throbber
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`TARGET CORPORATION,
`
`Petitioner
`
`v.
`
`DESTINATION MATERNITY CORPORATION,
`
`Patent Owner
`
`
`
`Case IPR2013-00530, Patent RE43,563 E
`
`Case IPR2013-00531, Patent RE43,563 E
`
`Case IPR2013-00532, Patent RE43,531 E
`
`Case IPR2013-00533, Patent RE43,531 E
`
`
`
`DECLARATION OF
`
`VINCENT A. THOMAS, CPA, CVA, CFF, ABV
`
`REGARDING COMMERCIAL SUCCESS
`
`Submitted July 25, 2014
`
`
`
`CONFIDENTIAL - PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`Target Corporation Exhibit 1116
`
`Target vv DMC
`IPR2013-00530, 531, 532, 533
`
`

`

`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`I.
`
`EXPERIENCE AND CREDENTIALS ................................................................... 1
`
`II.
`
`SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT ............................................................................... 2
`
`III.
`
`INFORMATION RELIED UPON ....................................................................... 5
`
`IV. SUMMARY OF OPINIONS ............................................................................. 5
`
`V.
`
`BACKGROUND ............................................................................................. 7
`
`A. The ’531 And ’563 Patents ................................................................. 7
`
`B.
`
`DMC and Secret Fit Belly Bottoms .................................................... 11
`
`C.
`
`Legal Framework ............................................................................. 14
`
`VI. MR. GREEN FAILS TO ASSESS THE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS OF THE CLAIMS
`
`SUBJECT TO OBVIOUSNESS ........................................................................ 16
`
`VII. ANALYSIS OF MR. GREEN'S OPINIONS REGARDING COMMERCIAL SUCCESS
`
`.................................................................................................................. 20
`
`A. Overview ......................................................................................... 20
`
`B. Mr. Green’s Basis For Commercial Success Opinion is Deficient ....... 22
`
`C.
`
`Factors Unrelated to Asserted Claims of the Patents-In-Suit ............ 28
`
`CONFIDENTIAL
`PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`i
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, —00531, ~00532, -00533
`
`EXPERIENCE AND CREDENTIALS
`
`1.
`
`I am a Senior Managing Director
`
`in the Forensic & Litigation
`
`Consulting ("FLC") practice of FTI Consulting,
`
`Inc.
`
`("FTI"), a multidisciplinary
`
`international financial advisory and consulting firm.
`
`I am a member of the FLC
`
`National Leadership Team, serve as market and administrative leader for the
`
`Chicago and Indianapolis offices and also. co—lead FTI’s National
`
`Intellectual
`
`Property Practice. Before joining FTI,
`
`I was a partner with the international
`
`professional services firm, KPMG, LLP.
`
`2.
`
`I have significant experience assisting companies and clients with
`
`complex accounting, corporate finance and litigation issues.
`
`I focus on the
`
`preparation of sophisticated economic analyses and the assessment of damages
`
`in various types of commercial disputes; and over the course of my career, I have
`
`analyzed economic and financial issues in more than one hundred commercial
`
`disputes, many of which involved patent, copyright, trade secret, and trademark
`
`infringement. Many of those assignments have also involved complex studies of
`
`damages and sophisticated valuation analysis
`
`in matters involving various
`
`biotechnology and pharmaceutical products, and drug technologies.
`
`3.
`
`In addition to preparing damages studies in commercial litigation,
`
`I
`
`also have
`
`significant
`
`experience
`
`in
`
`corporate,
`
`financial,
`
`and accounting
`
`management positions, including Analyst and Director as well as Chief Financial
`
`Officer for a high—tech company, where I was responsible for managing its
`
`intellectual property portfolio.
`
`In that capacity, as well as during my consulting
`
`CONFIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 1
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013-00530, ~00531, -00532, —00533
`
`career, I have been involved in license negotiations, performing royalty analysis,
`
`valuing intellectual property and reviewing and analyzing license agreements.
`
`4.
`
`I graduated cum laude from DePauw University with a Bachelor of
`
`Arts degree in Economics and subSequently received a Masters of Business
`
`Administration degree from Indiana University.
`
`I am a Certified Public
`
`Accountant, Certified Valuation Analyst, and am Certified in Financial Forensics
`
`and Accredited in Business Valuation.
`
`I am also a member of the American
`
`Institute of Certified Public Accountants and National Association of Certified
`
`Valuation Analysts.
`
`Exhibit 1111 contains
`
`a
`
`summary of my education,
`
`experiences, prior testimony, and publications/seminars that I have authored.
`
`II.
`
`SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT
`
`5.
`
`V Target Corporation (”Target” or ”Petitioner”) filed four petitions for
`
`inter partes review (”IPR”) of various claims of U.S. Patent RE43,531 E ("’531
`
`patent”),
`
`titled ”Belly Covering Garment,” and US. Patent RE43,563 E (”’563
`
`patent”), also titled ”Belly Covering Garment.
`
`II 1,2
`
`The patents-in-suit are owned
`
`by Destination Maternity Corporation (”DMC”) and relate to bottomsthat are
`
`1 Jointly referred to as ”patents-in-suit”.
`
`2 Exhibit 1027 (Institution Decision |PR2013-00530), Exhibit 1029 (Institution
`
`Decision IPR2013-00531), Exhibit 1031 (Institution Decision |PR2013-00532),
`
`Exhibit 1033 (Institution Decision |PR2013-00533).
`
`CONFIDENTIAL — PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 2
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, -00531, -00532, -00533
`
`worn during different stages of pregnancy, different stages of post-partum body
`
`changes, and different stages of torso weight gains and losses. Generally,
`
`I
`
`understand the bottoms are trousers or skirts with an attached belly panel. DMC
`
`sells bottoms under its trademark ”Secret—Fit Belly” that DMC represents are
`
`covered by the patents-in—suit.
`
`6.
`
`On February 14, 2014 and February 19, 2014, the Patent Trial and
`
`Appeal Board (”PTAB”) issued decisions related to the ’563 patent3 and ’531
`
`patent,4 respectively.
`
`I understand that the PTAB Institution Decisions related to
`
`the ’563 patent found that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Petitioner
`
`would prevail in showing anticipation of claims 1—3, 6—8, 10, 11, 16, and 20,5 and
`
`that claims 3, 4, and 12-14 will likely be shown to be obvious.6 I understand that
`
`3 Exhibit 1027 (Institution Decision IPR2013—00530); Exhibit 1029 (Institution
`
`Decision |PR2013-00531).
`
`4 Exhibit 1031 (Institution Decision |PR2013—00532), Exhibit 1033 (Institution
`
`Decision |PR2013—00533).
`
`5 Exhibit 1027 (Institution Decision lPR2013—00530), p. 22; Exhibit 1029
`
`(Institution Decision lPR2013-00531), p. 29.
`
`6 Exhibit 1027 (Institution Decision IPR2013-00530), p. 22; Exhibit 1029
`
`(Institution Decision |PR2013-00531), p. 29.
`
`CON FIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 3
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, -00531, -00532, -00533
`
`the PTAB Institution Decisions related to the ’531 patent found that there is
`
`reasonable likelihood that the Petitioner would prevail in showing anticipation of
`
`claims 1, 2, 5, 10, 17, 24-26, 28, and 29,7 and that claims 6, 11, 15, 16, 26, and 27
`
`will likely be shown to be obvious.8
`
`_0 I have been retained by the Petitioner
`
`through its Counsel, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP (”Counsel”), to review and respond
`
`to Mr. Green’s analysis and opinions.
`
`7 Exhibit 1031 (Institution'Decision |PR2013f00532), p. 23; Exhibit 1033
`
`(Institution Decision |PR2013-00533), p. 25.
`
`8 Exhibit 1031 (Institution Decision |PR2013—00532), p. 23; Exhibit 1033
`
`(Institution Decision IPR2013—00533), p. 25.
`
`9 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial Success), 1] 1.
`
`10 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial SUCCESS), 1i 9.
`
`CONFIDENTIAL — PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 4
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, ~00531, ~00532, ~00533
`
`III.
`
`INFORMATION RELIED UPON
`
`8.
`
`During the course of my work in this matter,
`
`I have examined
`
`documents provided to me by Counsel and other information I obtained from
`
`public sources. This declaration and the opinions and conclusions reached herein
`
`are based on my review of these documents as well as my knowledge, education,
`
`experience, and training. A listing of the specific documents I considered and
`
`reviewed is contained in the attached Exhibit 1112.
`
`9.
`
`My opinions contained herein are the results of my investigations to
`
`date. They are to be used for the specific purposes of these proceedings and are
`
`not to be used for any other purpose without the express written consent of FTI.
`
`I
`
`reserve the right
`to supplement, amend or alter these opinions based on
`information that hereafter becomes I available,
`including information that
`
`becomes available prior to and during the time of trial.
`
`IV.
`
`SUMMARY OF OPINIONS
`
`.10.
`
`In my opinion, Mr. Green’s analysis and opinions are not a relevant
`
`or reliable assessment of whether the claims at issue in this matter impacted the
`
`sales and/or the financial results for the Secret Fit Belly bottoms.
`
`11.
`
`In particular, Mr. Green failed to appropriately assess the commercial
`
`success of certain dependent claims subject to obviousness challenges in this
`
`matter. Rather, Mr. Green assessed the commercial success of the overall
`
`product
`
`that DMC alleges is covered by the patents—in-suit, which includes
`
`CONFIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 5
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, —00531, ~00532, ~00533
`
`features of both the independent and dependent claims of the patents-in-suit.
`
`It
`
`is my understanding that
`
`independent claims in this matter are subject to
`
`anticipatory challenges such that secondary considerations of obviousness are
`
`inapplicable. Thus, since Mr. Green failed to assess the impact on the Secret Fit
`
`Belly bottoms’ commercial success resulting from the dependent claims at issue,
`
`his analyses and opinions regarding commercial success are not relevant to the
`
`issue at hand.
`
`12.
`
`Notwithstanding Mr. Green’s failure to address commercial success
`
`as it relates to the dependent claims subject to obviousness challenges in this
`
`matter, Mr. Green’s analysis fails to establish a prima facie showing of a nexus
`
`between the claims at issue in these proceedings and the commercial success of
`
`the Secret Fit Belly bottoms. That is, the evidence that Mr. Green relied upon is
`
`insufficient to establish that the commercial success of the Secret Fit Belly
`
`bottoms as compared to the non—Secret Fit Belly bottoms is related to the claims
`
`at issue.
`
`In fact, Mr. Green fails to demonstrate that there are not other factors
`
`that could be influencing the sales of Secret Fit Belly bottoms, such as differences
`in styles, colors, in—stock availabilities, sales and marketing efforts, promotions or
`
`incentives, in—store placements, quality of materials, and a myriad of other items
`
`unrelated to the claims at issue that could explain why the Secret Fit Belly
`
`bottoms are outperforming the non—Secret Fit Belly bottoms.
`
`CON FIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 6
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, —00531, -00532, —00533
`
`V.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`A.
`
`The '531 And ’563 Patents
`
`13.
`
`I understand claim 1 of the ’531 generally calls for a garment with an
`
`upper portion that includes a belly panel that expands to cover and fit over a
`
`growing abdomen during different stages of pregnancy.11 The lower portion of
`
`the garment has a first torso encircling circumference that recedes downward for
`
`expansion of the belly panel.12 The upper portion of the garment also has a
`
`second torso encircling circumference that encircles the torso just beneath the
`
`wearer’s breast area to hold the garment up and in place in a location of
`
`11 Exhibit 1031 (Institution Decision |PR2013-00532), pp. 5-6; Exhibit 1033
`
`(Institution Decision |PR2013—00533), pp. 5—6; Exhibit 1018 (U.S. Patent
`
`RE43,531 E), claim 1.
`
`12 Exhibit 1031 (Institution Decision IPR2013-00532), pp. 5-6; Exhibit 1033
`
`(Institution Decision |PR2013—00533), pp. 5—6; Exhibit 1018 (U.S. Patent
`
`RE43,531 E), Claim 1.
`
`CONFIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 7
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`Cases IPR2013—00530, ~00531, -00532, -00533
`
`maximum girth of the abdomen, such that the wearer’s entire pregnant abdomen
`
`is substantially covered during all stages of pregnancy.13
`
`14.
`
`The ’563 patent is a continuation of the ’531 patent.
`
`I understand
`
`claim 1 of the ’563 patent generally calls for an expansible belly panel that
`
`substantially covers a wearer’s entire belly region, which region covers an area
`
`from just beneath the wearer’s breast area to beneath the wearer’s belly.14 The
`
`belly panel has an upper edge portion with a first encircling circumference in the
`
`wearer’s upper abdomen region and a lower edge portion with a second
`5
`
`encircling circumference in the wearer’s lower abdomen region.1
`
`The lower
`
`portion of the garment has a torso encircling circumference that
`
`recedes
`
`13 Exhibit 1031 (Institution Decision |PR2013-00532), pp. 5—6; Exhibit 1033
`
`(Institution Decision IPR2013-00533), pp. 5—6; Exhibit 1018 (U5. Patent
`
`RE43,531 E), claim 1.
`
`14 Exhibit 1027 (Institution Decision |PR2013—00530), pp. 5-6; Exhibit 1029
`
`(Institution Decision |PR2013-00531), pp. 5-6; Exhibit 1001 (US. Patent
`
`RE43,563 E), claim 1.
`
`15 Exhibit 1027 (Institution Decision |PR2013-00530), pp. 5-6; Exhibit 1029
`
`(Institution Decision |PR2013-00531), pp. 5-6; Exhibit 1001 (U.S. Patent
`
`RE43,563 E), claim 1.
`
`CON FIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 8
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013-00530, -00531, —00532, -00533
`
`downward to allow for expansion of the belly pane
`
`16
`
`|.
`
`I understand claim 1 of the
`
`’563 patent does not mention pregnancy.17
`
`15.
`
`As discussed above,
`
`the PTAB instituted IPR proceedings on the
`
`grounds of obviousness for several dependent claims of the patents—in—suit:
`
`o For the ’531 patent, claims 6, 11, 15, 16, 26, and 27 are the relevant
`dependent claims for obviousness considerations.18 In dependent
`claims 6 and 11, the garment lower portion has a partial waistband
`
`extending from the side seams of the garment
`
`lower portion 1)
`
`extending across a back side of the garment lower portion where the
`
`partial waistband widens above a wearer’s pelvis, or 2) tapering
`
`toward the side seams and widening above a wearer’s pelvis across a
`back side of
`the garment
`lower portion,
`respectively.19
`For
`dependent claims 15 and 16, an edge margin of the garment upper
`
`portion is folded over and knitted (both claims) or sewn (claim 16) to
`
`15 Exhibit 1027 (Institution Decision |PR2013—00530), pp. 5—6; Exhibit 1029
`
`(Institution Decision IPR2013—00531), pp. 5—6; Exhibit 1001 (U.S. Patent
`
`RE43,563 E), claim 1.
`
`17 Exhibit 1001(u.s. Patent RE43,563 E), claim 1.
`
`18 Exhibit 1031 (Institution Decision |PR2013-00532), p. 23; Exhibit 1033
`
`(Institution Decision IPR2013—00533), p. 25.
`
`19 Exhibit 1018 (U.S. Patent RE43,531 E), claims 6, 11.
`
`CON FIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 9
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases lPR2013—00530, —00531, -00532, —00533
`
`an inside of the fabric to provide a perimeter hem stitch.20
`
`In
`
`dependent claims 26 and 27, the garment lower portion is comprised
`
`of denim jeans and a zipperless fly, respectively.
`
`0 For the ’563 patent, claims 3, 4, and 12 — 14 are the relevant
`dependent claims for obviousness considerations.21
`In dependent
`claims 3 and 4, the trousers are comprised of denim jeans (claim 3)
`
`and the denim jeans have one or more pockets and a sewn zipperless
`fly front (claim 4).22 For dependent claim 12, the top edge of the
`margin of the belly panel is folded over and sewn or knitted to the
`inside of the belly panel fabric.23 Dependent claim 13 calls for a belly
`panel that has a double layer tubular structure.24 Finally, dependent
`
`claim 14 comprises a partial waistband that extends across a back
`
`side of the lower edge portion and extends down into side seams of
`an article of connected clothing.25
`
`20 Exhibit 1018 (U.S. Patent RE43,531 E), claims 15, 16.
`
`21 Exhibit 1027 (Institution Decision |PR2013-00530), p. 22; Exhibit 1029
`
`(Institution Decision IPR2013—00531), p. 29.
`
`22 Exhibit 1001 (Us. Patent RE43,563 E), claims 3, 4.
`
`23 Exhibit 1001 (us. Patent RE43,563 E), claim 12.
`
`24 Exhibit 1001(u.s. Patent RE43,563 E), claim 13.
`
`25 Exhibit 1001(U.s. Patent RE43,563 E), claim 14.
`
`CON FIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 10
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013-00530, —00531, -00532, -00533
`
`I understand that the Petitioner’s expert, Ms. Frances Harder, opined in her
`
`declaration submitted in these proceedings that each of the features of the
`
`dependent claims at issue were known in the prior art.26
`
`B.
`
`DMC and Secret Fit Belly Bottoms
`
`16-—
`
`g It also has two additional value price brands that
`
`are sold by outside retailers: Two Hearts (sold at Sears) and Oh Baby! (sold at
`
`26 Exhibit 1011 (Declaration of Frances Harder), 1] 19, 23—43.
`
`27 Exhibit 1094 (Deposition of Rebecca Piccone, Deposition Exhibit 107 at
`
`T
`
`DMC0098355).
`
`28 Exhibit 1094 (Deposition of Rebecca Piccone, Deposition Exhibit 107 at
`
`DMC0098355).
`
`_
`
`CONFIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 11
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases lPR2013—00530, -00531, —00532, -00533
`
`Kow—
`
`17- _32 I
`
`understand that DMC represents that its Secret Fit Belly bottoms are covered by
`
`various claims of the patents—in-suit. DMC produced sales and gross profit
`
`information by brand and SKU for the period of 3Q 2008 through 2013 for Secret
`33
`
`Fit Belly and non—Secret Fit Belly bottoms.
`
`Exhibit 1113 provides a summary of
`
`units, sales, and gross profits by brand and by Secret Fit Belly and non-Secret Fit
`
`Beuv bottoms.—
`
`—4
`
`30 Exhibit 2042 (Destination Maternity Corporation Form 10-K for the year ended
`
`September 30, 2013), p. 3.
`
`31 Exhibit 1093 (Deposition of Rebecca Piccone), p. 123.
`
`32 Exhibit 1108 (DMC0053311).
`
`33 Exhibits 2056, 2058, 2060, 2062.
`
`34 See Exhibit 1113.
`
`CONFIDENTIAL — PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 12
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, -00531, -00532, -00533
`
`
`
`18.
`
`35
`
`35
`
`ill
`
`CON FIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 13
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, —00531, -00532, -00533
`
`C.
`
`Legal Framework
`
`19.
`
`I understand that patent claims may be challenged as anticipated by,
`
`or obvious in view of, prior art.
`
`It
`
`is my understanding that obviousness is a
`
`question of law based on underling factual inquiries.
`
`It also my understanding
`
`that these factual inquiries include (a) the scope and content of the prior art, (b)
`
`the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art, (c) the level of
`
`ordinary skill in the art, and (d) secondary considerations. And, I understand that
`
`obviousness, including any proffered secondary considerations, must be analyzed
`
`on a claim—by-claim basis. Further,
`
`I understand that secondary considerations
`
`are not relevant to the issue of anticipation and that courts have considered a
`
`number of
`
`factors when evaluating secondary considerations
`
`including
`
`commercial success. My declaration focuses on the issue of commercial success.
`
`20.
`
`In that regard, I understand that evidence of a product’s commercial
`
`success factors into the obviousness analysis only where there is a sufficient
`
`relationship, or nexus, between the merits of the claimed invention and 'the
`
`evidence in question. And, in this context, the term ”nexus” is used to designate
`
`a
`
`legally and factually sufficient connection between the evidence of the
`
`product’s commercial success and the merits of the claimed invention such that
`
`the evidence should be considered in opposing obviousness.
`
`CONFIDENTIAL — PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 14
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, -00531, —00532, -00533
`
`21.
`
`It is my understanding that a prima facie case36 of nexus is generally
`
`made out if the patent owner shows that the commercially available product in
`
`question embodies the features of the claim(s)
`
`in question, and that those
`
`features are not just components or portions of the overall product.
`
`I further
`
`understand that, if the features of the claim(s) in question are just components or
`
`portions of the overall product, then the patent owner must make a prima facie
`
`showing of a sufficient relationship between the claimed features and the product
`
`in question; that is, the patent owner must show that the claimed features were
`
`responsible for the product’s commercial success.
`
`I understand that once the
`
`patent owner demonstrates a prima facie nexus, the burden to provide evidence
`
`to the contrary, as discussed in the next paragraph, shifts to the challenger.
`
`22.
`
`I understand that the requisite nexus does not exist—and, thus, a
`
`prima facie case of nexus may be rebutted—when alleged commercial success is
`
`due to:
`
`(a) a feature or features of a claim or claims other than the claim(s) in
`
`question—for example, a feature or features of an underlying independent claim
`
`as opposed to a feature or features attributable to an associated dependent claim
`
`whose obviousness is
`
`in question;
`
`(b) an unclaimed feature or unclaimed
`
`36 I understand that, in the context of secondary considerations, such as
`
`commercial success, the phrase ”prima facie case” or ”prima facie showing”
`
`may be used by courts to describe the patent owner’s burden of producing
`
`enough evidence to permit the trier of fact to infer the fact at issue.
`
`CONFIDENTIAL - PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 15
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases lPR2013—00530, 00531, —00532, —00533
`
`features; (c) features known in the prior art; (d) extraneous factors such as, for
`
`example, advertising or marketing activities or superior workmanship; or (e) other
`
`relevant economic and commercial factors unrelated to the merits of the claim(s)
`
`in question.
`
`VI. MR. GREEN FAILS TO ASSESS THE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS OF THE CLAIMS
`SUBJECT TO OBVIOUSNESS
`
`23.
`
`I understand that only certain dependent claims in this matter are
`
`subject to obviousness challenges by the Petitioner.
`
`I also understand that
`
`independent claims in this matter, such as claim 1 of each of the patents-in-suit,
`
`are subject to anticipatory challenges, and as such, secondary considerations are
`
`not relevant. However, Mr. Green’s analyses fail
`
`to assess the commercial
`
`success of the Secret Fit Belly bottoms with respect to the dependent claims.
`
`Rather, his conclusions regarding the commercial success of the Secret Fit Belly
`
`products are drawn from reviewing the overall sales and profits of Secret Fit Belly
`
`bottoms in comparison to non—Secret Fit Belly bottoms sold across the various
`
`brands 0t we._
`
`_8 i ttdttttand that pt. stocksttttt oniy
`
`examined four separate Secret Fit Belly products to assess whether they practice
`
`37 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), p. 56.
`
`38 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), p. 57.
`
`CONFIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 16
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013-00530, -00531, -00532, —00533
`
`claims of the patents-in-suit.39
`
`39 Exhibit 2017 (Declaration of David Brookstein,Sc.D.),1l 11.
`
`40
`
`41 Exhibit 1114.
`
`Manama.—
`
`43 Exhibit 1078 (Deposition of David Brookstein), pp. 44—45, 101—102; Exhibit 1079
`
`(Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 112—114.
`
`44 Exhibit 2076 (Declaration of David Brookstein, Sc.D., Exhibit 2); Exhibit 1078
`
`(Deposition of David Brookstein), pp. 44—45, 101-102.
`
`CON FlDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 17
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013-00530, -00531, —00532, —00533
`
`NPl|m
`
`45 Exhibit 1078 (Deposition of David Brookstein), p. 50.
`
`46 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 61, 80-81.
`
`47 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 56, 78—79.
`
`48 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 70-71, 81-82.
`
`49 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 72-74, 83.
`
`CON FIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 18
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, —00531, -00532, -00533
`
`N
`
`N U'lIU1
`
`50 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), p. 87.
`
`51 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 92-93.
`
`57- Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 51-52.
`
`53 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 82—83.
`
`.54 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 82-83.
`
`55 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 88—89.
`
`CONFIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 19
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, —00531, —00532, —00533
`
`26.
`
`27.
`
`As a. result, it is my opinion that Mr. Green’s analyses and opinions
`
`regarding commercial success are not relevant to the issue at hand.
`
`VII.
`
`ANALYSIS OF MR. GREEN’S OPINIONS REGARDING COMMERCIAL SUCCESS
`
`A.
`
`Overview
`
`28.
`
`Notwithstanding Mr. Green’s failure to address the commercial
`
`success as it relates to the dependent claims subject to obviousness challenges in
`
`this matter, Mr. Green’s conclusion that claimed features of the patents—in-suit
`
`56 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial Success), 1] 13-
`
`14, 16-17.
`
`57 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial SucceSS), ‘ll 24.
`
`CON FIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 20
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases lPR2013—00530, —00531, -00532, —00533
`
`are responsible for the commercial success of the Secret Fit Belly bottoms is not
`
`supported by the analyses included in the Green Declaration; i.e., the analyses
`
`performed by Mr. Green fail to establish a prima facie showing that there is a
`
`nexus between the claims at issue and the commercial success of the Secret Fit
`
`Belly bottoms.
`
`In Part B
`
`below, I review and rebut Mr. Green’s analysis of the sales data produced by DMC
`
`for Secret Fit Belly and non-Secret Fit Belly bottoms and his statements regarding
`
`competitors in the maternity bottoms space.
`
`In summary,
`
`I find the evidence
`
`relied upon by Mr. Green insufficient to establish that the features of the claims
`
`at
`
`issue drove the commercial success of the Secret Fit Belly bottoms as
`
`compared to the non-Secret Fit Belly bottoms.
`
`29.
`
`58 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial Success), 11 9.
`
`CONFIDENTIAL — PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 21
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, -00531, —00532, —00533
`
`_ In Part C below,
`
`I review and rebut Mr. Green’s conclusions that
`
`there are no other factors beyond the patented technology that contributed to
`
`the commercial success of the Secret Fit Belly bottoms.
`
`In summary, I find that
`
`Mr. Green failed to establish that the patented technology is responsible for the
`
`commercial success of the Secret Fit Belly bottoms.
`
`B.
`
`Mr. Green’s Basis For Commercial Success 0 inion is Deficient
`
`30.
`
`_62 Based on my review of the data that Mr. Green relied
`
`upon, it appears that he accurately reports the sales and gross profits generated
`
`by Secret Fit Belly bottoms for DMC over the period of 3Q 2008 through 4Q 2013,
`
`59 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial Success), 1] 31.
`
`60 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial Success), 1] 33—
`
`34.
`
`61 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial Success), 1] 35.
`
`62 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial SUCCESS), 1] 37.
`
`CONFIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 22
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013-00530, -00531, —00532, —00533
`
`but Mr. Green’s other analyses related to establishing commercial success are
`
`deficient in supporting his conclusions.
`
`31.
`
`65
`
`As discussed in greater detail below, Mr. Green fails
`
`to
`
`demonstrate that there are not other factors that could be influencing the sales of
`
`Secret Fit Belly bottoms,
`
`such as differences
`
`instyles,
`
`colors,
`
`in-stock
`
`availabilities, sales and marketing efforts, promotions or incentives,
`
`in-store
`
`placements, quality of materials, and a myriad of other items unrelated to the
`
`claims at
`
`issue,
`
`that could explain why the Secret Fit Belly bottoms are
`
`outperforming the non—Secret Fit Belly bottoms.
`
`63 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial SUCCESS), 11 32.
`
`64 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial SUCCESS), ll 33.
`
`65 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial Success), ‘ll 34.
`
`CON FlDENTlAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 23
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases lPR2013—00530, -00531, -00532, 00533
`
`U) N
`
`66 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial SucceSS), ll 35—
`
`36.
`
`67 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial SucceSS), ll 35.
`
`68 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial SucceSS), 11 35.
`
`69 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial SucceSS), ll 36.
`
`CONFIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 24
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013-00530, 00531, -00532, -00533
`
`00 00
`
`
`
`7° Exhibits 2056, 2058, 2060, 2062.
`
`CONFIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 25
`
`

`

`U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013-00530, -00531, -00532, —00533
`
`|lUL)
`
`U.) .U‘
`
`\i
`
`72 Exhibit 1093 (Deposition of Rebecca Piccone), p. 123.
`
`73 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 270-271.
`
`CON FIDENTIAL— PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
`
`PAGE 26
`
`

`

`U. 5. Patent and Trademark Office, Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`Target Corporation v. Destination Maternity Corporation
`
`Cases IPR2013—00530, —00531, 00532, -00533
`
`tllll
`
`74 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 271-272.
`
`75 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial Success), 1) 36.
`
`76 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial Success), 1) 37.
`
`77 Exhibit 2022 (Declaration of Philip Green Regarding Commercial Success), 1] 37.
`
`78 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 287-289.
`
`79 Exhibit 1079 (Deposition of Philip Green), pp. 296—297.
`
`CONFlDENTIAL— PURSUAN

This document is available on Docket Alarm but you must sign up to view it.


Or .

Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.

After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.

Accept $ Charge
throbber

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.

throbber

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.

Become a Member

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

We are redirecting you
to a mobile optimized page.





Document Unreadable or Corrupt

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket

We are unable to display this document.

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket