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`IPR2014‐00053
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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`___________________
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`PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`____________________
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`FACEBOOK, INC.,
`Petitioner
`
`v.
`
`B. E. TECHNOLOGY LLC
`Patent Owner
`
`_______________________
`
`Case No. IPR2014‐00053
`Patent No. 6,628,314
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`
`____________________________________________________________
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`
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`PETITIONER’S REPLY TO PATENT OWNER’S RESPONSE
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`Attorney Docket No. FABO‐027/00US
`(309101‐2064)
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`IPR2014‐00053
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`Page
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`INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1
`ANGLES DISCLOSES EVERY LIMITATION OF CLAIM 11. ................................. 2
`A.
`Angles Discloses Recording Computer Usage Information ................. 3
`B.
`Angles Discloses Periodically Requesting Advertising Content ........... 4
`ALL CHALLENGED CLAIMS ARE OBVIOUS OVER ANGLES IN VIEW OF
`SHAW ............................................................................................................ 5
`A.
`Angles Does Not Require a Continuous Internet Connection ............. 5
`B.
`The Patent Owner Presents No Evidence Refuting the Strong
`Motivations to Combine Angles with Shaw Set Forth in the
`Petition ............................................................................................... 9
`THE PATENT OWNER’S “BROADEST REASONABLE INTERPRETATION”
`ARGUMENTS ARE NOT RELEVANT TO THIS PETITION ................................. 12
`CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 13
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`I.
`II.
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`III.
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`IV.
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`V.
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`i
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`IPR2014‐00053
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`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
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`Page(s)
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`Cases
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`KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc.,
`550 U.S. 398 (2007) ........................................................................................... 12
`
`Perfect Web Techs., Inc. v. InfoUSA, Inc.,
`587 F.3d 1324 (Fed. Cir. 2009) .......................................................................... 12
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`Phillips v. AWH Corp.,
`415 F.3d 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc) .......................................................... 13
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`SAP America, Inc. v. Versata Develop. Group, Inc.,
` CBM2012‐00001, Paper 70 (June 11, 2013) ..................................................... 13
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`Statutes
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`35 U.S.C. § 103(a) ..................................................................................................... 1
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`Other Authorities
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`37 C.F.R. § 42.23(a) .................................................................................................. 5
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`37 C.F.R. § 42.65(a) ................................................................................................ 11
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`ii
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`Attorney Docket No. FABO‐027/00US
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`I.
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`INTRODUCTION
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`IPR2014‐00053
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`The Board instituted inter partes review of claims 11‐13, 15, 18 and 20
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`based on obviousness over Angles [Ex. 1003] in view of Shaw [Ex. 1004]. The
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`patent owner’s response (“Response”) does not dispute key elements of the
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`Petition. The patent owner does not dispute that Angles and Shaw qualify as
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`prior art to the ’314 patent and does not challenge any aspect of the Board’s
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`claim constructions as set forth in the Decision instituting inter partes review. The
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`patent owner also does not dispute that Angles and Shaw disclose every
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`limitation of claims 11‐13, 15, 18 and 20.
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`The patent owner instead rests its entire response on the assertion that
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`Angles cannot properly be combined with Shaw under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a). The
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`patent owner, relying on a sparse and conclusory expert declaration lacking any
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`analysis or citation to evidence, asserts that Angles and Shaw disclose
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`“completely different types of systems” that operate in different ways. But this
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`argument ignores key teachings of Angles, and is unaccompanied by any evidence
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`or reasoned argument from the patent owner. Because the patent owner has
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`offered no serious rebuttal to the obviousness of claims 11‐13, 15, 18 and 20 over
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`Angles in view of Shaw, the Board should find them unpatentable.
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`1
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`II.
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`ANGLES DISCLOSES EVERY LIMITATION OF CLAIM 11.
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`The patent owner’s response begins from the inaccurate premise that the
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`Petitioner conceded that Angles fails to disclose two limitations of claim 11 –
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`software that “records computer usage information” and “periodically requests
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`additional advertising content,” as recited
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`in claims 11d(ii) and 11d(iii),
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`respectively. (Response at 5‐6, 9.)1 But the Petitioner made no such concession.
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`As demonstrated below, the Petitioner specifically argued that Angles discloses
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`these two limitations – because it does.
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`The Response does not address these two limitations or provide any
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`explanation as to why Angles allegedly fails to disclose them. In fact, the patent
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`owner specifically instructed its expert, Mr. Goldstein, to “assume that [the
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`disputed limitations] of claim 11 are not disclosed by Angles.” (Goldstein Decl.,
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`Ex. 2001, at 10 (¶ 24).) The Board should therefore accept Petitioner’s
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`1 As noted in the text, the patent owner does not dispute that these two
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`limitations are disclosed in Shaw, and does not dispute that the combination of
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`Angles and Shaw disclose all limitations of claims 11‐13, 15, 18 and 20.
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`Accordingly, even if the Board were to conclude that these two limitations are
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`missing from Angles, the challenged claims should still be found unpatentable.
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`2
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`uncontroverted showing as to limitations 11(d)(ii) and 11(d)(iii) and find them
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`disclosed in Angles for the reasons set forth in the Petition.
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`A.
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`Angles Discloses Recording Computer Usage Information
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`Angles discloses downloaded software that records computer usage
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`information, as recited in claim 11d(ii). (Petition at 39‐40.) As explained in the
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`Petition, when the user clicks a customized advertisement 30 in Angles, the
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`downloaded consumer control module 42 software running on the user’s
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`computer sends a message to the server indicating that the user has selected the
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`advertisement. (Petition at 39‐40.) In order for the software to send such a
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`message, it must store computer usage information reflecting the user’s
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`selection – even if that storage is in random access memory and short‐lived.
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`The Petitioner never conceded that Angles lacks the step of recording
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`computer usage information. The Petition instead argued that if the word
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`“recording” in claim 11d(ii) was narrowly interpreted to require persistent (rather
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`than temporary) storage of computer usage information, Shaw discloses the
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`claimed recording under this narrower interpretation. (See Petition at 40 (“To the
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`extent storage of computer usage information in a persistent manner is deemed
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`to be a requirement of ‘recording’ as recited in limitation 11d(ii), any such
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`requirement is disclosed in Shaw.”).) The patent owner does not contend that
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`claim 11 requires any such persistent storage, and nor is there any basis for
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`importing such a requirement into the claim as noted earlier. Angles therefore
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`discloses recording computer usage information as recited in claim 11.
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`B.
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`Angles Discloses Periodically Requesting Advertising Content
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`Angles also discloses downloaded software that periodically requests
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`additional advertising content, as recited in claim 11d(iii). (Petition at 43‐44.) In
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`particular, Angles discloses that “if a consumer views a particular electronic page
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`32 for more than a minute, the advertising module 52 can send a new customized
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`advertisement.” (Petition at 44 (quoting Angles, Ex. 1003, Col. 20:14‐17).) Mr.
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`Sherwood explained, in his declaration accompanying the Petition, that the
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`standard HTTP protocol used in Angles is a stateless protocol in which each
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`communication includes at least a request from the consumer computer, and a
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`response by the server. (Sherwood Decl., Ex. 1007, ¶¶ 37‐38.) One of ordinary
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`skill in the art, therefore, would have understood that the periodic sending of a
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`new customized advertisement by the advertising module 52 in Angles occurs in
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`response to a request from the consumer computer. (Id. ¶¶ 38‐40.) Angles
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`therefore discloses periodically requesting additional advertising content.
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`Although the Petition also argued that Shaw discloses the step of
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`periodically requesting additional advertising content, it made clear that Angles
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`discloses this step as well. (See Petition at 43 (after discussion of Shaw: “Angles
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`also discloses periodically requesting additional advertising content.”).) The
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`patent owner does not address, let alone challenge, any of the Petitioner’s
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`arguments or Mr. Sherwood’s testimony about this limitation. See 37 C.F.R. §
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`42.23(a) (“Any material fact not specifically denied may be considered
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`admitted.”). The Board should therefore accept Petitioner’s uncontroverted
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`evidence and find that Angles discloses periodic requesting of additional
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`advertising content. Angles therefore discloses all limitations of claim 11.
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`III.
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`ALL CHALLENGED CLAIMS ARE OBVIOUS OVER ANGLES IN VIEW OF SHAW
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`The patent owner presents an exceedingly narrow challenge to a finding of
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`obviousness based on the combination of Angles and Shaw. Critically, the patent
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`owner does not dispute that Angles and Shaw collectively disclose all limitations
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`of claims 11‐13, 15, 18 and 20. (Response at 5‐11.) The patent owner instead
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`argues that a person of ordinary skill in the art would not have found the two
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`references combinable. The patent owner’s arguments are without merit.
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`A.
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`Angles Does Not Require a Continuous Internet Connection
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`The patent owner primarily contends that a person of ordinary skill in the
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`art would not have combined Angles and Shaw because, according to the patent
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`owner, “Angles is a communication system that requires continuously being
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`connected to the Internet to operate properly.” (Goldstein DEcl., Ex. 2001, ¶ 27;
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`Response at 9, 11.) The patent owner contends that this renders Angles
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`completely different from Shaw, a system in which the user’s computer is “mostly
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`disconnected” from the network. (Goldstein Decl., Ex. 2001, ¶¶ 27‐29.)
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`The patent owner’s attempt to avoid the combination of Angles and Shaw
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`appears to depend entirely on this assumption, i.e. that Angles requires the user
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`computer to have a continuous connection to the Internet. (Response at 9‐11;
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`Goldstein Decl., Ex. 2001, ¶¶ 27‐32.) But the patent owner and its expert cite no
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`evidence and point to nothing in Angles to support it.
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`Angles makes clear that its advertising system does not require a
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`continuous Internet connection. Angles explains that its system supports “a wide
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`range of interactive communication mediums,” including telephone modem
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`systems in which the user must specifically connect to an Internet service
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`provider prior to accessing information. (Angles, Ex. 1003, Col. 9:27‐29, 9:61‐64.)
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`In particular, Angles explains that home personal computer (PC) users connect to
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`the Internet using dial‐up connections
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`in which “an attached modem
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`is
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`automatically instructed to dial the telephone number associated with the local
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`Internet host server.” (Id. Col. 1:45‐50.) “When a consumer desires to access
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`information available on the Internet 33 via an Internet provider 34,” according to
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`Angles, “the consumer initiates a connection with the Internet provider 34 from
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`his or her consumer computer 12.” (Id., Col. 9:61‐64.) Angles further explains
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`that “[i]n the preferred embodiment, the consumer computer 12
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`is a
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`conventional computer which is equipped with a conventional modem.” (Id., Col.
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`10:23‐25.) Angles therefore clearly discloses the ability to work with “dial‐up”
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`configurations in which the consumer computer is connected to the Internet only
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`when such a connection is required – and not continuously.
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`Angles further discloses that its advertising system can be used with well‐
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`known Internet service providers such as “American [sic; America] On‐Line,
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`Microsoft Network, Prodigy, CompuServe, and Network Intensive, to name a
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`few.” (Id., Col. 9:39‐41.) As Mr. Sherwood explained in his declaration
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`accompanying the Petition and in his deposition, these services were specifically
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`designed for users who did not have a continuous network connection.
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`(Sherwood Decl., Ex. 1007, ¶¶ 32‐34; Sherwood Depo., Ex. 2003, at 213:18‐219:5.)
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`They instead required users to connect using a “dial‐up” modem connection over
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`a voice telephone line. (Sherwood Decl., Ex. 1007, ¶¶ 20, 32‐33.) Some of these
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`on‐line services even charged customers based on the amount of time they were
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`connected to the network, making a continuous connection economically
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`infeasible for some customers. (Id. ¶ 33.)
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`The fact that the system of Angles can support Internet providers such as
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`America Online (AOL) further undermines the patent owner’s assumption that
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`Angles requires a continuous Internet connection. (Angles, Ex. 1003, Col. 9:39‐
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`41.) The AOL service mentioned in Angles was specifically designed to prevent a
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`consumer’s computer from being continuously connected to the Internet. For
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`example, the AOL service automatically disconnected the user from the network if
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`the user’s computer was idle for a period of time. (See Curt Degenhart et al., AOL
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`In a Nutshell (O’Reilly ed. 1998), Ex. 1034, 380.) AOL also offered a feature called
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`“FlashSessions” or “Automatic AOL” in which the user could instruct its computer
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`to automatically connect to the AOL service at a late hour – such as late at night
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`when the network was less congested – and perform a number of automatic
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`operations such as sending and receiving e‐mails and posts, downloading files,
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`and performing other tasks. (Id. at 334‐36.) The user could then read the
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`downloaded information “offline” the next day. (Id. at 334.) These features
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`confirm that AOL, a service fully contemplated by the system of Angles, supported
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`dial‐up users that were not continuously connected to the Internet.
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`The patent owner’s premise that the two references disclose “completely
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`different types of systems” (Response at 8) depends entirely on the false
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`assumption that Angles requires a continuous connection to the Internet.
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`(Goldstein Decl., Ex. 2001, ¶¶ 27‐32.) Because Angles expressly contemplates a
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`dial‐up environment with an intermittent connection — precisely the same
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`environment in which Shaw was designed to operate – the patent owner’s
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`arguments must be rejected.
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`B.
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`The Patent Owner Presents No Evidence Refuting the Strong
`Motivations to Combine Angles with Shaw Set Forth in the Petition
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`Mr. Sherwood’s declaration that accompanied the Petition provided a
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`thorough and detailed explanation as to why a person of ordinary skill in the art
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`would have found it obvious to combine Angles and Shaw. (See Petition at 41‐43;
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`Sherwood Decl., Ex. 1007, ¶¶ 54‐56, 63‐69.) Among other things, Mr. Sherwood
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`explained that Shaw disclosed a technique for providing advertising in an on‐line
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`system that did not require a consistent connection between a user’s computer
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`and the Internet. (Id. ¶¶ 64‐66.) He explained that Shaw would have improved
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`the advertising system of Angles by allowing the consumer computer in Angles to
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`collect and store computer usage locally rather than immediately upload it to the
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`server. This would have allowed the consumer computer to defer connection to
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`the Internet until a later time when bandwidth usage was lower and costs were
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`potentially reduced. (Id. ¶ 65; see also Sherwood Depo., Ex. 2003, 215:18‐216:18
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`(“Q: What is the advantage that's achieved by combining Shaw and Angles? A:
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`Well, one of the top‐level advantages, of course, is a reduced cost.”); see also id.
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`at 218:7‐23.)
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`Mr. Sherwood also pointed out that Shaw contains express statements
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`touting cost‐reduction benefits that would have motivated a person of skill in the
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`art to adapt its teachings to the system of Angles. (Sherwood Decl., Ex. 1007, ¶
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`66; see also Shaw, Ex. 1004, Col. 4:62‐66 (“One such advantage is that
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`communication costs and hardware requirements are substantially lower than for
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`‘fully‐connected’ on‐line service.”), 23:56‐59 (“Thus, the system operates in a
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`‘batch’ mode. This, of course, keeps the costs associated with maintaining a
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`communications link, i.e., connect or line charges, low.”).) These benefits would
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`have been particularly important to Internet users in the mid‐1990s who
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`frequently endured slow and
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`inconsistent dial‐up
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`Internet connections.
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`(Sherwood Decl., Ex. 1007, ¶ 64.)
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`An Angles‐Shaw combination could also have displayed ads faster to the
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`user because, as recognized in Angles, ads could be stored and retrieved from on
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`the consumer computer’s local storage, which is much faster than a network
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`connection. (Id. at ¶ 60 (quoting Angles, Ex. 1003, Col. 12:2‐7).) Even the patent
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`owner admits
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`this benefit.
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`(See Response, 10
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`(“Storage of some
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`advertisements . . . on the consumer computer would provide for faster access to
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`the stored advertisements . . .”). This would have provided a critical improvement
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`considering the slow Internet connections in the 1990s. (Sherwood Depo., Ex.
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`2003, 218:24‐219:5.) The ability to save time and money would have provided
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`motivators for a person of ordinary skill to adapt the batch mode teachings of
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`Shaw to the advertising system of Angles.
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`The patent owner and its expert make no attempt to rebut or even address
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`the detailed explanations provided by the Petitioner and Mr. Sherwood. The sole
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`mention of Mr. Sherwood in the Goldstein Declaration, for example, appears in a
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`paragraph in which Mr. Goldstein identifies the materials he reviewed in
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`connection with his engagement. (Goldstein Decl., Ex. 2001, ¶ 19.)2
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`The patent owner instead presents a series of arguments that have no
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`factual or legal basis. The patent owner argues, for example, that Angles and
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`Shaw cannot be combined because Angles discloses “no problem to solve, and no
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`2 The portions of the Goldstein Declaration cited in the Response consist entirely
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`of conclusory statements unsupported by analysis or citation to evidence.
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`(Goldstein Decl., Ex. 2001, ¶¶ 26‐33.) The Board should give no weight to them.
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`See 37 C.F.R. § 42.65(a) (“Expert testimony that does not disclose the underlying
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`facts or data on which the opinion is based is entitled to little or no weight.”).
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`11
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`reason to change or complicate the Angles system.” (Response at 10; Goldstein
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`Decl., Ex. 2001, ¶ 31 (“Nothing in Angles identifies any problem that would be
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`solved by changes of either type.”).) This argument is based on a fundamental
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`misunderstanding of the law of obviousness under KSR International Co. v.
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`Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007). There is no requirement that a prior art
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`reference acknowledge some kind of deficiency or problem as a prerequisite to its
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`use in combination with another reference to establish obviousness. An
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`obviousness analysis “may include recourse to logic, judgment, and common
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`sense available to the person of ordinary skill that do not necessarily require
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`explication in any reference or expert opinion.” Perfect Web Techs., Inc. v.
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`InfoUSA, Inc., 587 F.3d 1324, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2009).
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`The evidence set forth above and in the Petition shows that it would have
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`been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine Angles and
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`Shaw. Accordingly, the Board should find that all challenged claims are
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`unpatentable as obvious in light of Angles and Shaw.
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`IV.
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`THE PATENT OWNER’S “BROADEST REASONABLE
`ARGUMENTS ARE NOT RELEVANT TO THIS PETITION
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`INTERPRETATION”
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`The patent owner asserts that the Board’s application of the broadest
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`reasonable interpretation (“BRI”) standard for construing claims exceeds the
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`PTO’s rule‐making authority. (Response at 12‐13.) The Board already rejected
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`IPR2014‐00053
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`this argument in SAP America, Inc. v. Versata Develop. Group, Inc., CBM2012‐
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`00001, Paper 70, 19 (June 11, 2013) (“[T]he broadest reasonable interpretation
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`standard is the one correct standard for post grant reviews.”). No further
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`discussion is warranted here.
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`The patent owner has failed to show that the claim construction standard
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`applied by the Board would have any impact in this proceeding. The patent
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`owner did not specifically address any claim construction issues in its Response
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`and did not, for example, show that the Board would interpret any claim
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`differently if it employed the standards applicable to district court litigation under
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`Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc). The Board
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`therefore need not reach this issue because even if the patent owner’s legal
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`argument about the BRI standard had merit, it would have no impact on the
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`outcome of the trial.
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`V.
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`CONCLUSION
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`For the reasons set forth above, and based on the Petition and all of the
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`evidence of record, claims 11‐13, 15, 18, and 20 of the ’314 patent are
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`unpatentable as obvious in view of Angles and Shaw. Accordingly, all of the
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`challenged claims should be cancelled.
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`Attorney Docket No. FABO‐027/00US
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`Date: September 24, 2014
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`IPR2014‐00053
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`/Heidi L. Keefe/
`Heidi L. Keefe
`Reg. No. 40,673
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`COOLEY LLP
`ATTN: Heidi L. Keefe
`Patent Docketing
`1299 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 700
`Washington, D.C. 20004
`Tel: (650) 843‐5001
`Fax: (650) 849‐7400
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`Attorney Docket No. FABO‐027/00US
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`IPR2014‐00053
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`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
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`I hereby certify, pursuant to 37 CFR section 42.6, that a complete copy of
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`the attached PETITIONER’S REPLY TO PATENT OWNER’S RESPONSE, including all
`exhibits and related documents, is being served electronically on the 24th day of
`September, 2014, the same day as the filing of the above‐identified document in
`the United States Patent and Trademark Office/Patent Trial and Appeal Board,
`upon the patent owner’s counsel of record as follows:
`
`Jason S. Angell
`Freitas Angell & Weinberg LLP
`350 Marine Parkway, Suite 200
`Redwood Shores, CA 94065
`BEIPRFTK@ftklaw.com
`
`
`/Heidi L. Keefe/
`Heidi L. Keefe
`Reg. No. 40,673
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`COOLEY LLP
`ATTN: Heidi L. Keefe
`Patent Docketing
`1299 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 700
`Washington, D.C. 20004
`Tel: (650) 843‐5001
`Fax: (650) 849‐7400
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