`571-272-7822
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
` Paper 11
`
` Date: December 31, 2013
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`
`TRULIA, INC.
`Petitioner
`
`v.
`
`ZILLOW, INC.
`Patent Owner
`
`
`Case CBM2013-00056
`Patent 7,970,674
`
`
`Before JAMESON LEE and MICHAEL W. KIM, Administrative Patent Judges.
`
`LEE, Administrative Patent Judge.
`
`
`
`DECISION
`Patent Owner’s Motion for
`Pro Hac Vice Admission of Ramsey M. Al-Salam
`37 C.F.R. § 42.10
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case CBM2013-00056
`Patent 7,970,674
`
`
`Introduction
`
`On October 14, 2013, the Patent Owner (“Zillow”) filed a motion for pro
`hac vice admission of Ramsey M. Al-Salam, under 37 C.F.R. § 42.10. Petitioner
`(“Trulia”) has filed no opposition. We note that in co-pending proceeding
`involving the same Patent 7,970,674, Case IPR2013-00034, Mr. Al-Salam was
`granted pro hac vice admission on January 3, 2013 (Paper 15) and is now backup
`counsel in that proceeding.
`
`Discussion
`The motion is supported by the affidavit of Ramsey M. Al-Salam. Mr. Al-
`
`Salam states that he has not been suspended or disbarred from practice before any
`court or administrative body, that he has never had an application for admission to
`practice before any court or administrative body denied, and that no sanction or
`contempt citation has been imposed against him by any court or administrative
`body. Affidavit ¶¶ 2-4.
`
`Mr. Al-Salam further states that he has read and will comply with the Office
`Trial Practice Guide and the Board’s Rules of Practice for Trials set forth in part 42
`of the Code of Federal Regulations, and that he will be subject to the USPTO Code
`of Professional responsibility set forth in 37 C.F.R. §§ 10.20 et seq. and
`disciplinary jurisdiction under 37 C.F.R. § 11.19(a). Affidavit ¶¶ 5-6.
`
`Zillow represents that Mr. Al-Salam has advised Zillow on various patent
`issues and has appeared as lead counsel for Zillow in at least five district court
`patent suits. According to Zillow, Mr. Al-Salam is knowledgeable about the
`technology to which this proceeding relates. Zillow notes that Mr. Al-Salam
`
`
`
`
`-2-
`
`
`
`Case CBM2013-00056
`Patent 7,970,674
`
`already has been admitted pro hac vice in Case IPR2013-00034, which involves
`the same Patent 7,970,674.
`
`We have also reviewed a copy of Mr. Al-Salam’s biography submitted with
`his affidavit as Exhibit A.
`
`Zillow has shown that Mr. Al-Salam has sufficient qualifications to
`represent Zillow in this proceeding. Zillow also has shown that it has a need for
`Mr. Al-Salam to be involved in this proceeding. On this record, Zillow has
`established good cause for admission of Mr. Al-Salam, pro hac vice, but for an
`apparent oversight that ¶ 6 of Mr. Al-Salam’s affidavit refers to the USPTO’s Code
`of Professional Responsibility, rather than the USPTO’s Rules of Professional
`Conduct. The USPTO’s Code of Professional Responsibility has been replaced by
`the USPTO’s Rules of Professional Conduct. See Changes to Representation of
`Others Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office; Final Rule, 78 Fed.
`Reg. 20180 (Apr. 3, 2013). The USPTO’s Rules of Professional Conduct took
`effect on May 3, 2013. Id. at 20180-81.
`Conclusion
`This decision is made on the presumption that Mr. Al-Salam agrees to be
`
`subject to the USPTO’s Rules of Professional Conduct.
`
`It is
`ORDERED that Zillow’s motion for pro hac vice admission of Ramsey M.
`
`Al-Salam for this proceeding is conditionally granted, provided that within one
`week of the date of posting of this decision, Zillow files a declaration or affidavit
`of Mr. Al-Salam, which states that Mr. Al-Salam agrees to be subject to the
`
`
`
`
`-3-
`
`
`
`Case CBM2013-00056
`Patent 7,970,674
`
`USPTO’s Rules of Professional Conduct as set forth in 37 C.F.R. §§ 11.101 et
`seq.;
`FURTHER ORDERED that if the above-noted declaration or affidavit
`
`statement is timely filed, Mr. Al-Salam is authorized to be designated as backup
`counsel, but not lead counsel, in this proceeding;
`
`FURTHER ORDERED that Mr. Al-Salam will comply with the Office
`Patent Trial Practice Guide, and the Board’s Rules of Practice for Trials as set forth
`in Part 42 of Title 37, Code of Federal Regulations; and
`
`FURTHER ORDERED that Mr. Al-Salam will be subject to the Office’s
`disciplinary jurisdiction under 37 C.F.R. § 11.19(a), and comply with the USPTO’s
`Rules of Professional Conduct as set forth in 37 C.F.R. §§ 11.101 et seq.
`
`
`
`For PETITIONER
`Michael Rosato
`Jennifer Schmidt
`mrosato@wsgr.com
`jschmidt@wsgr.com
`
`For PATENT OWNER
`
`Steven D. Lawrenz
`Ryan J. McBrayer
`PERKINS COIE, LLP
`slawrenz@perkinscoie.com
`rmcBrayer@perkinscoie.com
`
`
`
`
`-4-
`
`
Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.
After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.
Accept $ Charge
Still Working On It
This document is taking longer than usual to download. This can happen if we need to contact the court directly to obtain the document and their servers are running slowly.
Give it another minute or two to complete, and then try the refresh button.
A few More Minutes ... Still Working
It can take up to 5 minutes for us to download a document if the court servers are running slowly.
Thank you for your continued patience.
This document could not be displayed.
We could not find this document within its docket. Please go back to the docket page and check the link. If that does not work, go back to the docket and refresh it to pull the newest information.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
You need a Paid Account to view this document. Click here to change your account type.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
Set your membership
status to view this document.
With a Docket Alarm membership, you'll
get a whole lot more, including:
- Up-to-date information for this case.
- Email alerts whenever there is an update.
- Full text search for other cases.
- Get email alerts whenever a new case matches your search.
One Moment Please
The filing “” is large (MB) and is being downloaded.
Please refresh this page in a few minutes to see if the filing has been downloaded. The filing will also be emailed to you when the download completes.
Your document is on its way!
If you do not receive the document in five minutes, contact support at support@docketalarm.com.
Sealed Document
We are unable to display this document, it may be under a court ordered seal.
If you have proper credentials to access the file, you may proceed directly to the court's system using your government issued username and password.
Access Government Site
