throbber
Trials@uspto.gov
`571-272-7822
`
`Paper 39
`Date: May 9, 2014
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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`_____________
`
`
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`____________
`
`TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION,
`Petitioner
`
`v.
`
`AMERICAN VEHICULAR SCIENCES LLC,
`Patent Owner
`____________
`
`Case IPR2013-00419
`Patent 6,772,057
`____________
`
`
`Before JAMESON LEE, MICHAEL W. KIM, and
`LYNNE E. PETTIGREW, Administrative Patent Judges.
`
`LEE, Administrative Patent Judge.
`
`
`Order
`Conduct of Proceedings
`37 C.F.R. § 42.05
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`IPR2013-00419
`Patent 6,772,057
`
`
`
`Introduction
`
`
`
`
`
`On May 7, 2014, a conference call was held between Judges Lee, Kim, and
`
`Pettigrew, and respective counsel for the parties. Counsel for Patent Owner
`
`initiated the conference call to ask the Board to grant two types of relief: (1) limit
`
`the cross-examination of its expert witness Chris Koutsougeras, Ph.D., by
`
`prohibiting questions directed to whether the feature of trained pattern recognition
`
`would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art based on U.S. Patent
`
`6,553,130 (“Lemelson”); and (2) authorize Patent Owner to correct certain
`
`typographical mistakes in the expert’s declaration and certain other allegedly non-
`
`substantive omissions in the expert declaration and in the patent owner response.
`
`
`
`The dispute relating to the scope of cross-examination arose, on May 5,
`
`2014, during cross-examination of the expert. Counsel for Patent Owner instructed
`
`the witness not to answer and sought to reach the Board to request an order to limit
`
`the cross-examination. It was approximately 6:00 PM on May 5, 2014, and the
`
`parties were unable to reach an administrative patent judge at that time. Cross-
`
`examination continued on unrelated matters and then was completed but for the
`
`line of questions in dispute. On May 6, 2014, the parties requested a telephone
`
`conference with the Board, to be held on May 7, 2014. If the Board denies Patent
`
`Owner’s request to limit the cross-examination testimony of Dr. Koutsougeras,
`
`further cross-examination of the witness would follow.
`
`
`
`We grant the request of Patent Owner to limit the questioning of
`
`Dr. Koutsougeras, on cross-examination, by barring questions inquiring about the
`
`witness’s opinion on the obviousness to one with ordinary skill in the art of the
`
`trained pattern recognition claim feature in light of Lemelson. We also authorize
`
`Patent Owner to file a Revised Declaration and Revised Patent Owner Response to
`
`make certain non-substantive, but helpful, corrections.
`
`2
`
`
`

`

`IPR2013-00419
`Patent 6,772,057
`
`
`
`Discussion
`
`
`
`
`
`The parties do not dispute that in all of the alleged grounds of
`
`unpatentability instituted for trial, that involve Lemelson, Petitioner in its petition
`
`relies on Lemelson as disclosing the claim feature of trained pattern recognition,
`
`not as rendering obvious that feature. According to counsel for Petitioner,
`
`however, obviousness, inherent disclosure, and the understanding of one with
`
`ordinary skill in the art as to the disclosure of Lemelson, are inter-mingled as one
`
`integral discoverable topic. We disagree. Counsel for Petitioner knows the
`
`difference between the separate concepts of inherent disclosure, understanding of
`
`the teachings of a reference, and obviousness in view of a reference. Indeed,
`
`counsel for Petitioner acknowledged that he asked the question in three “different
`
`ways” to get an assortment of “different perspectives” on the subject. Counsel for
`
`Patent Owner raised an objection only for questions directed to the witness’s
`
`opinion on obviousness of the feature in light of Lemelson’s disclosure.
`
`
`
`We are unpersuaded that inherent disclosure, understanding of what a
`
`references discloses, and obviousness are all one and the same topic. Based on the
`
`specific grounds instituted for trial and the arguments made in the petition, as well
`
`as the absence of specific testimony in the declaration of Dr. Koutsougeras (Ex.
`
`2001) pertaining to nonobviousness of the trained pattern recognition feature to
`
`one with ordinary skill in the art, counsel for Petitioner had no sufficient reason to
`
`inquire, on cross-examination, the opinion of Dr. Koutsougeras as to whether the
`
`trained pattern recognition feature would have been obvious to one with ordinary
`
`skill.
`
`
`
`Counsel for Patent Owner asked for permission to make certain corrections
`
`of typographical errors in the claim listing of within headings. We replied that
`
`minor typographical errors, which counsel for Patent Owner represents the
`
`3
`
`
`

`

`IPR2013-00419
`Patent 6,772,057
`
`
`mistakes to be, need no correction because they should not hinder our
`
`
`
`understanding. In response, counsel for Patent Owner withdrew the request to
`
`make corrections of minor typographical mistakes.
`
`
`
`Finally, counsel for Patent Owner requested either to submit an errata for the
`
`declaration of Dr. Koutsougeras and for the patent owner response, or to submit a
`
`revised declaration of Dr. Koutsougeras and a revised patent owner response, to
`
`correct certain non-substantive but potentially problematic omissions in the
`
`declaration and in the patent owner response. Specifically, the issue has to do with
`
`Patent Owner’s and the declarant’s discussing the disclosure of U.S. Patent No.
`
`5,245,422 (“Borcherts”) in the context of the alleged ground of obviousness based
`
`on Lemelson and Borcherts, but not identifying the same as also for Borcherts in
`
`the context of the alleged ground of obviousness based on Borcherts and Japanese
`
`Unexamined Patent Publication No. H06-124340 (“Yamamura”).
`
`
`
`Counsel for Petitioner initially disagreed that the proposed changes are non-
`
`substantive, but later reached agreement with counsel for Petitioner with regard to
`
`allowing Petitioner to make the following corrections:
`
`Declaration (Exhibit 2001):
`
`
`
`In paragraph 81, change “Lemelson and Borcherts” to “Lemelson and
`Borcherts (claims 30-34, 37-39, 62) or Yamamura and Borcherts
`(claims 30, 32-34, 37-39)”
`
`In paragraph 85, change “Lemelson nor Borcherts” to “Lemelson,
`Yamamura, nor Borcherts”
`
`Patent Owner Response (Paper 33):
`
`On page 29, change “claims 30-34, 37-39, and 62 on only one
`ground—obviousness by Lemelson and Borcherts” to “claims 30-34,
`37-39, and 62 for obviousness by Lemelson and Borcherts and claims
`30, 32-34, and 37-39 for obviousness by Yamamura and Borcherts.”
`
`4
`
`
`

`

`IPR2013-00419
`Patent 6,772,057
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`On page 31, change “neither Lemelson nor Borcherts” to “neither
`Lemelson, Borcherts, nor Yamamura.”
`
`We approve of the above-noted corrections, because based on the record
`
`
`
`before us the proposed changes are non-substantive, but helpful to a smooth
`
`reading and fair understanding of the patent owner response and the declaration.
`
`It is
`
`Order
`
`ORDERED that Patent Owner’s request that we limit the cross-examination
`
`
`
`
`
`of Dr. Koutsougeras by precluding questions directed to whether the claimed
`
`feature of trained pattern recognition would have been obvious to one with
`
`ordinary skill is granted;
`
`
`
`FURTHER ORDERED that cross examination of Dr. Koutsougeras by
`
`counsel for Petitioner shall not include questions asking for the opinion of
`
`Dr. Koutsougeras on whether the claimed feature of trained pattern recognition
`
`would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art;
`
`
`
`FURTHER ORDERED that the corrections agreed to by the parties and
`
`identified above are approved and that Patent Owner shall make the corrections not
`
`by any “errata,” but by filing a Revised Declaration (re-executed) having the same
`
`exhibit number and by filing a Revised Patent Owner Response within three
`
`business days of the date of this Order; and
`
`
`
`FURTHER ORDERED that it will be understood that references in the
`
`revised patent owner response to the declaration of Dr. Koutsougeras refers to
`
`Dr. Koutsougeras’s revised declaration and not his initial declaration.
`
`
`
`
`
`5
`
`
`

`

`
`
`
`
`IPR2013-00419
`Patent 6,772,057
`
`For Petitioner:
`
`Matthew Berkowitz
`Anthony Pfeffer
`Thomas Makin
`mberkowitz@kenyon.com
`apfeffer@kenyon.com
`tmakin@kenyon.com
`
`For Patent Owner:
`
`Thomas Wimbiscus
`Scott McBride
`twimbiscus@mcandrews-ip.com
`smcbride@mcandrews-ip.com
`
`6
`
`
`

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