the first petition because it is the same petition. Thus, we do not see this Petition as being a strategic attempt to use Cisco’s petition as a “test case,” and do not consider factor 8 to weigh toward denial. Finally, reviewing factor 6, we do not find that granting Petitioner’s motion to join would cause an undue burden on the Board. Petitioner is serving as an “understudy” and thus, from our perspective, Petitioner’s presence does not change the existing Cisco IPR. Patent Owner argues that if Cisco were to settle then Petitioner would continue the proceeding. Opp. Mot. Join. 15. We do not see this as an undue burden in this situation. Petitioner’s Motion for Joinder serves to lessen our burden (as well as Patent Owner’s) compared to the scenario of it filing its own unique petition. We do not see the present case as similar to the Apple case, in which a copycat joinder petition was denied. See Apple, IPR2020-00854, Paper 9. That case, in our view, turned on the fact that the petitioner had already filed a petition that was denied on the merits. See id. at 4 (“In effect, it would be as if [the petitioner] had brought the second challenge to the patent in the first instance,” and labeling this a “serial attack.”). The situation here is not analogous to the Apple case because this is Petitioner’s only petition against the ’436 patent. The Petition is not a “serial attack” on the ’436 patent, it is merely Petitioner’s statutorily required vehicle to join as a party to an existing petition. Accordingly, we do not find factor 6 to weigh towards denial. Reviewing the General Plastic factors as a whole, including proposed factor 8, we find no factors to weigh toward denial and decline to exercise our discretion to deny institution.” slip op. at 24
Claim construction§ 103 obviousnessDiscretionary denialcites KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 8,566,612 - PTAB · May 9, 2024 · IPR2024-00099 · APJ William V Saindon · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted review of claims 1–4, 7–14, 16, 17, 21, and 22 on all asserted grounds and granted joinder to IPR2023-00673.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“review under 35 U.S.C. § 314(b) and 37 C.F.R. § 42.4(a). The standard for instituting an inter partes review is set forth in 35 U.S.C. § 314(a), which provides that an inter partes review may not be instituted unless “there is a reasonable likelihood that the petitioner would prevail with respect to at least 1 of the claims challenged in the petition.” For the reasons provided below, we determine that Petitioner has satisfied the threshold requirement set forth in 35 U.S.C. § 314(a). Because Petitioner has demonstrated a reasonable likelihood that at least one claim of the ’436 patent is unpatentable, we institute an inter partes review. 37 C.F.R. § 42.108(a) (2023).” slip op. at 2
- Obviousness (§103) › Graham factors (scope of art, differences, level of skill)Instituted
“compressed, or use security protocols, then the packets transit the packet engine. Pet. 41–42 (citing Ex. 1004 ¶¶ 49, 51, 53). Patent Owner argues that only the SA parameter association task in Pham may be offloaded. Prelim. Resp. 26–27 (citing Ex. 1004 ¶¶ 38, 51). Patent Owner’s argument here implies that the filtering function remains at the ingress processor and that some packets will be filtered and never reach the packet engine. See id. (citing, e.g., Ex. 1004 ¶ 38); Ex. 1004 ¶ 38 (“In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the ingress processors 30, 34 are tasked with filtering and routing functions . . . .”). The statement Patent Owner relies on is not in the same section as the one Petitioner relies on. In other words, it does not appear on this record that we can limit the disclosure of paragraph 51 based on the statements in paragraph 38. On this record, we are not persuaded that only the SA parameter association task can be offloaded. As Pham notes, tasks can be moved between processors to perform load balancing. Ex. 1004 ¶ 54. We see no disclosure that prevents certain tasks from being load balanced or otherwise tasked to the security processor.” slip op. at 16
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successMotivation foundInstituted
“find them persuasive on this record. Id. at 32–33. At a high level, Patent Owner’s arguments are that Petitioner’s modification to Pham would “increase[] complexity and resources.” Id. at 33. On this record, this argument is unpersuasive because even if the addition of Wu’s intrusion detection system was somehow more complex, the reason to combine it is to gain certain beneficial features. See, e.g., Pet. 30–31. Patent Owner’s arguments do not show that the alleged increase in complexity would somehow dissuade a person of ordinary skill in the art from including these beneficial features. See, e.g., Allied Erecting & Dismantling Co. v. Genesis Attachments, LLC, 825 F.3d 1373, 1381 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (“[a] given course of action often has simultaneous advantages and disadvantages, and this does not necessarily obviate motivation to combine”) (alteration in original); Medichem, S.A. v. Rolabo, S.L., 437 F.3d 1157, 1165 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (“a given course of action often has simultaneous advantages and disadvantages, and this does not necessarily obviate motivation to combine”).” slip op. at 17
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › Fintiv (parallel litigation)Decided for petitioner
“based on the related district court matters identified above. Opp. Mot. Join 4–12. Our analysis under Fintiv is guided by the USPTO Director’s Memorandum issued on June 21, 2022, titled “Interim Procedure for Discretionary Denials in AIA Post Grant Proceedings with Parallel District Court Litigation” (“Director’s Memo”). Pursuant to the Director’s Memo, we “will not discretionarily deny institution . . . where a petitioner presents a [Sotera] stipulation.” Director’s Memo at 3. Because Petitioner has offered a stipulation like in Sotera, i.e., to “not pursue in the copending district court litigation the specific ground asserted in the petition, or any other ground that was raised or could have been reasonably raised in an IPR (i.e., grounds that could have been raised under §§ 102 or 103 on the basis of prior art patent or printed publications)” (Reply Mot. Join 4–5), we do not discretionarily deny institution under Fintiv.” slip op. at 21
Claim construction§ 103 obviousnessDiscretionary denialcites KSR · GrahamPatents in suitUS 7,685,436 - Ebay, Inc. v. Lexos Media IP, LLCInstitutedPTAB · Feb 23, 2024 · IPR2024-00337 · APJ Sharon Fenick · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted IPR on claims 1, 38, and 53 on all petitioned grounds and joined eBay to IPR2023-01001, subject to participation limits.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“partes review. See 35 U.S.C. § 314(b); 37 C.F.R. § 42.4(a) (2020). Under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a), an inter partes review may not be authorized unless the information in the Petition and any preliminary response “shows that there is a reasonable likelihood that the petitioner would prevail with respect to at least 1 of the claims challenged in the petition.” For the reasons that follow, we institute an inter partes review as to the challenged claims of the ’449 patent on all grounds of unpatentability presented. We also grant Petitioner’s Motion.” slip op. at 3
- PTAB / AIA Trials › §315(b) time barNot time barredDecided for petitioner
“Patent Owner argues that Petitioner is time-barred from seeking inter partes review of the ’449 patent and is “improperly using the joinder procedure in an attempt to circumvent” the one-year time bar set forth in 35 U.S.C. § 315(b). Opp. 1, 7–8. However, Patent Owner does not persuasively explain, and we do not discern, how filing a petition with a request for joinder properly under 37 C.F.R. § 42.122(b) is an improper use of the joinder procedure to circumvent the one-year time bar. 37 C.F.R. § 42.122(b) (providing that joinder must be filed no later than one month after the institution date of the inter partes review for which joinder is requested and that the one-year time bar (§ 42.101(b)) “shall not apply when the petition is accompanied by a request for joinder.”)” slip op. at 13
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Joinder §315(c) / SAS all-or-nothingJoinder, grantedGranted
“whether to ‘join as a party’ the joinder applicant,” who is the Petitioner in this proceeding. Id. Petitioner timely filed its Motion for Joinder on December 20, 2023 (i.e., within one month after the institution of the 01001 IPR on December 12, 2023). See Mot.; 01001 IPR, Paper 9; 37 C.F.R. § 42.122(b). As moving party, Petitioner bears the burden of proving that it is entitled to the requested relief. 37 C.F.R. § 42.20(c). In deciding whether to join a case, we consider (1) the reasons why joinder is appropriate, (2) whether the petition raises any new grounds of unpatentability, (3) any impact that joinder would have on the cost and trial schedule for the existing review, and (4) whether joinder will add to the complexity of briefing or discovery. Kyocera Corp. v. Softview LLC, IPR2013-00004, Paper 15, 4 (PTAB Apr. 24, 2013); Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Consolidated Trial Practice Guide, 76 (Nov. 2019), https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/ documents/tpgnov.pdf.” slip op. at 11
NonePatents in suitUS 6,118,449 - Ebay, Inc. v. Lexos Media IP, LLCInstitutedPTAB · Feb 23, 2024 · IPR2024-00336 · APJ Sharon Fenick · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted IPR on claim 72 under all three asserted obviousness grounds and granted eBay’s motion to join IPR2023-01000.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“partes review. See 35 U.S.C. § 314(b); 37 C.F.R. § 42.4(a) (2020). Under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a), an inter partes review may not be authorized unless the information in the Petition and any preliminary response “shows that there is a reasonable likelihood that the petitioner would prevail with respect to at least 1 of the claims challenged in the petition.” For the reasons that follow, we institute an inter partes review as to the challenged claims of the ’102 patent on all grounds of unpatentability presented. We also grant Petitioner’s Motion.” slip op. at 3
- Obviousness (§103) › Motivation to combine / reasonable expectation of successNot reached
“Owner argues that Nielsen relies on the HTML protocol and modifications would require changes to the HTML protocol to provide tooltips that appear as part of a cursor, but that Petitioner did not adequately address the real possibility of such a change. PO Prelim. Resp. 22–24. Patent Owner additionally argues that there would not have been a motivation to make changes to Nielsen, because, in Nielsen, the tooltip is not “indiscriminately and automatically displayed in response to cursor movement” but rather is displayed only after cessation of movement over a part of the display with an associated tooltip. Id. at 24 (emphasis removed). These arguments are similar to those made in the preliminary response in the 01000 IPR. See 01000 IPR, Paper 8, 57–59. In the institution decision in the 01000 IPR, we did not determine whether a likelihood of success had been shown for the Nielsen and Malamud ground, but provided initial views for the benefit of the parties, which are applicable in this proceeding as well. 01000 IPR, Paper 10, 33–35. As discussed above, we have made the decision to institute on other grounds, and we note that our institution is necessarily on all grounds in the Petition. See SAS Inst., Inc. v. Iancu, 138 S. Ct. 1348, 1359–60 (2018); 37 C.F.R. § 42.108(a) (“When instituting ... review, the Board will authorize the review to proceed on all of the challenged claims and on all grounds of unpatentability asserted for each claim.”).” slip op. at 9
- PTAB / AIA Trials › §315(b) time barNot time barredDecided for petitioner
“Patent Owner argues that Petitioner is time-barred from seeking inter partes review of the ’102 patent and is “improperly using the joinder procedure in an attempt to circumvent” the one-year time bar set forth in 35 U.S.C. § 315(b). Opp. 1, 7–8. However, Patent Owner does not persuasively explain, and we do not discern, how filing a petition with a request for joinder properly under 37 C.F.R. § 42.122(b) is an improper use of the joinder procedure to circumvent the one-year time bar. 37 C.F.R. § 42.122(b) (providing that joinder must be filed no later than one month after the institution date of the inter partes review for which joinder is requested and that the one-year time bar (§ 42.101(b)) “shall not apply when the petition is accompanied by a request for joinder.”)” slip op. at 12
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Joinder §315(c) / SAS all-or-nothingJoinder, grantedGranted
“whether to ‘join as a party’ the joinder applicant,” who is the Petitioner in this proceeding. Id. Petitioner timely filed its Motion for Joinder on December 20, 2023 (i.e., within one month after the institution of the 01000 IPR on December 12, 2023). See Mot.; 01000 IPR, Paper 9; 37 C.F.R. § 42.122(b). As moving party, Petitioner bears the burden of proving that it is entitled to the requested relief. 37 C.F.R. § 42.20(c). In deciding whether to join a case, we consider (1) the reasons why joinder is appropriate, (2) whether the petition raises any new grounds of unpatentability, (3) any impact that joinder would have on the cost and trial schedule for the existing review, and (4) whether joinder will add to the complexity of briefing or discovery. Kyocera Corp. v. Softview LLC, IPR2013-00004, Paper 15,4 (PTAB Apr. 24, 2013); Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Consolidated Trial Practice Guide, 76 (Nov. 2019), https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/ documents/tpgnov.pdf. The Petition (1) is substantially identical to the 01000 IPR petition, (2) contains the same grounds based on the same evidence, and (3) relies on the same declaration of Dr. Craig Rosenberg. (Ex. 1003). Mot. 1, 6–9 & n.1. Petitioner represents that joinder will not impact the 01000 IPR schedule. Id. at 4; Reply 5. Petitioner also represents that it “will accept an “understudy” role unless and until [the 01000 petitioner] is terminated from the proceeding.” Mot. 4, 9–10. Petitioner represents that in its understudy role, it agrees that the following conditions will apply: (a) all filings by Petitioner in the joined proceeding be consolidated with the filings of the petitioner in the 01000 IPR, unless a filing solely concerns issues that do not involve the petitioner in the 01000 IPR; (b) Petitioner shall not be permitted” slip op. at 11
§ 103 obviousnessDiscretionary denialPatents in suitUS 5,995,102 - PTAB · Jan 10, 2024 · IPR2023-01197 · APJ Jeffrey S Smith · IPR · Institution
Instituted review of claims 1–8 on all petition grounds and joined Amazon to the Apple IPR, finding a reasonable likelihood of unpatentability and no basis for discretionary denial.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › Fintiv (parallel litigation)Institution denied discretionary otherDecided for petitioner
“deny institution in the absence of a Sotera stipulation from Amazon. First, we find no unfairness or prejudice in the fact that Apple has submitted a Sotera stipulation but Amazon has not. In this proceeding, Fintiv factors 1– 5, as a whole, weigh heavily against discretionary denial even without Amazon offering a Sotera stipulation and without any showing of compelling merits. Most significantly, the Board will be deciding the patentability issues raised in the Petition well before the scheduled trial date in the parallel district court proceeding. Thus, even if Amazon had submitted a Sotera stipulation, this would not change our decision to institute an inter partes review and join this case to the Apple IPR. Although a petitioner has the option to submit a Sotera stipulation, no such stipulation is required where the Fintiv factors as a whole do not otherwise weigh in favor of discretionary denial. For the above reasons, we determine that the efficiency and integrity of the patent system are best served by instituting inter partes review, and we decline to deny institution discretionarily under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a).” slip op. at 11
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“Because the issues presented in Amazon’s Petition are identical to those in the Apple IPR, we determine for the same reasons that there is a reasonable likelihood that Amazon would prevail in showing that at least one of claims 1–8 is unpatentable under the grounds of the Petition. Therefore, we institute inter partes review for the same reasons stated in our Decision on Institution in the Apple IPR. See IPR2023-00037, Paper 10.” slip op. at 12
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Joinder §315(c) / SAS all-or-nothingJoinder, grantedGranted
“discretion, when warranted, to join as a party to an instituted inter partes review any other party who properly files a petition, after the patent owner has had the opportunity to file a preliminary response. 35 U.S.C. § 315(c). As the moving party, Amazon bears the burden of proving that it is entitled to the requested joinder. See 37 C.F.R. § 42.20(c). In deciding whether to join a case, we consider (1) the reasons why joinder is appropriate, (2) whether the petition raises any new grounds of unpatentability, (3) any impact that joinder would have on the cost and trial schedule for the existing review, and (4) whether joinder will add to the complexity of briefing or discovery. Kyocera Corp. v. Softview LLC, IPR2013-00004, Paper 15 at 4 (PTAB Apr. 24, 2013); Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Consolidated Trial Practice Guide, 76 (Nov. 2019), https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/ documents/tpgnov.pdf. According to Amazon, its “Petition is intentionally identical in substance to the Apple Petition.” Mot. 2; see also Mot. 4. Amazon also argues that the schedule of the joined cases “would be unaffected, no additional briefing or discovery would be required, and no additional burdens would be placed on [Zentian].” Mot. 3; see also Mot. 4. Further, Amazon “agree[s] to take an ‘understudy’ role as long as Apple remains a party to the Apple IPR,” and that it “will not make any substantive filings and shall be bound by the filings of Apple,” and will not pursue its own arguments, evidence, or discovery unless the matter of termination or settlement arises or there are issues involving only Amazon. Mot. 5–6. Thus, according to Amazon, Zentian would not suffer prejudice if the two proceedings are joined. Mot. 6. Apart from its arguments discussed above in the context of discretionary denial, Zentian does not dispute the above contentions by Amazon and does not point to any particular prejudice relating to joining the two proceedings. In light of these considerations, Amazon has shown that joinder to the Apple IPR is appropriate in this case. Therefore, we grant Amazon’s Motion for Joinder.” slip op. at 12
Discretionary denialPatents in suitUS 10,971,140 - PTAB · Jan 10, 2024 · IPR2023-01194 · APJ Kevin F Turner · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted review of claims 1–6 on all petition grounds and granted Amazon Web Services, Inc. and Amazon.com Services LLC’s motion to join the Apple IPR.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › Fintiv (parallel litigation)Decided for petitioner
“to Patent Owner, trial is scheduled for September 23, 2024. Opp. 1. However, a final written decision in the instituted Apple IPR (and in the combined proceeding after joinder) will be due on June 12, 2024, more than three months before the trial date in district court. Thus, factor 2 weighs heavily against discretionary denial. The other factors do not outweigh factor 2. As to factor 1, there is no evidence as to whether there will be a stay in the parallel case, so we regard this factor as neutral. As to factor 3, there has been some preliminary activity in the parallel case, but overall, the proceeding is in its early stages, so we do not regard this factor as weighing substantially in favor of discretionary denial. As to factor 4, the district court may ultimately consider Jiang, Nguyen, and Smyth, cited in the invalidity contentions (Ex. 2001, 24), but not Boike and Baumgartner, and not necessarily in the same combinations as asserted in the Petition. See Ex. 2001, 20–26. As such, factor 4 weighs somewhat but not heavily in favor of discretionary denial. As to factor 5, the parties in the parallel proceeding are not different from the parties here, so we regard this factor as neutral.” slip op. at 6
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“Because the issues presented in the instant Petition are identical to those in the Apple IPR, we determine for the same reasons that there is a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner would prevail in showing that at least one of claims 1–6 of the ’377 Patent is unpatentable under the grounds of the Petition. Therefore, we institute inter partes review for the same reasons stated in our Decision on Institution in the Apple IPR. See IPR2023-00035, Paper 10.” slip op. at 9
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Joinder §315(c) / SAS all-or-nothingJoinder, grantedGranted
“appropriate; (2) identify any new grounds of unpatentability asserted in the petition; (3) explain what impact (if any) joinder would have on the trial schedule for the existing review; and (4) address specifically how briefing and discovery may be simplified. See Kyocera Corp. v. Softview LLC, Case IPR2013-00004, 4 (PTAB Apr. 24, 2013) (Paper 15); Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Consolidated Trial Practice Guide, 76 (Nov. 2019), https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/tpgnov.pdf. Petitioner’s Motion addresses each of these considerations. Mot. 1–6.” slip op. at 10
Discretionary denialPatents in suitUS 10,062,377 - PTAB · Jan 10, 2024 · IPR2023-01195 · APJ Jeffrey S Smith · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted review of claims 1, 2, 4, 6–14, 16–18, 20–29, 35, 37–39, and 42–45 on all petition grounds and granted Amazon’s motion for joinder.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › Fintiv (parallel litigation)Denied
“in the parallel case) most significant under these circumstances. According to Zentian, trial is scheduled for September 23, 2024. Prelim. Resp. 1. However, a final written decision in the instituted Apple IPR (and in the combined proceeding after joinder) will be due on June 12, 2024, more than three months before the trial date in district court. Thus, factor 2 weighs heavily against discretionary denial.” slip op. at 9
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“Director of the USPTO, we may institute an inter partes review when “the information presented in the petition . . . and any response . . . shows that there is a reasonable likelihood that the petitioner would prevail with respect to at least 1 of the claims challenged in the petition.” 35 U.S.C. § 314(a); see also 37 C.F.R. § 42.108(c) (2023). Applying that standard, we institute an inter partes review of all the challenged claims of the ’789 patent for the reasons explained below. This is a preliminary decision, and we will base our final written decision on the full trial record. We also grant Amazon’s Motion for Joinder.” slip op. at 2
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Joinder §315(c) / SAS all-or-nothingJoinder, grantedGranted
“As the moving party, Amazon bears the burden of proving that it is entitled to the requested joinder. See 37 C.F.R. § 42.20(c). In deciding whether to join a case, we consider (1) the reasons why joinder is appropriate, (2) whether the petition raises any new grounds of unpatentability, (3) any impact that joinder would have on the cost and trial schedule for the existing review, and (4) whether joinder will add to the complexity of briefing or discovery. Kyocera Corp. v. Softview LLC, IPR2013-00004, Paper 15 at 4 (PTAB Apr. 24, 2013); Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Consolidated Trial Practice Guide, 76 (Nov. 2019), https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/ documents/tpgnov.pdf.” slip op. at 13
Discretionary denialPatents in suitUS 10,839,789 - PTAB · Jan 10, 2024 · IPR2023-01193 · APJ Christopher L Ogden · IPR · Institution
The Board instituted review of claims 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, and 14–16 on all petition grounds and joined Amazon to the Apple IPR.
RulingsInstitution decision- PTAB / AIA Trials › Discretionary denial › Fintiv (parallel litigation)Decided for petitioner
“in the parallel case) most significant under these circumstances. According to Zentian, trial is scheduled for September 23, 2024. Prelim. Resp. 1. However, a final written decision in the instituted Apple IPR (and in the combined proceeding after joinder) will be due on June 12, 2024, more than three months before the trial date in district court. Thus, factor 2 weighs heavily against discretionary denial. The other factors do not outweigh the second factor. As to factor 1, there is no evidence as to whether there will be a stay in the parallel case, so we regard this factor as neutral. As to factor 3, there has been some preliminary activity in the parallel case, but overall, the proceeding is in its early stages, so we do not regard this factor as weighing substantially in favor of discretionary denial. As to factor 4, the district court may ultimately consider Jiang, Baumgartner, Smyth, and Brown, but not necessarily in the same combinations as asserted in the Petition. See Ex. 2001, 8–10. So factor 4 weighs in favor of discretionary denial, but not so much as to outweigh factor 2. As to factor 5, the parties in the parallel proceeding are not different from the parties here, so we regard this factor as neutral.” slip op. at 10
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Institution threshold (reasonable likelihood / more likely than not)InstitutedInstituted
“claims and all asserted grounds of unpatentability. IPR2023-00034, Paper 10. Amazon’s Petition challenges the same claims and asserts the same grounds of unpatentability as those on which we instituted the Apple IPR, relying on substantially the same testimonial evidence. See Mot. 2 (“The Instant Petition is intentionally identical in substance to the Apple Petition.”); Ex. 1062 ¶ 26 (adopting the opinions set forth in the declaration of Christopher Schmandt (Ex. 1003) that Apple relied on in Apple IPR). Because the issues presented in Amazon’s Petition are identical to those in the Apple IPR, we determine for the same reasons that there is a reasonable likelihood that Amazon would prevail in showing that at least one of claims 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, and 14–16 is unpatentable under the grounds of the Petition. Therefore, we institute inter partes review for the same reasons stated in our Decision on Institution in the Apple IPR. See IPR2023- 00034, Paper 10.” slip op. at 13
- PTAB / AIA Trials › Joinder §315(c) / SAS all-or-nothingJoinder, grantedGranted
“discretion, when warranted, to join as a party to an instituted inter partes review any other party who properly files a petition, after the patent owner has had the opportunity to file a preliminary response. 35 U.S.C. § 315(c). As the moving party, Amazon bears the burden of proving that it is entitled to the requested joinder. See 37 C.F.R. § 42.20(c). In deciding whether to join a case, we consider (1) the reasons why joinder is appropriate, (2) whether the petition raises any new grounds of unpatentability, (3) any impact that joinder would have on the cost and trial schedule for the existing review, and (4) whether joinder will add to the complexity of briefing or discovery. Kyocera Corp. v. Softview LLC, IPR2013-00004, Paper 15 at 4 (PTAB Apr. 24, 2013); Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Consolidated Trial Practice Guide, 76 (Nov. 2019), https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/ documents/tpgnov.pdf.” slip op. at 14
Discretionary denialPatents in suitUS 7,979,277
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.