throbber
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`________________________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`________________________
`
`GOOGLE INC.,
`
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`SMARTFLASH LLC,
`
`Patent Owner.
`
`________________________
`Case CBM2015-00126
`Patent 8,118,221 B2
`________________________
`
`PATENT OWNER’S MOTION TO EXCLUDE EVIDENCE
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`
`

`

`
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`
`Statement of Precise Relief Requested ............................................................ 1
`I.
`Patent Owner Smartflash Timely Objected to Petitioner’s Exhibits ............... 1
`II.
`III. Argument ......................................................................................................... 1
`A.
`Exhibit 1002 Lacks Foundation, is Unreliable, and Relies on
`Irrelevant Exhibits ................................................................................. 1
`Exhibits 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1014, 1022, 1023, and
`1024 are Not Alleged to be Invalidating Prior Art and thus are
`Irrelevant ............................................................................................... 8
`Exhibit 1015 is Irrelevant, Inadmissible Other Evidence of the
`Content of a Writing, and Cumulative ................................................ 11
`IV. Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 13
`
`
`B.
`
`C.
`
`i

`
`

`


`
`I.
`
`Statement of Precise Relief Requested
`
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §§ 42.62 and 42.64(c), Patent Owner Smartflash LLC
`
`moves to exclude Exhibits 1002, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1014, 1015
`
`1022, 1023, and 1024.
`
`II.
`
`Patent Owner Smartflash Timely Objected to Petitioner’s Exhibits
`
`Patent Owner Smartflash LLC timely objected to CBM2015-00126 Exhibits
`
`1002, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1014, 1015 1022, 1023, and 1024 by
`
`filing Patent Owner’s Objections to Admissibility of Evidence. Paper 10.
`
`III. Argument
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.64(c), the Federal Rules of Evidence apply in
`
`Covered Business Method Review (“CBM”) proceedings.
`
`A. Exhibit 1002 Lacks Foundation, is Unreliable, and Relies on
`Irrelevant Exhibits
`
`Patent Owner moves to exclude Exhibit 1002, Declaration of Dr. Justin
`
`Douglas Tygar Regarding the ’221 Patent (“Tygar Declaration”), in its entirety as
`
`the Tygar Declaration does not demonstrate that Dr. Tygar is an expert whose
`
`testimony is relevant to the issue of patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101, the
`
`only issue on which this CBM was instituted. Whether claims are directed to
`
`statutory subject matter is “an issue of law.” Institution Decision, CBM2015-
`
`00129, Paper 8, page 18. When asked if he intended any of his opinions in this
`
`matter to be considered legal opinions, Dr. Tygar responded “absolutely not.”
`

`
`1
`
`

`


`
`Exhibit 2105, Tygar Deposition at 7:4-7. Thus, Dr. Tygar’s opinions on whether
`
`claims of the ‘221 Patent are directed to statutory subject matter, a question of law,
`
`are irrelevant, and his Declaration should be excluded.
`
`Moreover, given that patent eligibility under § 101 is a purely legal issue,
`
`opinions such as those rendered by Dr. Tygar on the ultimate question of patent
`
`eligibility in ¶¶ 54-67 of his declaration constitute testimony on United States
`
`patent law or patent examination practice. Such testimony is inadmissible under
`
`37 C.F.R. § 42.65 (“testimony on United States patent law or patent examination
`
`practice will not be admitted”).
`
`Further, Dr. Tygar has not shown that his opinions are proper expert
`
`opinions upon which the PTAB can rely. There is no assurance that Dr. Tygar’s
`
`methodologies used to render his opinions in this case are reliable as required by
`
`FRE 702. In Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 113 S.Ct. 2786, 509
`
`U.S. 579 (1993), the Supreme Court set forth standards for the admissibility of
`
`expert testimony. The Supreme Court noted that:
`
`Faced with a proffer of expert scientific testimony … the
`trial judge must determine at the outset, pursuant to Rule
`104(a), whether the expert is proposing to testify to (1)
`scientific knowledge that (2) will assist the trier of fact to
`understand or determine a fact in issue. This entails a
`preliminary assessment of whether the reasoning or
`methodology underlying the testimony is scientifically
`2
`

`
`

`


`
`valid and of whether that reasoning or methodology
`properly can be applied to the facts in issue. We are
`confident that federal judges possess the capacity to
`undertake this review. Many factors will bear on the
`inquiry, and we do not presume to set out a definitive
`checklist or test. But some general observations are
`appropriate. Ordinarily, a key question to be answered
`in determining whether a theory or technique is
`scientific knowledge that will assist the trier of fact will
`be whether it can be (and has been) tested.
`
`Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 113 S.Ct. 2786, 2796, 509 U.S.
`
`579, 592-93 (1993) (emphasis added).
`
`Dr. Tygar did not employ any scientifically valid reasoning or methodology
`
`in reaching his opinions. In fact, when asked given what his methodology was,
`
`what his “false-positive rate would be for analyzing patents under 101,” Dr. Tygar
`
`responded that “to measure false-positive, one has to have ground truth, and I am
`
`not aware of any generally accepted ground truth of -- [f]or these sorts of
`
`questions. Courts can differ in their opinion.” Exhibit 2105, Tygar Deposition at
`
`15:5-13. He further testified that “to define false-negative as to define false-
`
`positive, one needs ground truth, and I'm not aware of any generally accepted
`
`ground truth for 101 questions.” Id. at 16:23-17:1. This is an admission that Dr.
`
`Tygar does not know, or cannot apply, the standards for evaluating patent
`

`
`3
`
`

`


`
`eligibility under § 101. Dr. Tygar’s testimony did not employ any scientific
`
`reasoning or methodology, but simply put Dr. Tygar in the position of a tribunal
`
`making the same legal assessment.
`
`Dr. Tygar also did nothing to test the method he used in arriving at his
`
`opinions in this case to ensure that his method was repeatable and reliable. For
`
`example, Dr. Tygar did not test his method against known decisions finding
`
`subject matter either eligible or ineligible under § 101. Dr. Tygar did not read any
`
`Supreme Court opinions in formulating his opinions for this case. Exhibit 2105,
`
`Tygar Deposition at 12:3-18. Nor did he look at any Federal Circuit Court of
`
`Appeals decisions. Id. at 12:19-22. In preparing his declaration in this case, Dr.
`
`Tygar did not look at any patent decisions that found that a computer-implemented
`
`invention was not an abstract idea. Id. at 41:4-8. Nor did Dr. Tygar look at any
`
`guidelines on statutory subject matter issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark
`
`Office. Id. at 41:9-13.
`
`Dr. Tygar did not apply his methodology to any other (i.e., non-Smartflash)
`
`patents as a test of his methodology. Id. at 12:23-13:5. Importantly, Dr. Tygar did
`
`not review any patent that was the subject of a § 101 decision by the Federal
`
`Circuit and use it to test his method. He did not “read a patent that had a [Federal
`
`Circuit] decision without reading the decision, determine for [him]self whether or
`
`not [he] thought that the patent … was an abstract idea or was statutory subject
`

`
`4
`
`

`


`
`matter for some other reason, and then cross-check[] it with what the Federal
`
`Circuit said about the same case.” Id. at 14:15-22. More specifically, Dr. Tygar
`
`“did not apply [his] method … to DDR Holdings.” Id. at 14:23-15:4.
`
`In describing his methodology, Dr. Tygar states that he looked at claim 3 of
`
`the ‘221 Patent and concluded that it was directed to the abstract idea of
`
`controlling access based on payment. Id. at 65:25-67:9. But Dr. Tygar did not
`
`consider any other possible abstract ideas. Id. at 67:10-11. Dr. Tygar did not
`
`consider whether the abstract idea of claim 3 “could have been controlling access
`
`to a data item stored by a data supplier.” Id. at 35:2-8.
`
`Dr. Tygar acknowledged on cross examination a potentially different
`
`“starting point for an abstract idea, but that's not where I started. I started here and
`
`then, having found it was directed to an abstract idea, applied part 2.” Id. at 67:13-
`
`17. Dr. Tygar admitted, however, “You know, it's possible that if I started at
`
`another place, I may or may not have reached a conclusion.” Id. at 67:18-20. Dr.
`
`Tygar’s admission that if he started with a different abstract idea for his analysis he
`
`may not have reached a conclusion that claim 3 is directed to patent ineligible
`
`subject matter should give the Board pause. It shows that how the witness defined
`
`the abstract idea, an arbitrary step in the process, can change the outcome.
`
`Arguably, if Dr. Tygar had defined the abstract idea as merely “controlling access
`
`to a data item stored by a data supplier,” then the claim elements relating to
`

`
`5
`
`

`


`
`payment data and payment validation data could amount to “significantly more.”
`
`For example, Dr. Tygar testified that one could “implement a data access terminal
`
`that retrieves data from a data supplier and provides the retrieved data to the data
`
`carrier that does not read payment data from the data carrier and forward the
`
`payment data to a payment validation system” as required by claim 3 if one
`
`“ma[d]e the material available for free,” to be downloaded. Id. at 36:24-37:6
`
`(emphasis added). In that situation, one could construct a data access terminal
`
`where material could be downloaded without payment, but still “could control the
`
`access using some other method, such as password protection.” Id. at 37:7-14.
`
`Adding “code to read payment data,” “code to receive payment data,” and “code
`
`responsive to payment data” such as required by claim 3 would be significantly
`
`more if the abstract idea was defined differently.
`
`Further, the Tygar Declaration does not disclose the underlying facts on
`
`which Dr. Tygar’s opinions are based and is, therefore, entitled to no weight.
`
`37 CFR § 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.”). More
`
`specifically, the Tygar Declaration does not state the evidentiary weight standard
`
`(e.g., substantial evidence versus preponderance of the evidence) that Dr. Tygar
`
`used in arriving at his conclusions. Given that there is no evidence that Dr. Tygar
`
`even knows how much weight need be relied upon to show that a claim is non-
`

`
`6
`
`

`


`
`statutory (Exhibit 2105, Tygar Deposition at 195:13-196:13; 202:21-204:18), the
`
`PTAB should afford no weight to the testimony and exclude it. To do otherwise
`
`would be to accept his opinions without knowing “the underlying facts ... on which
`
`the opinion is based” (i.e., how much evidence he thinks supports any of his
`
`opinions discussed therein).
`
`Similarly, the Board cannot assess under FRE 702 whether Dr. Tygar’s
`
`opinion testimony is “the product of reliable principles and methods” or if Dr.
`
`Tygar “reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case” given
`
`that Dr. Tygar did not disclose the standard against which he measured the
`
`evidence in arriving at his opinions. For example, when Dr. Tygar “considered
`
`each of the documents cited” in his declaration (Tygar Declaration at ¶ 6) and
`
`opined that “[i]t is my opinion that claim 3 of the ’221 patent is directed to the
`
`abstract idea of controlling access based on payment” (id. at ¶ 56) and “[i]t is my
`
`opinion that claim 3 does not add anything of significance to the underlying
`
`abstract idea of controlling access based on payment” (id. at ¶ 59) are those
`
`opinions based on less than a preponderance of the evidence, or more? Without
`
`Dr. Tygar having disclosed what evidentiary standard he used in forming his
`
`opinions, and given that there is no evidence that he even knew what evidentiary
`
`standard he was supposed to be using, the PTAB cannot rely on his opinions.
`

`
`7
`
`

`


`
`Paragraphs of the Tygar Declaration should be excluded to the extent that
`
`any paragraph relies upon an exhibit that is objected to herein for the reasons set
`
`forth in those objections. Any paragraph in the Tygar Declaration that relies upon
`
`any exhibit not relied upon by the PTAB to institute this proceeding is further
`
`objected to as not being relevant and therefore being inadmissible under FRE 401
`
`and 402.
`
`B. Exhibits 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1014, 1022, 1023, and 1024
`are Not Alleged to be Invalidating Prior Art and thus are Irrelevant
`
`Petitioner cites Exhibits 1004 (PCT Publication No. WO 99/07121)
`
`(“Fetik”), 1005 (U.S. Patent No. 5,790,423)(“Lau”), 1006 (SOFTBOOK PRESS—
`
`Secure Information Delivery to a Distributed Workforce, CIO Magazine, Aug. 1,
`
`1999), 1007 (Kevin Maney, Electronic Books to Hit the Shelves, New Straits
`
`Times (Computimes), Aug. 24, 1998 ), 1008 (Liquid Audio, Music on the Net—A
`
`Topographic Tour of the Online Music World (1997)), 1009 (Liquid Audio Indie
`
`1000 Program, http://www.liquidaudio.com (archived Feb. 11, 1998)), 1014 (A.M.
`
`Turing, On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the
`
`Entscheidungsproblem, Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, Vol.
`
`42:2, pp. 230-265 (Nov. 12, 1936)), 1022 (Roger A. Cunningham et al., The Law
`
`of Property (2d ed. 1993) (excerpted)), 1023 (Michael H. Harris, History of
`
`Libraries in the Western World (4th ed. 1999) (excerpted), and 1024 (David
`
`Broderick, The First Toll Roads—Ireland’s Turnpike Roads 1729-1858 (2002)
`

`
`8
`
`

`


`
`(excerpted)). Although cited, neither the Petition nor the Tygar Declaration assert
`
`that any of these Exhibits (“the Unasserted Exhibits”) are potentially invalidating
`
`prior art, either alone or in combination with any other reference. The PTAB
`
`Decision did not base any of its analysis on the Unasserted Exhibits. Thus, the
`
`Unasserted Exhibits do not appear to make a fact of consequence in determining
`
`this action more or less probable than it would be without the Unasserted Exhibits.
`
`As such, the Unasserted Exhibits do not pass the test for relevant evidence under
`
`FRE 401 and are not admissible per FRE 402.
`
`In a related CBM on a patent in the same family, CBM2015-00016, the
`
`Board declined to exclude similarly unasserted exhibits, finding “these exhibits are
`
`relevant to the state of the art—whether the technical limitations of the challenged
`
`claim were well-known, routine, and conventional—and thus, to our § 101
`
`analysis.” CBM2015-00016, Paper 56 at 26. Whether the technical limitations of
`
`the challenged claim were well known, routine, and conventional is only relevant
`
`after finding that a claim is directed to an abstract idea and the analysis moves to
`
`the second step of whether the claims contain an “inventive concept.” Mayo
`
`Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 132 S. Ct. 1289, 1294
`
`(2012). Here, the claims at issue are not directed to an abstract idea. Patent
`
`Owner’s Response, Paper 21 at 22-25. The Federal Circuit recently “[found] it
`
`relevant to ask whether the claims are directed to an improvement to computer
`

`
`9
`
`

`


`
`functionality versus being directed to an abstract idea, even at the first step of the
`
`[Mayo/]Alice analysis. Enfish, LLC v. Microsoft Corp., 2016 WL 2756255, at *4
`
`(Fed. Cir. May 12, 2016) (citing Alice Corp. Pty Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 134 S.Ct.
`
`2347 (2014)). In Enfish, the Federal Circuit concluded that the claims were
`
`directed to an improvement to computer functionality and that “the claims are
`
`directed to a specific implementation of a solution to a problem in the software
`
`arts. Accordingly, we find the claims at issue are not directed to an abstract idea.”
`
`Id. at *8. Like the claims in Enfish, the Smartflash claims are “directed to an
`
`improvement to computer functionality” and a “specific solution to a problem” in
`
`computer networks – the problem of data piracy. Patent Owner’s Response, Paper
`
`21 at 2, 21, 22-36. As such, there is no need to reach the second step of
`
`Mayo/Alice to determine if there is an “inventive concept,” so the Board’s previous
`
`rationale is moot. Moreover, in determining whether there is an “inventive
`
`concept” the relevant analysis is whether there is an “inventive concept” over the
`
`abstract idea (if one is found) and not whether there is an “inventive concept” over
`
`the prior art. The question of whether there is an “inventive concept” over the
`
`prior art is a question of patentability under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103, and not
`
`subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
`
`Exhibits 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1014, 1022, 1023, and 1024
`
`are not relevant and should be excluded.
`

`
`10
`
`

`


`
`C. Exhibit 1015 is Irrelevant, Inadmissible Other Evidence of the
`Content of a Writing, and Cumulative
`
`Patent Owner moves to exclude Exhibit 1015 (Plaintiffs’ Original Complaint
`
`for Patent Infringement, Smartflash LLC v. Apple Inc., No. 6:13-cv-447, Dkt. 1
`
`(E.D. Tex. May 29, 2013)) on grounds that it is: inadmissible under FRE 402
`
`because it fails the test for relevance set forth in FRE 401; inadmissible other
`
`evidence of the content of a writing under FRE 1004; and, even if relevant, is
`
`unnecessary cumulative evidence under FRE 403.
`
`Petitioner cites to Exhibit 1015 as support for the ‘221 Patent being
`
`“financial in nature” and thus CBM review eligible. Petition at 6-7. Specifically,
`
`the Petition cites Exhibits 1015 for the sole purpose of showing Patent Owner’s
`
`characterization of the ‘221 Patent as “generally cover[ing] a portable data carrier
`
`for storing data and managing access to the data via payment information and/or
`
`use status rules.” Petition at 7 (citing Ex. 1015 ¶ 1).
`
`Patent Owner’s description of the ‘221 Patent in Exhibit 1015 is not relevant
`
`to any of the issues here.
`
`In related CBM2015-00016, the Board declined to exclude the same or
`
`similar exhibit because “[Patent Owner’s] characterization of the … patent in prior
`
`proceedings is relevant to the credibility of its characterization of the … patent in
`
`this proceeding.” CBM2015-00016, Paper 56 at 24. The Board’s reasoning that a
`
`Patent Owner’s characterization of the patent, or the Patent Owner’s credibility in
`

`
`11
`
`

`


`
`doing so, is relevant to the analysis of whether a patent qualifies for CBM review
`
`under § 18(a) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”) is contrary to
`
`Federal Circuit authority. As noted by the Federal Circuit, Ҥ 18(d)(1) [of the
`
`AIA] directs us to examine the claims when deciding whether a patent is a CBM
`
`patent.” Blue Calypso, LLC v. Groupon, Inc., 815 F.3d 1331, 1340 (Fed. Cir.
`
`March 1, 2016) (emphasis original). The claims are delineated in the ‘221 Patent,
`
`which is in evidence as Exhibit 1001. That is all the Board needs for its analysis.
`
`Moreover, there are no credibility issues here that render Exhibit 1015 relevant.
`
`There is nothing about Patent Owner’s characterization of the ‘221 Patent in this
`
`proceeding – that claims 1 and 3 “do not recite a ‘financial product or service’” in
`
`the way Congress intended (Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response, Paper 7 at 30-
`
`35) – that is contradicted by Exhibit 1015 such that the credibility of Patent
`
`Owner’s characterization is at issue. As such Exhibit 1015 is irrelevant and
`
`inadmissible.
`
`Further, Petitioner’s expert Dr. Tygar does not cite to Exhibit 1015 in the
`
`Tygar Declaration, Exhibit 1002. The Board’s November 16, 2015 Decision –
`
`Institution of Covered Business Method Patent Review 37 C.F.R. § 42.208 (“PTAB
`
`Decision”), Paper 8, does not cite Exhibit 1015. Exhibit 1015 therefore does not
`
`appear to make a fact of consequence in determining this action more or less
`
`probable than it would be without Exhibit 1015. As such, Exhibit 1015 does not
`

`
`12
`
`

`


`
`pass the test for relevant evidence under FRE 401 and is not admissible per FRE
`
`402.
`
`Petitioner does not need to cite to Exhibit 1015 to characterize the ‘221
`
`Patent when Exhibit 1001, the actual ‘221 Patent, is in evidence. Under FRE 1004,
`
`other evidence of the content of a writing (here the ‘221 Patent) is admissible if the
`
`original is lost, cannot be obtained, has not been produced, or the writing is not
`
`closely related to a controlling issue. None of those conditions apply here, given
`
`that the ‘221 Patent is in evidence and is the subject of the trial.
`
`Even if Exhibit 1015 was found to be relevant, it should also be excluded
`
`under FRE 403 as cumulative of the ‘221 Patent, Exhibit 1001.
`
`IV. Conclusion
`For these reasons, Patent Owner Smartflash, LLC respectfully requests that
`
`the Board exclude Exhibits 1002, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1014, 1015
`
`1022, 1023, and 1024.
`
`Dated: June 13, 2016
`
`/ Michael R. Casey /
`Michael R. Casey
`Registration No. 40,294
`Davidson Berquist
`
`Jackson & Gowdey, LLP
`8300 Greensboro Drive
`Suite 500
`McLean, VA 22102
`Telephone: (571) 765-7705
`Fax: (571) 765-7200
`Email: mcasey@dbjg.com
`Attorney for Patent Owner
`

`
`13
`
`

`


`
`
`
`
`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
`
`The undersigned hereby certifies that this PATENT OWNER’S MOTION
`
`TO EXCLUDE EVIDENCE in CBM2015-00126 was served today, by agreement
`
`of the parties by emailing a copy to counsel for the Petitioner as follows:
`
`
`
`QE-SF-PTAB-Service@quinnemanuel.com
`raynimrod@ quinnemanuel.com
`kevinsmith@ quinnemanuel.com
`
`
`
`
`
` /
`
` Michael R. Casey /
`
`
`Michael R. Casey
`Registration No. 40,294
`Davidson Berquist
`
`Jackson & Gowdey, LLP
`8300 Greensboro Drive
`Suite 500
`McLean, VA 22102
`Telephone: (571) 765-7705
`Fax: (571) 765-7200
`Email: mcasey@dbjg.com
`Attorney for Patent Owner
`
`
`
`Dated: June 13, 2016
`
`
`

`
`
`
`14
`
`

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