throbber
Trials@uspto.gov
`571-272-7822
`
`
`Paper No. 38
`Entered: February 6, 2015
`
`RECORD OF ORAL HEARING
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`- - - - - -
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`- - - - - -
`
`
`
`ZIMMER HOLDINGS, INC. and ZIMMER, INC.
`
`Petitioners
`
`vs.
`
`BONUTTI SKELETAL INNOVATIONS LLC
`
`Patent Owner
`
`- - - - - - -
`
`Case No. IPR2014-00191
`
`Patent No. 7,837,736
`
`Technology Center 3700
`
`- - - - - -
`
`Oral Hearing Held: Friday, January 9, 2015
`
`
`
`Before WILLIAM V. SAINDON, MICHAEL R. ZECHER, and RICHARD
`
`E. RICE, Administrative Patent Judges.
`
`
`
`The above-entitled matter came on for hearing on Friday, January 9, 2015, at
`
`10:00 a.m., in Hearing Room D, taken at the U.S. Patent and Trademark
`
`Office, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia.
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`NAVEEN MODI, ESQ.
`JOSEPH E. PALYS, ESQ.
`PAROMITA (MITA) CHATTERJEE, ESQ.
`Paul Hastings LLP
`875 Fifteenth Street, N.W.
`Washington, D.C. 20005
`202-551-1700
`
`MATTHEW B. SKAGGS, ESQ.
`Senior Patent Counsel
`Zimmer
`1800 West Center Street
`Warsaw, Indiana 46580
`574-371-8822
`
`APPEARANCES:
`
`ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER:
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`ON BEHALF OF PATENT OWNER:
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`CARY S. KAPPEL, ESQ.
`DAVID PETROFF, ESQ.
`Davidson, Davidson & Kappel, LLC
`485 Seventh Avenue
`14th Floor
`New York, New York 10018
`212-736-1940
`
`
`
`2
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`
`P R O C E E D I N G S
`
`(10:00 a. m. )
`
`JUDGE S AI NDON: Good mornin g. Please be
`
`seated. We a re h er e toda y fo r a he aring on IPR2014 -00191.
`
`We have allo tted one -half hour per side.
`
`We will start wit h the Petitioner. If you would
`
`like to reserve some ti me , please l et me know.
`
`MR. MODI: Tha nk you, Your Hon or. I would like
`
`to reserve 10 minutes.
`
`Good mo rning. Ma y it please the Board, Naveen
`
`Modi on behalf of Zi mme r . As the Board knows, this
`
`proceeding involves the '736 patent . The Boa rd instituted
`
`review based on t he petition and supporting evidence filed b y
`
`Zi mmer .
`
`The record no w c ontains even mor e evidence that
`
`supports the Board's decision, so we sub mit it is now ti me for
`
`the Board to enter its final de cision cancelling all o f the
`
`clai ms at issue. Let me explain wh y.
`
`So the '736 patent is generall y dire cted to surgical
`
`devices and meth ods. The clai ms at issue are direct ed to joint
`
`replace ment devi ces, or an y arthroplasty device, an d I will
`
`show you the clai ms in a minute.
`
`Both parties rel y on figure 90 as support for
`
`certain fe atures. So I figured we would start with th at toda y.
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`
`
`3
`
`

`

`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`
`So if you look at figure 90 -- and t his is fro m the
`
`'736 patent -- wh at it shows us is a knee i mplant 1290. The
`
`knee i mplant 1290 includes a fe mo ral co mponent tha t's not
`
`shown here but th at is secured to th e fe mu r. And it i ncludes a
`
`tibial co mponent that is s hown her e, 1292.
`
`The tibial co mpo nent includes two subco mponents,
`
`a bearing insert 1296 and a tra y 12 94. The tra y 1294, as the
`
`Board can see, in cludes a post 1306, and then the be aring
`
`insert 1296 includes a r ecess 1308.
`
`Now, if you look at the patent what it tells us
`
`about those two e le ments is shown on the right. It is ver y
`
`brief. Wh at it sa ys is: "Superior surface 1302" -- s o that's the
`
`surface on the tra y -- "is provided with a post 1306 that
`
`cooperates with a rec ess 1308 located on bearing inse rt 1296
`
`to per mit rotation of bea ring insert 1296 with respect to tibial
`
`tra y 1294."
`
`The patent also s a ys -- and you ca n see that at the
`
`bottom -- it r ecognizes that knee i mplants were wel l known in
`
`the prior art . And one of those ref erences is the one that is at
`
`issue here. It's th e Walker patent .
`
`So looking at the procedural history of this case ,
`
`the Board instituted revie w of clai ms 15 through 22, 26
`
`through 28, 31 through 36, based o n Walker .
`
`The Board was ve r y clear in its inst itution
`
`decision. It said: " Having revie wed Petitioner's assertions
`
`
`
`4
`
`

`

`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`and the cited port ions of the reco rd, we are persuade d that
`
`Petitioner has de monstrated a r eas onable likelihood of
`
`prevailing on its contention that Walker anticipates clai ms 15
`
`through 22, 26 through 28, and 31 through 36 of the '736
`
`patent."
`
`In response the P atent Owner filed a statutor y
`
`disclai mer with r espect to clai ms 15 through 20 and 26
`
`through 28. So t he onl y cl ai ms th at re main at issue are clai ms
`
`21, 22 and 31 thr ough 36. And I will spend the r est of the
`
`ti me talking about those clai ms.
`
`So if we turn to c lai ms 21 and 22 - - and we are on
`
`slide 7 now - - if you turn to cl ai ms 21 through 22 the y depend
`
`fro m clai m 15. And that's the re as on you see clai m 15 there
`
`even though it has been disclai med .
`
`So if you look at clai m 15, it is a d evice to r eplace
`
`an articulating surface of a fi rst side of the joint. And it
`
`recites a bunch of ele ments. One of the m is the base
`
`co mponent, a bas e co mponent. So that would be si milar to the
`
`tra y that is shown h ere in figure 90.
`
`You have a mova ble co mponent th at would be
`
`si milar to the bea ring insert that is shown in figure 90. Then
`
`you have a protru sion on the base s liding side or the movable
`
`sliding side. So, again, that would be this post 1306. And
`
`then you have a r ecess sized to rec eive said protrusion, and
`
`that would be ele ment 1308, si mil a r to ele ment 1308.
`
`
`
`5
`
`

`

`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`
`Now, cl ai m 21 de pends fro m 15 an d it recites that
`
`the protrusion and recess engage t o per mit r elative
`
`rotation about an axis of said protr usion. And clai m 22
`
`depends fro m 15, and it states said protrusion is a pin, and
`
`then the rec ess is a hole sized to re ceive said pin.
`
`Again, we will ge t into the issues surrounding
`
`these ele ments in a couple minutes. I just wanted to put the
`
`clai ms up on the s creen for the Board.
`
`Clai ms 31 through 36 are si mil ar. Clai m 31 is
`
`directed to a knee arthroplast y device. And it recites a tibial
`
`tra y, a tibial tra y insert, and the rot ation aspects.
`
`The ma in diffe rence bet ween clai m 31 and 21 and
`
`22 is clai m 21 is directed to a knee arthroplast y device and it
`
`actuall y recites th e word "tibial tra y" and a "tibial tr a y insert,"
`
`whereas clai ms 2 1 and 22 are a little bit broader .
`
`Clai m 32 through 36, I will just me ntion those
`
`briefl y. We a re n ot going to get into th ose unless the Board
`
`has an y questions. The P atent Own er r eall y hasn't a r gued
`
`those separatel y. So fo r purposes of toda y I will fo cus on
`
`clai ms 21, 22 and 31, again , unless the Board has an y
`
`questions.
`
`So turning to the prior art issue, Walker. I want to
`
`spend just a minute on Walker. If you look at Walk er, it also
`
`discloses a knee i mplant. And wha t it shows us is a tibial
`
`platfor m 41, si mi lar to the base co mponent that we saw in the
`
`
`
`6
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`clai ms . And it ha s a moving co mp onent, which is a meniscal
`
`co mpone nt 44 her e. The tibial plat for m has an abut ment 50
`
`and the meniscal co mponent has a recess 51.
`
`And the wa y this device operates is that you can
`
`see that the meniscal co mponent 44 rotates about abu t ment 50 .
`
`Again, I will expl ain and we will g et into a l ot mo re details in
`
`the next fe w minu tes.
`
`So what are the is sues in dispute? This case boils
`
`down to three issues in dispute. One is whethe r the abut ment
`
`50 of Walke r me e ts the clai m require ments of the pi n and post,
`
`whether the rec ess 51 in Walke r meet s the clai med hole and
`
`cavit y li mitations and, finall y, whe ther Walke r discl oses the
`
`clai med rotation f eatures.
`
`We sub mit that Walker discloses ea ch and ever y
`
`feature that is in dispute, as the Bo ard has al read y fo und, and
`
`the Board should enter a final deci sion at this point. I will get
`
`into each of those issues now.
`
`Turning to the fir st issue, whether Walker
`
`discloses the claimed pin or post. Let's go back and look at
`
`the clai m again. So clai m 22 recit es that the protru sion is a
`
`pin. Clai m 31 r e cite s that the tibi al tra y has a post.
`
`Slide 13. We a re on slide 13 now. So if you look
`
`at slide 13, we sub mit the Board sh ould, as it did in its
`
`institution decision, continue to a pply the broadest reasonable
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`
`
`7
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`interpretation to these clai ms, and t hat here is the pla in and
`
`ordinar y me aning of these ter ms .
`
`So if you look at a dictionar y, the dictionary
`
`defines a post as basicall y a struct ure that is used to support.
`
`It is an upstanding structure that's used to support.
`
`Abut ment 50 of Walker plainl y meets t his
`
`definition. Walk er itself -- this is a quote fro m Wal ker -- it
`
`sa ys: "A se mi -ci r cular abut ment 50 which is upstanding at the
`
`medial side of the platfor m." It cl e arl y meets this limitation
`
`and it certainl y p rovides support also.
`
`In fact , Patent Own er's expert, Dr. Schoifet, when I
`
`asked hi m during deposition whether it met both of those
`
`li mitations, he ag reed.
`
`If we now turn to the pin fe ature, s orr y, to the post
`
`feature, the pin fe ature, the Patent Owne r is reall y n ot
`
`distinguishing pin here for purposes of this c ase. The y have
`
`relied and pointed to the sa me stru ctures for pin and post. If
`
`you re call, figure 90 called 1306 a post. The y have
`
`interchangeably s aid that's a pin an d a post. This is fro m
`
`Patent Owner 's r e sponse.
`
`And I asked their expert during deposition, I said:
`
`"Question: You' r e not differ entiating between a
`
`post and pin for p urposes of your opinions; right?
`
`"Answer: Correc t."
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`
`
`8
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`
`So, again , for pur poses of this case the sa me
`
`definition applies. Even the P atent Owner agrees .
`
`So what is the ar gu ment that the y have? The
`
`Patent Owner arg ues for a nar row construction of a pin and a
`
`post. The y argue that the pin or p ost is t ypicall y used to fix or
`
`align one device t o another device. We ar e on slide 16 now.
`
`We believe that's a narro w construction. It 's not
`
`the broadest reas onable interpretation of the clai ms . But even
`
`if the Boa rd were to acc ept this co nstruction, we sub mit that
`
`Walker discloses these features .
`
`So if we go back to Walker , what i t discloses,
`
`again, is an a butment 50 and then, again, you have t he recess
`
`here. And Walke r clea rl y states: " Figure 2c shows t he manner
`
`in which the meniscal co mponent c an be fitted to the tibial
`
`platfor m b y enga ging the abut ment 50 in the recess 51." So,
`
`again, Walker me ets even their nar row construction.
`
`Turning now to th e hole or cavit y li mitations. So
`
`clai m 15 r ecites a rec ess, and clai m 22 sa ys said r ece ss is a
`
`hole sized to re ce ive said pin. 31 r ecites a cavit y.
`
`So, again , let 's go back to the broadest reasonable
`
`interp retation. We sub mit that's th e plain and ordin ar y
`
`me aning and that' s what the Board applied in its institution
`
`decision, and the Board should now go ahead and confir m its
`
`decision and enter a final decision.
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`
`
`9
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`
`As you can see , t he definitions define hole a s "a
`
`cavit y in a solid," and "an opening. " It defines cavity as "a
`
`hollow; a hole," a nd "a hollow a rea within the bod y. " So
`
`essentially a hole or c avit y is a hol low ar ea. And Walker
`
`me ets ea ch of the se definitions, the re cess of Walke r.
`
`I even asked their expert, Dr. Schoi fet:
`
`"Question: Do you agree recess 5 1 contains a
`
`hollow area?
`
`"Answer: I do."
`
`This is probabl y one of the few an swers where he
`
`actuall y did not a rgue with me bac k and forth. He c learl y
`
`agreed that it includes a hollow a re a.
`
`So what are their argu ments no w? The y, again,
`
`want to construe hole/cavity ver y narrowl y. So I as ked hi m,
`
`well, what is your definition of ca vity -- and this is during his
`
`cross exa mination -- and he said, well, a cavit y is a hole
`
`with di mensionalit y. I tried to ask hi m, well, what d oes
`
`di mensionality mean? We went ba ck and forth.
`
`To the extent I understood his definition of
`
`di mensionality, a gain, we believe Walker meets tha t. The
`
`meniscal co mponent in Walker , wh ich is shown here , the
`
`recess 51 menis ca l co mponent has so me thickness to it. It is a
`
`medical device and there is di mensi onality to it as shown b y
`
`the recess 51. So , again , it even meets their nar row definition.
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`
`
`10
`
`

`

`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`
`So what is the ot her argu ment that the P atent
`
`Owne r has here? The Patent Owne r argues that the r ecess in
`
`Walker is reall y a notch, it is not a recess. So we bel ieve this
`
`is actuall y a red - herring because what the y a re doing is the y
`
`are flipping what needs to be done here.
`
`Wh at needs to be done here is you l ook at the
`
`clai ms , det e r mine what is the mean ing of a hole or c avity, and
`
`then you appl y th at meaning to the prior a rt to see if the prior
`
`art me ets the li mi tation.
`
`The y a re turning that anal ysis on it s head. The y
`
`are sa ying, well , the prior art calls this a notch so, t heref ore , it
`
`is not a hole or c avity.
`
`So we sub mit to you, again, this is a red -he rring.
`
`But even if we go through the argument , we believe the recess
`
`or notch 51 -- I will just call it ite m 51 so we don't argue over
`
`what Walker calls it -- me ets the li mitat ions of the c lai m.
`
`So starting with f igure 90, one thin g I want to
`
`point out is, even their o wn patent, figure 90 that the y rel y
`
`upon, it calls, wh at the y want to c a ll a hole, a rec ess. It
`
`doesn't call it a h ole. It doesn't ca ll it a cavit y.
`
`But even if we le ave that aside, yo u look at
`
`Walker, Walker only re fers to ite m 51 as a notch only one
`
`single ti me . Eve r y other ti me it re f ers to it as a rec e ss. And,
`
`again, what the B oard needs to do here is look at the definition
`
`of a hole or a cav ity, under t he bro adest reasonable
`
`
`
`11
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`interpretation it is a hollow area , r ecess 51 or ite m 51 clearl y
`
`me ets that li mitat ion, as their expe rt even agr eed.
`
`So then turning to the last li mitati on, it is the
`
`"about an axis of a protrusion/about a post." So let's look at
`
`the clai m languag e again. What we have is clai m 21, wher e it
`
`sa ys: "Protrusion and re cess engag e to per mit relati ve rotation
`
`about an axis of s aid protrusion." Clai m 31 sa ys: " Wh erein
`
`said tibial tra y insert rotationall y moves with r espect to said
`
`tibial tra y, about said post."
`
`So the y dispute that Walker doesn' t disclose this
`
`li mitation. But, a gain, Your Honor s, I don't think yo u need to
`
`go be yond what Dr . S choifet said when I asked hi m about this
`
`during his deposition.
`
`Let me show you a figure th at he d rew for me at
`
`his deposition. This is Exhibit 1020. I asked hi m, I said, sir,
`
`can you show me how the rotation works in Walker? And you
`
`can see this is his annotation. He shows that Walker rotates
`
`this wa y, and it is around abut ment 50. It is a bout ab ut ment
`
`50, about an axis of abut ment 50.
`
`If you look at the record , Dr . Erd man, our expert,
`
`testified consistently and said, yes , the meniscal component
`
`rotates about abutment 50, about an axis of abut ment 50.
`
`JUDGE ZECHER: M r. Modi, is the re an y thing in
`
`Walker that explicitl y describes this rotation?
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`
`
`12
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`
`MR. MODI: Yes , Your Honor. Th ere are a fe w
`
`places and I can point those out for you.
`
`So, Your Honor, f irst I would point to colu mn 4,
`
`and it is lines 22 through 26, and I will re ad that for you , Your
`
`Honor, if it is helpful. It sa ys: Ro tation of the meni scal
`
`co mponent 44 ab out an axis at the edge of the tibial platfor m
`
`is controlled b y s e mici rcular abutment 50 which is upstanding
`
`at the medial side of the platfor m.
`
`And another plac e, Your Ho nor, is colu mn 6.
`
`JUDGE R IC E: C ould I stop you th ere?
`
`MR. MODI: Sure , Your Honor.
`
`JUDGE R IC E: Where is axis X?
`
`MR. MODI: Your Honor, axis X, i t sa ys it is at the
`
`tibial platfor m. S o we would sa y it would be around here.
`
`JUDGE R IC E: B ut that's no t explicitl y disclosed
`
`in Walker?
`
`MR. MODI: Your Honor, it is not, but one of skill
`
`in the art reading this disclosure, a s our expert did, i f you look
`
`at his testi mon y h e clea rl y testified that there is an a xis of the
`
`abut ment and the meniscal co mponent rotates about that axis.
`
`Another place , Your Honor, whe re we believe the
`
`rotational aspects are described is colu mn 6, lines 3 0 through
`
`34. And there it sa ys: An abut me nt upstanding at one edge of
`
`the tibial platform which engages with a recess in o ne edge of
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`
`
`13
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`the meniscal co mponent, thereb y guiding a li miting move ment
`
`of the meniscal c o mponent in an ar c around the abutment .
`
`So we believe that also further supports the
`
`conclusion that the Board found in its institution decision
`
`based on the petition a nd the supporting evidence.
`
`JUDGE R IC E: Thank you.
`
`MR. MODI: And, Your Honor, I b elieve the y
`
`agree, the y quibble with us , but I b elieve the y agre e, and you
`
`obviously can ask the m when the y make their argu ment, these
`
`are quotations fro m their pape rs. Th e y sa y: A pe rson of skill
`
`in the art at the time of the invention would understand Walker
`
`as describing a tr anslational/rotational move ment . And this is
`
`on slide 27.
`
`And I think their argu ment is, well , the abut ment
`
`50 allows for so me translational move ment. But the y don't
`
`dispute that there is also rotational move ment her e.
`
`And, again, if we go back to the figure that I put
`
`up -- this is on sli de 26, Exhibit 1020 -- their expert drew this
`
`for us. It clea rl y shows rotation about abut ment 50, about an
`
`axis of abut ment 50.
`
`So for those reas ons we believe the Board did get
`
`this right in its institution decision and should confir m its
`
`initial decision and issue a final d ecision cancelling the clai ms
`
`at issue.
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`
`
`14
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`
`Unless the Boa rd has an y other que stions, I will
`
`reserve the rest o f my ti me for reb uttal.
`
`JUDGE S AI NDON: Thank you.
`
`(Pause)
`
`MR. KAPP EL: M a y it please the C ourt. Starting
`
`on slide 2, in our view the sole issue in this proceedi ng is
`
`whether Petitioner has proven b y a preponderance of the
`
`evidence that clai ms 21, 22 and 31 are anticipated b y Walker ,
`
`and toda y I would like to focus on three wa ys in whic h
`
`Petitioner has fail ed to meet that b urden.
`
`First, Petitioner has not established that the notch
`
`of Walker is a hole as required b y c lai m 22. Petitioner has not
`
`established that Walker pe r mits r otation of the alle ged
`
`movable sliding side about an axis of the protrusion as
`
`required b y clai m 21.
`
`And also Petitioner has not established that the
`
`notch of Walker i s a c avit y as r equired b y clai m 3 1 , whether a
`
`tibial tra y insert of Walker moves rotationally about the
`
`alleged post, as r equired b y clai m 31.
`
`Let's start on slid e 4. Her e we see clai m 22 and
`
`clai m 15 upon wh ich it depends. And you see clai m 15
`
`requires a base co mponent, which c an be the tibial tr a y 1294,
`
`and a movable component which ca n be the be aring i nsert
`
`1296. And one of the co mponents i ncludes a protrusion that is
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`
`
`15
`
`

`

`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`substantially offs et with regard to the midline in the joint, and
`
`the other includes a recess .
`
`And clai m 22 furt h er narro ws clai m 15 b y
`
`requiring the rece ss to be a hole an d the protrusion to be a pin.
`
`And in figure 90 we se e a tibial tra y 1294 has a prot rusion
`
`1306 in the for m of a pin, and we a lso see that the bearing
`
`insert 1296 includes a r ecess that's in the fo r m of a hole 1308.
`
`And we c an tell it is a hole because it is depicted
`
`in dashed lines, s o it's indicating a hidden co mpone nt. So
`
`right there you ar e seeing a hole lo cated in the mova ble
`
`co mponent.
`
`And turning now to slide 3, we see figure 2a of
`
`Walker. And, ac c ording to Petitioner, the se micir cular
`
`abut ment 50 is the clai m pin and n otch 51 is the clai med hole.
`
`So what is the iss ue here? This is what he discusses a little
`
`bit. And in our view, even the Cou rt's broadest r eas onable
`
`construction, cons istent with the s pecification, a notch is
`
`si mpl y not a hole.
`
`Wh at Walker depi cts, and we see here on slide 3 , is
`
`what would be co nsidered a notch. And these are or dinar y
`
`words in the Engl ish language and we think it is fair l y
`
`self-evident.
`
`Here on the slide s is an illustration fro m the
`
`Internet that I inc luded, Exhibit 2003. And if I took all of
`
`those words off of this illustration, I walk up to 10 p eople on
`
`
`
`16
`
`

`

`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`the street and I sa id point to me the notch and point to me the
`
`hole, the y wouldn't be confuse d. The y all know wha t is the
`
`hole and what is t he notch. These are ordinar y Engl ish
`
`language words. The y a re understood to mean diff er ent
`
`things. And as we will see, what Walker is showing is clearl y
`
`a notch, not a hole.
`
`JUDGE ZECHER: Fi rst question: Can I ask wh y
`
`you focus your ar gu ments pri maril y on ite m 51 bein g a notch?
`
`It see ms as if Walker sa ys a re cess or notch 51.
`
`MR. KAPP EL: Well, the question is what is it
`
`showing there? And it is showing a recess in the fo r m of a
`
`notch. And if I b road en to the wor d recess, I would sa y the
`
`clai ms the mselve s in this patent distinguish between a recess
`
`and a notch.
`
`Clai m 15 r ecites a re cess. Clai m 2 2 further
`
`narrows it to sa y the recess is a hole. So not ever y r ecess is a
`
`hole. A rec ess co uld be a no tch. A rec ess could be a cavit y.
`
`A recess could be a hole . But not ever y re cess is a hole or a
`
`cavit y, and I will give you an exa mple.
`
`If I have this cup, I would sa y it ha s a hole. I
`
`would sa y it has a cavit y. You wouldn't describe it as having
`
`a n otch.
`
`JUDGE ZECHER: Wh y do you think Walker is
`
`describing ite m 1 as a re cess in the for m o f a notch? It clearl y
`
`uses the language "or," which is an alternative.
`
`
`
`17
`
`

`

`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`
`MR. KAPP EL: Well, I think if you look at what is
`
`showing there, and let's go her e on slide 9, you can see what it
`
`is showing there as ite m 51, and th e y describe it as a re cess or
`
`notch that is rounded.
`
`And the dictionar y de finition of notch is a
`
`V-shaped cut, it matches exactl y, a V -shaped cut which has
`
`been rounded. The y are using that ter m in ac cordance with its
`
`ordinar y me aning. And what the y are showing ther e is a
`
`notch. The y a re not showing a hole, which is the re al
`
`question, are the y showing a hole t here?
`
`I will give you an other exa mple. If we take a look
`
`at --
`
`JUDGE ZECHER: Does it explicitly sa y it is
`
`rounded or do yo u just gather that fro m the illustrati on?
`
`MR. KAPP EL: No, it sa ys it is rou nded. That's a
`
`direct quote.
`
`JUDGE ZECHER: Oka y. I think I see whe re it is
`
`in colu mn 4 .
`
`MR. KAPP EL: And I will point out, for exa mp le ,
`
`that there is another re cess describ ed in that sa me fi gure, and
`
`that is recess 49. You can see it th ere. That mates with the
`
`rail 48.
`
`Now, that's a rece ss. However, I ' m sure, I would
`
`sub mit that you would not describe recess 49 as a hole and you
`
`wouldn't describe it as a cavit y. It is basicall y an L - shaped
`
`
`
`18
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`shelf. So I think you have to look at what we a re t alking about
`
`here. And what t he y are showing there in 51 is a no tch. It
`
`me ets exactl y the definition. The y specificall y r efer ence it as
`
`a n otch. And the question is, is that a hole? That is not a hole
`
`in our esti mation.
`
`That's a hole, that 's not a cavit y, th at does not have
`
`a notch (indicating).
`
`JUDGE ZECHER: I think I underst and your
`
`position. Judge Rice, you had a question?
`
`JUDGE R IC E: I t hink you covered it.
`
`MR. KAPP EL: I would also like to point out that
`
`the specification also supports the point that a notch is not the
`
`sa me thing as a h ole. In f act, the s pecification uses the ter m
`
`hole and notch in the sa me sentenc e re ferring to the fact that a
`
`hole is drilled in the center of the notch.
`
`And, again, this just reflects, these are ordinar y
`
`English language words. The y a re understood to have
`
`different me anings.
`
`JUDGE ZECHER: That citation to the
`
`specification there, is that t he e mb odi ment that you are rel ying
`
`on?
`
`MR. KAPP EL: No, it is not. It is not. Again, I
`
`cite it si mpl y for the fact that it is showing the manner in
`
`which -- the ordi nar y meaning of the words hole an d notch.
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`
`
`19
`
`

`

`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`
`JUDGE ZECHER: But that is a dif ferent
`
`e mbod i ment?
`
`MR. KAPP EL: That is a dif ferent e mbodi ment.
`
`That is not discussing the mobile ti bial tra y insert. That is
`
`showing drilling a hole in the cent er of the intercon d ylar
`
`notch.
`
`JUDGE R IC E: What is the support in the
`
`specification for t he hole?
`
`MR. KAPP EL: Oka y. I' m glad yo u asked that.
`
`The i mportant sp ecification in the hole is figure 90. And you
`
`see there 1308 is depicted in dashed lines, which indicates it is
`
`a hidden co mpone nt and, there fore , what you are dep icting
`
`there is a hole.
`
`And I would also refer to - - I ' m sor r y I' m ju mping
`
`around here a little bit, but, here we go, on Dr. Scho ifet's
`
`declaration wher e , again , he is noting the dashed lines, and
`
`that is understood as a wa y to illustrate a hidden -- a hole, in
`
`fact, you know, i n a p atent dr awin g that's how you i ndicate a
`
`hidden me mbe r. I' m sur e I don't h ave to infor m the Board of
`
`that, but it is in , f or exa mple, MP EP 60802(ix).
`
`JUDGE R IC E: What is the support in the
`
`specification for t he recited recess?
`
`MR. KAPP EL: The recess -- well, I would sa y that
`
`there is t wo diffe rent rec esses that could fall within that.
`
`There is a re cess 1308 which is in the for m o f a hole. And
`
`
`
`20
`
`

`

`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`then if you look a t figure 89, which I don't have in o ne of my
`
`slides, if you look at figure 89 you have a re cess tha t's in the
`
`for m of a dovetai l shaped groove.
`
`So I think there i s a couple of diff erent
`
`e mbodi ments in t he drawings. An d if you look at, f or
`
`exa mple , clai m 2 3 of the patent , whereas clai m 22 d epends
`
`fro m clai m 21 an d sa ys a recess is a hole, clai m 23 , if you read
`
`it, further defines the re cess as a dovetail.
`
`Let me read it ex actl y. Clai m 23 , wherein -- and
`
`said recess is a d ovetail. So the clai ms the ms elves t ell you
`
`that recess is not s ynon ymous with hole or cavit y. It is a
`
`narrowing. I thin k you need to give that diffe rence i n clai m
`
`ter ms , you know, credit.
`
`And I think you c ould also take a l ook, you know,
`
`at Walke r again a nd looking at rec ess 49. I do not believe
`
`an yone would look at re cess 49 and sa y that's a hole or that's a
`
`cavit y. The ter m recess, the broade r generic ter m, we have
`
`narrowed it in cla i m 22 to be a hol e. And we f eel th at Walke r
`
`is not describing a hole. There fore , it does not meet each and
`
`ever y li mitation of the cl ai m and you can't find anticipation.
`
`JUDGE R IC E: C an you explain more full y wh y it
`
`is your position that Walker is not disclosing a hole?
`
`MR. KAPP EL: Wh at you have th ere, you have a
`
`disk there, all rig ht, with a se mi cir cular cutout in it. And
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`
`
`21
`
`

`

`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`Patent No. 7,837,736
`Technology Center 3700
`
`that's not a hole. That 's not a cavit y. That's what is
`
`co mmonl y r efer re d to as a notch.
`
`And I can give yo u reasoning behind that, but the
`
`biggest reason is that this is the co mmonl y understood
`
`me aning of these words. You woul d not look at that, walk up
`
`to a person and sa y, is that a hole? The y would sa y, no, that's
`
`a notch.
`
`And a hole, if I were to sta rt, you know, giving
`
`additional infor mation on it, as Dr. Schoifet actuall y testified,
`
`when you look at a hole it is contained. That's a notch. A
`
`notch is open, a V -shaped notch.
`
`Again, that 's a hole. You wouldn't call that a
`
`notch. I don't thi nk you look at a notch and call it a

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