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`Attorney Docket No. AKBM-33544
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`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
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`AKER BIOMARINE AS
`Petitioner
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`v.
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`NEPTUNE TECHNOLOGIES AND BIORESSOURCES INC.
`Patent Owner
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`
`
`Case IPR2014-00003
`Patent 8,278,351 B1
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`
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`PETITIONER AKER BIOMARINE AS’S MOTION FOR REHEARING
`UNDER 37 C.F.R. § 42.71
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`Mail Stop “PATENT BOARD”
`Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
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`I.
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`INTRODUCTION
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`On March 24, 2014, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) instituted
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`this inter partes review of certain claims of U.S. Patent No. 8,278,351 (“the ’351
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`patent”) on two grounds: (1) anticipation of claims 1, 3-6, 9, 12, 13, 19-24, 26-29,
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`32, 35, 36, and 42-46 by Beaudoin I; and (2) obviousness of claims 1-6, 9, 12, 13,
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`19-29, 32, 35, 36, and 42-46 over the combination of Fricke, Bergelson, Yasawa,
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`Itano, and the WHO Bulletin. Paper 22 at 28. Although the Board instituted an
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`inter partes review of every other claim subject to Aker BioMarine AS’s (“Aker”)
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`petition1 based on anticipation of those claims by Beaudoin I, the Board
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`“decline[d] to institute an inter partes review of claims 2 and 25 under 35 U.S.C.
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`§ 102(b) as anticipated by Beaudoin I.” Id. Because Beaudoin I also discloses
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`every limitation of claims 2 and 25, and because the Board’s decision to the
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`contrary rests upon legal error, Aker respectfully requests that the Board reconsider
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`its refusal to institute a review of claims 2 and 25 as anticipated by Beaudoin I.
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`Claims 2 and 25 of the ’351 patent, which are generally directed to a krill
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`extract, state that “the extract has a total phospholipid concentration in an amount
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`1 Aker’s petition originally requested review of claims 1-94 of the ’351 patent, but
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`the Board granted the parties’ joint motion to limit the claims to those identified
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`above. Paper 21.
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`1
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`of about 40% w/w, wherein about represents ± 10%.” Ex. 1001. As found by the
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`Board in its decision instituting this inter partes review, “about 40% w/w, wherein
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`about represents ± 10%” means “from 30% to 50%.” Paper 22 at 17. In its
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`petition, Aker explained that claims 2 and 25 were anticipated by Beaudoin I
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`because Table 14 in that reference expressly “discloses 54.1 ± 6.1% phospholipids
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`and polar material w/w in Fraction I extracts, which falls within or touches the
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`claimed ranges.” Paper 4 at 20; Paper 22 at 17. The Board declined to review
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`claims 2 and 25 on this ground, however, stating that “[w]hile it is possible that
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`54.1 ± 6.1% included 48% to 50%, which would have fallen within the recited
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`range,” the Board was not persuaded that the amount disclosed in Table 14 of
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`Beaudoin I “necessarily included such an amount.” Paper 22 at 17.
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`The Board committed two legal errors in declining to review claims 2 and 25
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`for anticipation by Beaudoin I. First, the Board incorrectly applied the standard for
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`inherent anticipation in requiring that Beaudoin I must “necessarily include[]” the
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`claimed phospholipid concentration. In doing so, the Board overlooked that
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`Beaudoin I explicitly discloses a phospholipid concentration within the claimed
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`range, and therefore anticipates claims 2 and 25 under controlling precedent.
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`Paper 4 at 20. Second, the Board’s decision contravenes In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252
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`(C.C.P.A 1977). The Board adopted Aker’s argument that because “the processes
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`described in the ’351 patent and . . . the prior art [Beaudoin I] are virtually
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`2
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`indistinguishable,” as a result so, too, “would be the resulting extracts.” Paper 4 at
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`12; Paper 22 at 13. Accordingly, a prima facie case of anticipation (and
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`obviousness) has been established and the burden shifted to Neptune to produce
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`evidence as to why the resulting compositions would be different. See Best, 562
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`F.2d at 1255. Here, Neptune presented no evidence or even argument that
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`Beaudoin I results in compositions containing phospholipid concentrations outside
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`the ranges claimed by claims 2 and 25. Thus, the Board should have found that
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`Beaudoin I anticipates those claims.
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`The Board has previously granted requests for rehearing of a decision not to
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`institute an inter partes review on select grounds where it committed legal error in
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`declining to review those grounds. In this case, the Board decision rests on two
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`legal errors. For at least these reasons, the Board should institute a review of
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`claims 2 and 25 as anticipated by Beaudoin I.
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`II.
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`STANDARD OF REVIEW
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`Under 37 C.F.R. § 42.71(d), “[a] party . . . may file a request for rehearing[,]
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`. . . specifically identify[ing] all matters the party believes the Board
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`misapprehended or overlooked, and the place where each matter was previously
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`addressed . . . .” On rehearing, the Board reviews a previous decision “for an
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`abuse of discretion.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.71(c). “An abuse of discretion may be
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`established by showing that the [Board] made a clear error of judgment in
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`3
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`weighing relevant factors or exercised its discretion based upon an error of law or
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`clearly erroneous factual findings.” Novo Nordisk of N. Am., Inc. v. Genentech,
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`Inc., 77 F.3d 1364, 1367 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (citation omitted).
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`The Board previously has granted a request for rehearing because its refusal
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`to institute review on anticipation grounds was legally erroneous in light of
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`existing precedent. For example, in Illumina, Inc. v. Trustees of Columbia
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`University, the Board originally declined to institute review for anticipation
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`because the Board did not believe that a second reference was “incorporated by
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`reference” in the primary reference. IPR2013-00006, slip op. at 2-5 (Patent Tr. &
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`App. Bd. May 10, 2013). On rehearing, the Board “agree[d] … that [it] erred in
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`not instituting” for anticipation in light of Federal Circuit precedent. Id. at 3-5; see
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`also Illumina, Inc. v. Trustees of Columbia Univ., IPR2013-00011, slip op. at 3-5
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`(Patent Tr. & App. Bd. May 10, 2013).
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`III. ARGUMENT
`Beaudoin I anticipates claims 2 and 25. The Board’s determination to the
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`contrary was based on two legal errors: (1) despite Beaudoin I’s express disclosure
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`of phospholipid concentrations in the claimed range, the Board failed to follow the
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`Federal Circuit’s controlling precedent in ClearValue, Inc. v. Pearl River
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`Polymers, Inc., 668 F.3d 1340 (Fed. Cir. 2012), and instead applied the standard
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`for inherent anticipation; and (2) the Board failed to follow controlling precedent,
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`4
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`including Best, 562 F.2d at 1255, and its progeny, which provides that once there is
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`a prima facie case of anticipation based on identity between the prior art and
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`patented products and processes, the burden shifts to the patentee to demonstrate
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`some difference, which Neptune did not do.
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`Viewed under the correct legal framework, Beaudoin I anticipates claims 2
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`and 25, or at minimum, establishes “a reasonable likelihood that . . . the claims . . .
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`[are] unpatentable.” See 37 C.F.R. § 42.108. Aker’s motion for rehearing should
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`be granted and the Board should institute review of claims 2 and 25 based on
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`anticipation (or obviousness) by Beaudoin I.
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`A. The Board Applied The Wrong Legal Standard In Evaluating
`Beaudoin I’s Express Disclosure
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`Under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b), a reference anticipates a patent claim if it
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`“describe[s] . . . each and every claim limitation and enable[s] one of skill in the art
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`to practice an embodiment of the claimed invention without undue
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`experimentation.” ClearValue, 668 F.3d at 1345 (citation and internal quotation
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`marks omitted). Anticipation may be express or inherent. Inherent anticipation
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`applies only where “a claim limitation . . . is not expressly disclosed . . . .” See In
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`re Montgomery, 677 F.3d 1375, 1379-80 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (citation and internal
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`quotation marks omitted). In reaching its decision not to review claims 2 and 25
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`for anticipation by Beaudoin I, the Board overlooked that Beaudoin I expressly
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`5
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`discloses the claimed phospholipid concentration and, thus, the standard for
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`inherent anticipation is inapplicable.
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`As Aker pointed out in its Petition, Paper 4 at 20, Beaudoin I expressly
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`discloses phospholipid concentrations within the ranges claimed by claims 2 and
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`25. Just as the Board understood “about 40% w/w, wherein about represents ±
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`10%” in claims 2 and 25 to denote a range of phospholipid concentrations, Paper
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`22 at 17 (“[A] range defined as about 40% w/w, wherein about represents ± 10%,
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`i.e., from 30% to 50% . . . .”), so too does Beaudoin I’s recitation of “54.1% ±
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`6.1%” in Table 14 disclose a range of phospholipid concentrations, i.e. 48-60.2%.
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`Indeed, the Board acknowledged that “54.1% ± 6.1%” discloses a range of
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`phospholipid concentrations. Id. (referring to “the range disclosed by Beaudoin
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`I”); Ex. 1002 at Table 14, p. 23.2
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`2 The Board’s recognition that Beaudoin I discloses a range of phospholipid
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`concentrations is consistent with prior PTO decisions. See, e.g., In re Nestec,
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`Ltd., No. 2010-001685, 2010 WL 1003908, at *12 (Bd. Pat. App. & Interf. Mar.
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`17, 2010) (finding claims invalid where “[a]ppellant has not established that the
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`differences between [prior art silica] and [claimed] silica are not within the
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`margin of error of the tests”); In re Brossi, No. 95-3117, 1995 WL 1692976, at
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`*2 (Bd. Pat. App. & Interf. Jan. 1, 1995) (finding claims invalid where “given
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`6
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`Because Beaudoin I expressly discloses a range of phospholipid
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`concentrations that overlaps with the range claimed in claims 2 and 25, the Federal
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`Circuit’s decision in ClearValue controls. In ClearValue, the patent at issue
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`claimed a range of 50 ppm or less and the prior art disclosed a range of 150 ppm
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`or less. Id. at 1344. The Federal Circuit determined that the claimed range in
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`ClearValue was disclosed by the prior art because the patentee failed to show that
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`the claimed range was “critical or that the claimed method works differently at
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`different points within the prior art range of 150 ppm or less.” Id. at 1345. The
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`holding in ClearValue is equally applicable where the prior art range overlaps, but
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`does not fully encompass, the claimed range. For example, in In re Burgher, the
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`Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (“BPAI”) confirmed that claims were
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`anticipated because the applicants did “not point out why the overlapping range
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`disclosed by [the prior art] would not anticipate the range . . . required by claim 1.”
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`No. 2008-5439, 2009 WL 45257 (Bd. Pat. App. & Interf. Jan. 6, 2009).
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`Here, as in ClearValue and Burgher, the prior art Beaudoin I reference
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`discloses a range of phospholipid concentrations that overlaps with the claimed
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`range. Indeed, the range Beaudoin I discloses is much narrower than the range
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`the margin of error, the BChE inhibition of [the claimed] compound 11 is
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`within the range of [the prior art]”).
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`7
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`disclosed by the prior art in ClearValue or that is claimed in claims 2 and 25. Also
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`like in ClearValue, Neptune has identified no criticality of its claimed range of
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`phospholipid concentrations, or any way that range distinguishes the claims from
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`Beaudon I. See ClearValue, 668 F.3d at 1345. Nothing in Neptune’s preliminary
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`response, Paper 16, indicates that the range in claims 2 and 25 is critical.
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`Neptune’s only arguments against anticipation by Beaudoin I were (1) that the
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`Claimed Phospholipids3 were not inherent in Beaudoin I; and (2) that the Beaudoin
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`I extract was not suitable for human consumption. Paper 16 at 8-20. Neptune did
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`not even attempt to argue that the phospholipid concentration limitations of claims
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`2 and 25 distinguish those claims from Beaudoin I.
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`The ’351 patent specification likewise does not identify anything critical or
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`distinguishing about the claimed phospholipid concentrations. To the contrary, the
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`specification teaches that higher phospholipid concentrations like those in the
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`range disclosed by Beaudoin I are preferred:
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` “Phospholipids are generally present in the extract in an amount of
`at least 40% w/w, preferably at least 45% w/w[, and m]ore
`preferably, . . . from about 45-60% w/w. Ex. 1001 at 16, col.15
`ll.43-46 (emphasis added).
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`3 “Claimed Phospholipids” refers to one or more of the phospholipids defined by
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`the general formula of claim 1.
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`8
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` In Table 5, entitled “Lipid composition, vitamins A and E,
`pigments and flavonoids of the extract,” phospholipids are listed as
`≥ 40.00 g/100g sample. Id. at 17, col.17:52-col.18 l.7
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` “Phospholipid market value is directly analogous to the purity
`achieved for the final product.” Id. at 18, col.19 ll.33-34.
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`Notably, the patent’s “preferred” range of phospholipids—45-60%—is nearly
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`identical to the range of phospholipids in Beaudoin I—48-60.2%. Compare Ex.
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`1001 at 16 col.15 ll.43-46 with Paper 22 at 17; Paper 6 at 20; Ex. 1002, Table 14,
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`p. 23. Because there has been no assertion, by Neptune or otherwise, that the range
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`of phospholipids in claims 2 and 25 is critical or demonstrates a difference with
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`Beaudoin I, the Board should have followed ClearValue and concluded that the
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`range disclosed in Beaudoin I anticipates claims 2 and 25. 668 F.3d 1340, 1345.
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`Even if the Board somehow did not view Beaudoin I’s range of phospholipids as
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`anticipatory, it should have found the existence of this overlapping range to
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`establish prima facie obviousness. In re Malagari, 499 F.2d 1297, 1303 (C.C.P.A.
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`1974) (“There is no question that the claimed invention is rendered prima facie
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`obvious [because] . . . the claimed range of carbon in the steel used as a starting
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`material touches that in the ‘typical preferred range’ of the reference.”); see also
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`Haynes Int’l, Inc. v. Jessop Steel Co., 8 F.3d 1573, 1577 n.3 (Fed. Cir. 1993),
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`clarified on other grounds, 15 F.3d 1076 (Fed. Cir. 1994) (“[W]hen the difference
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`between the claimed invention and the prior art is the range or value of a particular
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`9
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`variable, then a prima facie rejection is properly established when the difference in
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`range or value is minor.”).
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`Instead of following ClearValue, the Board declined to review claims 2 and
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`25 for anticipation over Beaudoin I because, “[w]hile it is possible that 54.1 ±
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`6.1% included 48% to 50%, which would have fallen within the recited range,” the
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`Board was “not persuaded that the amount disclosed in Table 14 of Beaudoin I
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`necessarily included such an amount.” Paper 22 at 17. As support for its decision,
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`the Board cited an inherent anticipation case, MEHL/Biophile Int’l Corp. v.
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`Milgraum, 192 F.3d 1362, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 1999), for the proposition that
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`“[i]nherency . . . may not be established by probabilities or possibilities.” Paper 22
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`at 17 (internal quotation marks omitted). There is no reason why the Board should
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`have applied an inherent anticipation standard, however, where Beaudoin expressly
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`discloses phospholipid concentrations within the claimed ranges. Board’s analysis
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`reflects a misunderstanding of the law and constitutes an abuse of discretion.
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`B.
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`The Board’s Decision Not To Institute Inter Partes Review Of
`Claims 2 And 25 Based On Anticipation By Beaudoin I
`Contravenes In re Best And Its Progeny
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`The Board’s determination that Beaudoin I does not inherently anticipate
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`claims 2 and 25 also constitutes legal error and therefore, an abuse of discretion.
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`As explained in Aker’s petition, the extraction processes in Beaudoin I and the
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`’351 patent are identical or substantially identical. Paper 4 at 12; compare Ex.
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`10
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`1002, p. 5, l.21-p.6, l.20 with Ex. 1001, col.18, l.53-col.19, l.9. The Board
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`acknowledged this, adopting Aker’s arguments on Page 12 of Aker’s petition that
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`“the processes described in the ’351 patent and . . . the prior art are virtually
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`indistinguishable,” and as a result so, too, “would be the resulting extracts.” Paper
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`4 at 12; Paper 22 at 12-13 (explaining that “the evidence presented by Aker tends
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`to demonstrate that the E. pacifica extract disclosed in Beaudoin I comprised at
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`least one [Claimed Phospholipid] under the principles of inherency as explained by
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`Aker. Pet. 12” (emphasis added)) The Board also rejected Neptune’s attempt to
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`differentiate the processes based on the purported heating step of Beaudoin I and
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`the “suitable for human consumption” limitation as “unpersuasive.” See Paper 22
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`at 12-13.
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`Under the controlling precedent of Best and its progeny, when the claimed
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`and prior art products “are produced by identical or substantially identical
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`processes,” it is the patentee’s burden “to prove that the prior art products do not
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`necessarily or inherently possess the characteristics of his claimed product.” E.g.,
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`Best, 562 F.2d at 1255; see also In re Spada, 911 F.3d 705, 708 (Fed. Cir. 1990)
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`(explaining that where the PTO “show[ed] sound basis for believing that the
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`products of the applicant and prior art are the same, the applicant has the burden of
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`proving they are not”). If the patentee does not meet this burden, the claimed
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`products should be deemed anticipated. Id. For example, in Spada, the BPAI
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`11
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`rejected claims because the claimed compositions “appear[ed] to be identical” to
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`those in the prior art. 911 F.2d at 708. The Federal Circuit confirmed that “it was
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`reasonable . . . to infer that the polymerization by both [the prior art] and Spada of
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`identical monomers, employing the same or similar polymerization techniques,
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`would produce polymers having the identical composition.” Id. The Court further
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`explained that Spada did not rebut this prima facie case of unpatentability because
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`he failed to “provide some scientific explanation for the asserted differences
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`between the properties of his compositions and those described by [the] prior art.”
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`Id. at 709.
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`Similarly, in In re Oyama, the BPAI determined that “[b]ecause the claimed
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`product and the prior art are made from the same starting material . . . and are
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`produced by a substantially similar process, the Examiner had a sufficient basis to
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`believe that the prior art product would reasonably appear to have the claimed
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`characteristics.” No. 2008-3682, 2008 WL 5264249, at *10 (Bd. Pat. App. &
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`Interf. Dec. 16, 2008) (citations omitted). The applicant’s arguments to the
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`contrary were insufficient to “show [that] the prior art process will not inherently
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`result in the claimed [composition],” and the BPAI affirmed the anticipation
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`rejection. Id. at *10-11.
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` Here, Neptune “offered no such showing” that the processes in Beaudoin I
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`and the ’351 patent resulted in products with different phospholipid concentrations.
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`12
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`See Spada, 911 F.2d at 708-09. As explained above, the Board rejected Neptune’s
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`only arguments that Beaudoin I’s process was different than that which was used to
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`produce the claimed inventions. See Paper 22 at 12-13. In addition, Neptune
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`offered no argument distinguishing any of its dependent claims from Beaudoin I
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`(or any other prior art reference). Accordingly and for this independent reason, the
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`Board abused its discretion in declining to institute a review of claims 2 and 25 for
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`anticipation by Beaudoin I.
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`13
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`IV. CONCLUSION
`For the foregoing reasons, Aker respectfully requests that the Board
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`authorize a review of claims 2 and 25 as anticipated, or at minimum rendered
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`prima facie obvious, by Beaudoin I.
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`Date: April 7, 2014
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`Respectfully submitted,
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`By: ___/J. Mitchell Jones/_____________
`J. Mitchell Jones, Ph.D.
`jmjones@casimirjones.com
`Reg. No. 44,174
`CASIMIR JONES SC
`2275 Deming Way, St. 310
`Middleton, WI 53562
`Tel: (608) 662-1277
`Fax: (608) 662-1276
`Lead Counsel for Petitioner
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`Amanda J. Hollis
`amanda.hollis@kirkland.com
`KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP
`300 N. LaSalle St.
`Chicago, IL 60654
`Tel: (312) 862-2011
`Fax: (312) 862-2200
`Back-up Counsel for Petitioner
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`14
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`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
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`I hereby certify pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §§ 42.6(e) and 42.105(b) that a
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`complete copy of this Motion For Rehearing is being served electronically via e-
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`mail (as consented to by the Patent Owner), on April 7, 2014, the same day as the
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`filing of the above-identified documents in the United States Patent and Trademark
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`Office (USPTO), upon:
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`Stephen L. Altieri, Ph.D.
`saltieri@cooley.com
`zpatdcdocketing@cooley.com
`Cooley LLP
`Attn: Patent Group
`1299 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Ste.
`700
`Washington, D.C.
`Tel: (617) 937-2371
`Fax: (202) 842-7899
`Lead Counsel for Patent Owner
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`
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`J. Dearn Farmer, Ph.D.
`dfarmer@cooley.com
`zpatdcdocketing@cooley.com
`Cooley LLP
`Attn: Patent Group
`1299 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Ste. 700
`Washington, D.C.
`Tel: (617) 937-2370
`Fax: (202) 842-7899
`Back-up Counsel for Patent Owner
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`__/J. Mitchell Jones/_______
`J. Mitchell Jones, Ph.D.
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`15