`Tel: 571-272-7822
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` Paper 19
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` Entered: December 2, 2014
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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`_______________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`_______________
`
`TD AMERITRADE HOLDING CORP., TD AMERITRADE, INC., and TD
`AMERITRADE ONLINE HOLDINGS CORP.,
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`TRADING TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, INC.,
`Patent Owner.
`____________
`
`CBM 2014-00131
`Patent 7,533,056 B2
`_______________
`
`
`
`Before SALLY C. MEDLEY, MEREDITH C. PETRAVICK, and
`PHILIP J. HOFFMANN, Administrative Patent Judges.
`
`MEDLEY, Administrative Patent Judge.
`
`DECISION
`Institution of Covered Business Method Patent Review
`37 C.F.R. § 42.208
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`
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`CBM2014-00131
`Patent 7,533,056 B2
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`I. INTRODUCTION
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`TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., TD Ameritrade, Inc., and TD
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`Ameritrade Online Holdings Corp., (collectively, “Petitioner”) filed a
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`Petition on May 19, 2014, requesting a covered business method patent
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`review of claims 1–15 of U.S. Patent No. 7,533,056 B2 (Ex. 1001, “the ’056
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`patent”). Paper 4 (“Pet.”). In response, Trading Technologies International,
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`Inc. (“Patent Owner”) filed a Patent Owner Preliminary Response on
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`September 3, 2014. Paper 17 (“Prelim. Resp.”). We have jurisdiction under
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`35 U.S.C. § 324, which provides that a post-grant review may not be
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`instituted “unless . . . the information presented in the petition . . . would
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`demonstrate that it is more likely than not that at least 1 of the claims
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`challenged in the petition is unpatentable.”
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`Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 324, the Board authorizes a covered business
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`method patent review to be instituted as to claims 1–15 of the ’056 patent.
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`A. Related Matters
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`Petitioner and Patent Owner identify numerous related U.S. district
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`court cases. Pet. 2–3; Paper 7, 2–3. In compliance with 37 C.F.R.
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`§ 42.302(a), Petitioner certifies that it has been sued for infringement of the
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`’056 patent in TTI v. thinkorswim Group, Inc., No. 1:10-cv-00883 (N.D.
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`Ill.). Pet. 3–4. Patent Owner does not challenge Petitioner’s certification
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`that it has been sued for patent infringement of the ’056 patent.
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`B. The ’056 Patent
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`The Specification of the ’056 patent describes a user interface for an
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`electronic trading system that allows a remote trader to view trends for an
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`Patent 7,533,056 B2
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`item, which assists the trader to anticipate demand for an item. Ex. 1001,
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`2:8–26.
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`C. Illustrative Claim
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`Claim 1 is of the ’056 patent is the only independent claim:
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` A method of operation used by a computer for
`displaying transactional information and facilitating trading
`in a system where orders comprise a bid type or an offer
`type, the method comprising:
`
`1.
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`
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`receiving bid and offer information for a product from an
`electronic exchange, the bid and offer information
`indicating a plurality of bid orders and a plurality of offer
`orders for the product;
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`displaying a plurality of bid indicators representing
`quantity associated with the plurality of bid orders, the
`plurality of bid indicators being displayed at locations
`corresponding to prices of the plurality of bid orders
`along a price axis;
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`displaying a plurality of offer indicators representing
`quantity associated with the plurality of offer orders, the
`plurality of offer indicators being displayed at locations
`corresponding to prices of the plurality of offer orders
`along the price axis;
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`receiving a user input indicating a default quantity to be
`used to determine a quantity for each of a plurality of
`orders to be placed by the user at one or more price
`levels;
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`receiving a user input indicating a desired price for an
`order to be placed by the user, the desired price being
`specified by selection of one of a plurality of locations
`corresponding to price levels along the price axis; and
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`CBM2014-00131
`Patent 7,533,056 B2
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`sending the order for the default quantity at the desired
`price to the electronic exchange.
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`D. Asserted Grounds of Unpatentability
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`Petitioner contends that claims 1–15 of the ’056 patent are
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`unpatentable based on the following specific grounds:
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`References
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`n/a
`
`n/a
`
`n/a
`TSE1 and Togher2
`TSE, Togher, and Schott3
`Silverman4, Togher, and Hogan5
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`Basis
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`§ 101
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`§ 112, ¶ 1
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`§ 112, ¶ 2
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`§ 103
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`§ 103
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`§ 103
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`Challenged
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`Claim(s)
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`1–15
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`1–15
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`7
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`1–5, 7, and 9–14
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`1–15
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`1–15
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`E. Covered Business Method Patent
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`A covered business method patent is “a patent that claims a method or
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`corresponding apparatus for performing data processing or other operations
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`used in the practice, administration, or management of a financial product or
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`service, except that the term does not include patents for technological
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`inventions.” Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, Pub. L. No. 112-29, 125
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`1TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE OPERATION SYSTEM DIVISION, FUTURES/OPTION
`PURCHASING SYSTEM TRADING TERMINAL OPERATION GUIDE (1998) (Ex.
`1004) (“TSE”).
`2 U.S. Patent No. 5,375,055, issued Dec. 20, 1994 (Ex. 1008) (“Togher”).
`3 U.S. Patent No. 5,619,631, issued Apr. 8, 1997 (Ex. 1009) (“Schott”).
`4 U.S. Patent No. 5,136,501, issued Aug. 4, 1992 (Ex. 1010) (“Silverman”).
`4
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`Patent 7,533,056 B2
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`Stat. 284, 329 (2011) (“AIA”) §§ 18(a)(1)(B), 18(d)(1); see 37 C.F.R. §
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`42.302. To determine whether a patent is for a technological invention, we
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`consider “whether the claimed subject matter as a whole recites a
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`technological feature that is novel and unobvious over the prior art; and
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`solves a technical problem using a technical solution.” 37 C.F.R.
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`§ 42.301(b). For purposes of determining whether a patent is eligible for a
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`covered business method patent review, the focus is on the claims. A patent
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`need have only one claim directed to a covered business method to be
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`eligible for review.
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`Petitioner has shown that the ’056 patent is a patent that claims a
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`method for performing data processing or other operations used in the
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`practice, administration, or management of a financial product or service.
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`Pet. 5. Claim 1, the sole independent claim, recites a method of receiving
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`bid and offer information of a product from an electronic exchange,
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`displaying the bid and offer information, receiving a user input indicating a
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`default quantity and price for an order(s), and sending the order(s) to an
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`electronic exchange. As such, claim 1 is directed to a method for
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`performing data processing or other operations used in the practice,
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`administration, or management of a financial service (facilitating trading in
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`an electronic exchange).
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`Patent Owner argues that none of the claims are directed to a method
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`for performing data processing or other operations used in the practice,
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`administration, or management of a financial product or service—a method
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`5 U.S. Patent No. 5,414,809, issued May 9, 1995 (Ex. 1011) (“Hogan”).
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`of doing business. Patent Owner argues that the claims are directed to
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`structural and functional features embodied in a graphical user interface
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`(“GUI”) tool, and not in any business method or practice, directing attention
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`to legislative history in support of Patent Owner’s arguments. Prelim. Resp.
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`12–21. The argument is not persuasive. Claim 1 is directed to a method
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`“for displaying transactional information and facilitating trading in a
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`system.” (emphasis added). Patent Owner has not explained why
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`facilitating trading in a system is not a method of doing business. Instead,
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`Patent Owner’s emphasis on structural and functional features that are
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`embodied in a GUI tool is misplaced, because such structure and features are
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`not claimed. Method claim 1 recites steps for displaying transactional
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`information and facilitating trading in a system using a computer. Claim 1
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`does not recite specific hardware or software for performing the steps of
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`method claim 1, or a GUI tool.
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`As indicated above, even if a patent includes claims that would
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`otherwise be eligible for treatment as a covered business method, review of
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`the patent is precluded if the claims cover only “technological invention[s],”
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`as defined by 37 C.F.R. § 42.301(b). Petitioner asserts that the ’056 patent
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`claims fail to recite any technological feature that is novel and unobvious
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`over the prior art, and do not solve a technical problem with a technical
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`solution. Pet. 5. As pointed out by Petitioner, the claims are directed to
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`well-understood, routine, and conventional steps of receiving market
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`information, displaying it graphically to a trader, who uses the information
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`to facilitate trading a commodity. Id.
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`The “BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION” section of the ’056
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`patent explains that it was well known for an exchange to record all
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`transactions for a particular item and to replay or post to the individual
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`traders outstanding bids with the highest values and outstanding offers with
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`the lowest value, along with a quantity specified for each order, to facilitate
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`trading a commodity. Ex. 1001, 1:37–41. There is no indication in the ’056
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`patent that the inventors invented gathering market information, displaying it
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`to a trader, and using the information to facilitate trading a commodity. The
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`use of a computer to perform these functions also was known in the art at the
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`time of the invention and the ’056 patent does not claim any improvement of
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`a computing device.
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`Patent Owner argues that the ’056 patent is for a technological
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`invention because the claims are directed to a novel and nonobvious GUI
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`tool that operates to compile and present information in an intuitive format
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`that allows a user to quickly and effectively interpret the information and
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`provide input. See, e.g., Prelim. Resp. 2. We disagree that claim 1, for
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`example, is directed to a novel and nonobvious GUI tool, or that presenting
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`market information in an intuitive format makes a meaningful distinction for
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`purposes of determining whether a claim is to a technological invention. As
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`explained above, claim 1 is directed to gathering market information,
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`displaying it to a trader, and the trader using the information to facilitate
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`trading a commodity, features that were well known at the time of the
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`invention. Moreover, there is no specific computer, program, or processing
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`described in the ’056 patent beyond what was known in the art at the time of
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`the invention.
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`We also are not persuaded by Patent Owner’s arguments that the
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`claimed subject matter as a whole solves a technical problem using a
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`technical solution. See, e.g., id. at 7–8. The problem noted in the
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`Specification of the ’056 patent is not a technical one. For instance, the ’056
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`patent Specification highlights the problem and importance of informing a
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`trader of certain stock market events so that the trader may use such
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`information to facilitate trading a commodity. Ex. 1001, 2:19–26.
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`However, informing a trader of certain stock market trends or events is more
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`of a financial problem than a technical problem.
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`For the foregoing reasons, the subject matter of claim 1 is not a
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`“technological invention” under 37 C.F.R. § 42.301(b). Accordingly, the
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`’056 patent is eligible for a covered business method patent review.
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`II. ANALYSIS
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`A. Claim Construction
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`In a covered business method patent review, claim terms in an
`
`unexpired patent are given their broadest reasonable construction in light of
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`the specification of the patent in which they appear. 37 C.F.R. § 42.300(b).
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`Under the broadest reasonable construction standard, claim terms are given
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`their ordinary and customary meaning, as would be understood by one of
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`ordinary skill in the art in the context of the entire disclosure. In re
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`Translogic Tech., Inc., 504 F.3d 1249, 1257 (Fed. Cir. 2007). Any special
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`definition for a claim term must be set forth with reasonable clarity,
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`deliberateness, and precision. In re Paulsen, 30 F.3d 1475, 1480 (Fed. Cir.
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`1994).
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`Price axis
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`Claim 1 recites displaying a plurality of bid indicators and offer
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`indicators along a price axis. Petitioner argues that the broadest reasonable
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`interpretation of a price axis is “a reference line for plotting prices, including
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`labeled, unlabeled, visible[,] and invisible reference lines.” Pet. 10.
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`Petitioner argues that the term “‘price axis’” does not appear in the
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`Specification of the ’056 patent, other than the claims, and there is no
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`disavowal of unlabeled price axes. Id. Petitioner also directs attention to
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`various portions of the Specification that describes a value axis, and to other
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`extrinsic evidence in ascertaining the meaning of price axis. Id. at 10–11.
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`Patent Owner does not dispute the proposed construction.
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`We have considered Petitioner’s proposed construction and find it to
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`be the broadest reasonable based on the record before us. Accordingly,
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`“price axis” means “a reference line for plotting prices, including labeled,
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`unlabeled, visible, and invisible reference lines.”
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`offer and bid indicators “representing quantity”
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`Claim 1 recites displaying a plurality of bid/offer indicators
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`representing quantity associated with the plurality of bid/offer orders.
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`Petitioner argues, directing attention to claim 8 and supporting evidence, that
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`the broadest reasonable interpretation of the indicators representing quantity
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`includes alphanumeric and graphical indicators. Id. at 11; Ex. 1032 ¶ 74.
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`Patent Owner does not dispute the proposed construction.
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`We have considered Petitioner’s proposed construction and find it to
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`be the broadest reasonable construction based on the record before us.
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`Accordingly, indicators representing quantity include alphanumeric and
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`graphical indicators.
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`indicators, icons, and tokens
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`Claim 1 recites displaying a plurality of bid indicators. Claim 5,
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`which depends from claim 1, includes an “order icon.” Claim 15, which
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`depends from claim 1, includes an “order token.” Petitioner argues that
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`although the plain and ordinary meaning of indicators, icons and tokens may
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`be slightly different, for purposes of the claims, and in light of the
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`Specification, the three terms are interchangeable, such that each
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`encompasses alphanumeric symbols or graphical representations of items.
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`Id. at 13–14; Ex. 1032 ¶¶ 80–83. Patent Owner does not dispute Petitioner’s
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`proposed construction.
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`We have considered Petitioner’s proposed construction and find it to
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`be the broadest reasonable construction based on the record before us.
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`Accordingly, an indicator, icon, or token encompass alphanumeric symbols
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`or graphical representations of items.
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`Default quantity
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`Claim 1 recites “receiving a user input indicating a default quantity.”
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`Petitioner argues that the term “default quantity” was added per amendment
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`and does not exist in the Specification as originally filed. Accordingly,
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`Petitioner relies on dictionary definitions and expert testimony to propose
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`that the broadest reasonable interpretation of a default quantity is a standard
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`or preset value to be used if the user does not specify another value. Id. at
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`12; Ex. 1024, 3; Ex. 1025, 3; Ex. 1026, 3; Ex. 1027, 7; Ex. 1032 ¶ 75.
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`Petitioner further argues that such a default value survives after a user exits
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`the program and returns; otherwise, the default quantity will not be available
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`for the program to use if the user does not specify another value.
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`Patent Owner argues that Petitioner’s construction is too narrow and
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`ignores a previous district court determination of the proper construction—
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`retaining a user’s last-entered quantity for the “plurality of orders to be
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`placed by the user.” Prelim. Resp. 23–25.
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`The disputed phrase of claim 1 recites receiving a user input
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`indicating a default quantity to be used to determine a quantity for each of a
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`plurality of orders to be placed by the user at one or more price levels.
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`There is nothing in the claim itself that indicates that the default quantity
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`must survive after a user exits the program and returns, e.g., after the
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`quantity is used for each of the plurality of orders to be placed by the user at
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`one or more price levels. Petitioner has not directed us to a description in
`
`the Specification of the ’056 patent that demonstrates that the “default
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`quantity” claimed is a “default quantity” in the sense that the quantity
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`survives after the user exits a program. The claim language itself suggests
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`that the default only is used for each of the plurality of orders to be placed
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`by the user at one or more price levels. There would be, then, no expectation
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`that the quantity would remain after a user exits the program and returns.
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`Petitioner argues that the term default does not encompass a user’s last-
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`entered value. Pet. 13. The argument, however, is not persuasive, because
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`even Petitioner recognizes that a default value can be modifiable by a user.
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`Id. Moreover, claim 15, which depends from claim 1 recites “adjusting a
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`size of an order token to indicate the default quantity.” Thus, claim 1
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`encompasses the user setting the quantity by adjusting the order token. The
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`quantity is a default in the sense that the same quantity would be used for
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`several orders placed by the user at different prices for a given product.
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`Accordingly, a default quantity means a user’s last-entered quantity
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`for the “plurality of orders to be placed by the user.”
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`receiving a user input indicating a desired price for an order . . . by
`selection of one of a plurality of locations . . . along the price axis
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`Claim 1 recites the above step. Petitioner argues that this step
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`encompasses adjusting an order after it has been created, directing attention
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`to the Specification of the ’056 patent that describes adjusting the size of an
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`offer or bid. Id. at 16–17; Ex. 1001, 8:31, 10:39–40. Patent Owner does not
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`dispute Petitioner’s proposed construction.
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`Petitioner’s proposed construction is the broadest reasonable
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`construction based on the record before us. Accordingly, the above step
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`encompasses adjusting an order after it has been created.
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`the desired price (claims 1 and 4)
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`Claim 4 depends from claim 3, which depends from claim 1, and
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`recites “sending the order for the new default quantity at the desired price to
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`the electronic exchange.” Patent Owner argues that “the desired price” is in
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`reference to “the desired price” of claim 1 and that claim 4 requires sending
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`the order at a new default value at the same “desired price” selected
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`previously in claim 1. Prelim. Resp. 29. Claim 1 recites a desired price and
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`“the desired price.” Claim 1 also qualifies what is a desired price. In
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`particular, claim 1 recites that the desired price is specified by user selection
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`of one of a plurality of locations along the price axis. The desired price
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`means the price that the user selects to make a bid or offer. Patent Owner
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`has not shown that a reasonable construction of the claim 1 would limit the
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`claim so that the desired price is the same exact number for every order the
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`user makes. Such a construction ignores the other language of claim 1—that
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`the desired price is what is selected by the user for a particular order.
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`Accordingly, the broadest reasonable interpretation of “the desired price” is
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`a price that is specified for an order placed by a user.
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`the default quantity working at the electronic exchange (claim 7)
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`Claim 7 depends from claim 5 and recites “wherein the order icon
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`indicates the default quantity working at the electronic exchange.”
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`Petitioner argues that the “default quantity working at the electronic
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`exchange” is ambiguous, but that perhaps the phrase is a reference back to
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`the default quantity recited in claim 1, and if it is, then it means the unfilled
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`portion of the order placed in claim 1. Pet. 27. Patent Owner argues that the
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`term is a reference back to the default quantity and that the term “‘default
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`quantity working at the electronic exchange’” means the unfilled portion of
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`the order placed in claim 1. Prelim. Resp. 25–26. Based on the record
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`before us, the default quantity working at the electronic exchange means the
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`unfilled portion of the order placed in claim 1.
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`B. 35 U.S.C. § 101 Asserted Ground of Unpatentability
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`Petitioner contends that claims 1–15 of the ’056 patent are directed to
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`non-statutory subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Pet. 18–20. Patent
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`Owner argues that the Petition is unsupported and fails to provide the proper
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`analysis necessary for us to institute with respect to the asserted ground of
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`unpatentability under § 101. Prelim. Resp. 22–23. Upon reviewing the
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`claims before us, Petitioner’s analysis, and Patent Owner’s arguments, we
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`determine that Petitioner has established that claims 1–15 more likely than
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`not are directed to non-statutory subject matter under § 101.
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`Section 101 of Title 35, United States Code, provides: “Whoever
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`invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or
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`composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may
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`obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this
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`title.”
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`The Supreme Court recognizes three exceptions to these statutory
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`classes: laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas. Alice Corp.
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`Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 134 S.Ct. 2347, 2354 (2014); Mayo
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`Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 132 S.Ct. 1289, 1293 (2012).
`
` Although an abstract idea by itself is not patentable, a practical application
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`of an abstract idea may be deserving of patent protection. Alice, 132 S.Ct. at
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`2355. We must consider “the elements of each claim both individually and
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`‘as an ordered combination’ to determine whether the additional elements
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`‘transform the nature of the claim’ into a patent-eligible application.” Id.
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`(citing Mayo, 132 S.Ct. at 1298.) The claim must contain elements or a
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`combination of elements that are “‘sufficient to ensure that the patent in
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`practice amounts to significantly more than a patent upon the [abstract idea]
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`itself.’” Id. (citing Mayo, 132 S.Ct. at 1294.)
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`Claim 1, the sole independent claim, recites in the preamble a method
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`for displaying transactional information and facilitating trading in a system.
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`The method steps include receiving bid and offer information of a product
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`from an electronic exchange, displaying the bid and offer information,
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`receiving a user input indicating a default quantity and price for an order,
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`and sending the order to the electronic exchange. Petitioner identifies the
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`abstract idea of claim 1 as graphing bids and offers to help a trader make an
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`order. Pet. 19. Petitioner argues that the steps of receiving and displaying
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`market information, accepting a user’s order including a default quantity,
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`and sending a user’s orders back to an exchange were well-understood,
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`routine, and conventional activity that adds nothing significant to the
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`abstract idea.
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`The Specification of the ’056 patent does not disclose a particular way
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`for receiving market information, displaying that information, accepting a
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`user’s order, or sending an order to the exchange, nor does the Specification
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`provide or disclose any particular algorithms or rules for performing the
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`recited functions of claim 1. Petitioner has shown that it is more likely than
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`not that claim 1 is directed to the abstract idea of graphing (or displaying)
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`bids and offers to assist a trader in making an order, and that the remaining
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`method steps recite no additional substantive limitations so that the claim
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`does not cover the full abstract idea of claim 1.
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`Petitioner argues that dependent claims 2–15 add only well-
`
`understood, routine, conventional post-solution activity to the abstract idea
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`of claim 1, such as displaying a sent order (claim 5), displaying bids, offers,
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`and an order with different characteristics (claim 6), and displaying the
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`quantity of an order (claim 7). We are persuaded that the recited functions
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`of all of claims 2–15 are directed to insignificant post-solution activities
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`(e.g., using the data acquired and manipulating that data to generate different
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`ways to display information) that add nothing to the abstract idea recited in
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`claim 1.
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`Based on the record before us, we determine that Petitioner has
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`demonstrated that claims 1–15 are more likely than not patent ineligible
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`under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
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`C. 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 1 Asserted Ground of Unpatentability
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`Petitioner contends that claims 1–15 of the ’056 patent lack written
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`description support under 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 1. Pet. 20–25. In particular,
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`Petitioner argues that there is no support in the original Specification of the
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`’056 patent for the term “‘receiving a user input indicating a default quantity
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`to be used to determine a quantity for each of a plurality of orders to be
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`placed by the user at one or more price levels.’” Id. at 20. Patent Owner
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`argues that Petitioner’s proposed construction of the term “default quantity”
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`is too narrow, and if properly construed, the quoted term does have support
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`in the original Specification. In support of the argument, Patent Owner
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`directs our attention to a prior district court decision. Prelim. Resp. 23–25.
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`Upon reviewing Petitioner’s analysis, and Patent Owner’s arguments, we
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`determine that Petitioner has not established that claims 1–15 more likely
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`than not lack written description support under 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 1.
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`Petitioner argues that the original Specification of the application that
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`issued as the ’056 patent (“original [S]pecification”) does not provide
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`written description support for a default quantity. In particular, Petitioner
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`argues that there is no support for a standard or preset quantity to be used if
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`the user does not specify another value—a value that must survive after the
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`user exits the program and returns. Pet. 21–22. As explained above in the
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`claim construction section, Petitioner’s proposed construction of a default
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`quantity is too narrow and not based on the broadest reasonable
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`interpretation of that term. Accordingly, Petitioner’s arguments are not
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`persuasive because the original Specification need not provide written
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`description support for the proposed narrow construction.
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`Petitioner alternatively argues that the claims lack written description
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`support even if the term means reusing a user’s last-entered quantity. Id. at
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`24–25. As explained above in the claim construction section, Patent Owner
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`argues for this construction—reusing a user’s last-entered quantity, and
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`directs attention to Figure 3A and column 8, lines 28–40 of the Specification
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`of the ’056 patent as describing “the ability to set a default quantity.”
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`Prelim. Resp. 9–10. For reasons provided above, we adopt Patent Owner’s
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`proposed construction. Moreover, the description that Patent Owner directs
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`us to is as follows:
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`In a preferred embodiment, the trader submits an order by
`simply selecting either an offer token 324 or bid token 320
`using a pointing device. After being selected, the trader adjusts
`the size of the offer or bid token 324, 320 until the size of the
`token matches the desired quantity of the order. Preferably, a
`pop-up window or other screen indicator is displayed to show
`in numerical terms the quantity of the current size of the token,
`to ease the process of creating a properly sized order token.
`Next, the token is dragged to a location on the screen which
`corresponds to the desired value of the order. Again, a screen
`indicator displays the current value for the token at its current
`location as it is being dragged to allow precise placement of the
`token at the desired value.
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`17
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`Ex. 1001, 8:28–40.6
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`We recognize that the above description does not mention the term
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`default quantity. It is not necessary, however, for an applicant to provide
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`ipsis verbis support for claim terms. Nor does the written description
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`requirement require an applicant to describe exactly the subject matter
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`claimed; instead the description must clearly allow persons of ordinary skill
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`in the art to recognize that the applicant invented what is claimed. Union Oil
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`Co. of Cal. v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 208 F.3d 989, 997 (Fed. Cir. 2000).
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`The above description from the Specification of the ’056 patent,
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`which is described identically in the original Specification, describes a user-
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`inserted quantity. Petitioner has not shown that a person of ordinary skill in
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`the art at the time of the invention would have understood that the user-
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`inserted quantity goes away upon a one-time usage, or resets to zero, or to
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`any other random number. There is nothing in the original Specification to
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`suggest that the quantity entered by the user inexplicably changes on its
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`own. Rather, the more reasonable understanding from the perspective of a
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`person of ordinary skill in the art is that the user’s last entered quantity
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`would not change and, for example, could be used for subsequent orders for
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`the same product, at the same quantity, but at different prices. For all of
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`these reasons, Petitioner has not shown that it is more likely than not that the
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`claims lack written description support.
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`6 The description in the original Specification is the same. Ex. 1002, 16:7–
`16.
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`D. 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 2 Asserted Ground of Unpatentability
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`Petitioner argues that claim 7, which indirectly depends from claim 1,
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`fails to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter regarded
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`as the invention under 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 2. Pet. 25. Claim 7 depends from
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`dependent claim 5 and recites “wherein the order icon indicates the default
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`quantity working at the electronic exchange.” Petitioner argues that the term
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`“default quantity working” is ambiguous, but then goes on to explain that if
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`the “default quantity” is in reference to the default quantity recited in claim
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`1, then the term the default quantity working at the electronic exchange
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`means the unfilled portion of the order that was placed in claim 1. Id. at 27.
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`
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` A patent must “conclude with one or more claims particularly
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`pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant
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`regards as [the] invention.” 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 2 (2006). Based on the
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`record before us, Petitioner has not shown that claim 7 does not particularly
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`point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which Patent Owner regards
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`as the invention. Based on the construction provided above for the claim,
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`the claim does inform a person of ordinary skill in the art the scope of claim
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`7. Petitioner’s arguments are based on a construction of the claim that is
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`unreasonable, and, therefore, Petitioner’s arguments are not persuasive.
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`E. Obviousness of Claims 1–15 over TSE, Togher, and Schott
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`Petitioner contends that claims 1–15 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C.
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`§ 103 over TSE, Togher, and Schott. Patent Owner argues that all of the
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`proposed grounds based on obviousness are deficient because Petitioner fails
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`to articulate where each element of the claims is found in the cited art and
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`the required obviousness analysis. Prelim. Resp. 28.
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`TSE is a guide for operating a trading terminal of the Tokyo Stock
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`Exchange. Ex. 1004, 1.7 TSE describes a trading system that facilitates
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`tra