`Tel: 571-272-7822
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`Paper 18
`Entered: November 4, 2014
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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`_______________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`_______________
`
`SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.,
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`BLACK HILLS MEDIA, LLC,
`Patent Owner.
`_______________
`
`Case IPR2014-00717
`Patent 6,108,686
`_______________
`
`
`Before BRIAN J. MCNAMARA, DAVID C. MCKONE,
`and FRANCES L. IPPOLITO, Administrative Patent Judges.
`
`MCKONE, Administrative Patent Judge.
`
`
`
`
`DECISION
`Institution of Inter Partes Review
`37 C.F.R. § 42.108
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`IPR2014-00717
`Patent 6,108,686
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`I. INTRODUCTION
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`A. Background
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`Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (“Petitioner”) filed a Petition (Paper 1,
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`“Pet.”) to institute an inter partes review of claims 1, 2, 20, 23, 29, and 30 of
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`U.S. Patent No. 6,108,686 (Ex. 1001, “the ’686 patent”). Pet. 4. Samsung
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`Electronics America, Inc., and Samsung Telecommunications America,
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`LLC, are identified by Petitioner as real parties-in-interest.1 Pet. 1. Black
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`Hills Media (“Patent Owner”) filed a Preliminary Response (Paper 9,
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`“Prelim. Resp.”). Upon consideration of the Petition and Preliminary
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`Response, we conclude, under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a), that Petitioner has shown
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`a reasonable likelihood that it would prevail with respect to claims 1, 2, 20,
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`23, 29, and 30. Accordingly, we institute an inter partes review of claims 1,
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`2, 20, 23, 29, and 30 of the ’686 patent.
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`B. Related Matters
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`The ’686 patent has been asserted against multiple defendants in
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`Black Hills Media, LLC v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., No. 2-13-cv-
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`00379 (E.D. Tex.). Pet. 1; Paper 5, at 2.
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`The ’686 patent is also at issue in Black Hills Media, LLC v. Yamaha
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`Corporation of American, No. 2:14-cv-00101 (C.D. Cal.); Black Hills
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`Media, LLC v. Sonos, Inc., No. 2:14-cv-00486 (C.D. Cal); and Black Hills
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`1 We previously granted-in-part Patent Owner’s Motion for Additional
`Discovery (Paper 15) on whether Petitioner should have identified Google,
`Inc., as a real party in interest. Paper 17.
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`Media, LLC v. Pioneer Electronics Inc., No. 2:14-cv-00471 (C.D. Cal).
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`Paper 5, at 2.
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`C. References Relied Upon
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`Petitioner relies upon the following prior art references:
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`Reilly et al., US 5,740,549, issued Apr. 14, 1998, filed June 12, 1995
`(Ex. 1003, “Reilly”)
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`Jiri Weiss, New Places to Go Online, Vol. 14, No. 8, TECHNOLOGY &
`LEARNING 109–15 (May/June 1994) (Ex. 1004, “Technology &
`Learning”)
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`D. The Asserted Grounds
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`Petitioner contends that the challenged claims are unpatentable based
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`on the following specific grounds (Pet. 4):
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`References
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`Reilly
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`Reilly and Technology &
`Learning
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`E. The ’686 Patent
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`Basis
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`Claims Challenged
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`§ 102(e)
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`§ 103(a)
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`1, 2, 20, 23, 29,
`and 30
`1, 2, 20, 23, 29,
`and 30
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`The ’686 patent is directed to techniques for retrieving information
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`about a specific subject from remote databases. Ex. 1001, Abstract. At the
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`time of the invention, high speed data connections were excessively
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`expensive for many consumers, making it difficult to obtain information
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`over the Internet and World Wide Web quickly. Id. at col. 1, ll. 12–39. The
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`invention of the ’686 patent uses a search agent to retrieve information
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`relating to a single, predefined subject, stores that information in a local
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`database, and allows a user to access the locally stored information. Id. at
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`col. 2, ll. 8–23. Examples of subjects on which a user can seek information
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`include news, cooking, weather, and sports. Id. at col. 3, ll. 40–43. The
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`’686 patent terms such a system a subject-specific information retrieval and
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`viewing system (“SIRViS”). Id. at Abstract.
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`A SIRViS includes a graphical user interface (“GUI”) in cooperation
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`with a search agent. Id. at col. 5, ll. 21–22. The GUI includes a control
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`panel component and a content viewer component. Id. at col. 5, ll. 22–24.
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`Figure 4 of the ’686 patent, reproduced below, illustrates an example of a
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`SIRViS:
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`Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the functions of a SIRViS. Id. at
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`col. 2, ll. 40–41.
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`A user defines a set of search rules for a subject area (e.g., sports),
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`using control panel 26. Ex. 1001, col. 5, ll. 24–28. The control panel
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`component includes dialog boxes and other features, which, in a Windows-
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`based environment, allow a user to enter, using a mouse, touchpad, etc., a set
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`of search rules that define the type of information the user wants to access.
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`Id. at col. 5, ll. 24–38. Control panel 26 maintains dataset 40 containing the
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`search rules for the user and other users. Id. at col. 6, ll. 50–52. For
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`example, each member of a family can define his or her own search rules for
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`accessing information on the family’s personal computer. Id. at col. 5,
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`ll. 27–30. To retrieve the subject-based information for the user, search
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`agent 25 accesses dataset 40, selects the rules defined by the user, retrieves
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`information relating to the subject (e.g., sports) from remote database 34,
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`and stores the retrieved information in local database 30. Id. at col. 6, ll. 53–
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`57.
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`Search agent 25 can perform the search periodically, at scheduled
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`times, or directly in response to a user request. Id. at col. 6, ll. 61–65. When
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`the user wants to access the information, content viewer 27 retrieves the
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`user’s stored information from local database 30 and displays it to the user in
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`a Windows-based environment. Id. at col. 6, ll. 14–24, 40–45.
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`Claim 1, reproduced below, is illustrative of the claimed subject
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`matter:
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`1. A device for providing a plurality of local
`users with information stored remotely on a
`network, the device comprising:
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`a rule generation unit configured to define,
`for each of the plurality of local users,
`a set of search rules applicable to a
`predefined subject; and
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`retrieve
`to
`a search agent configured
`information on only the predefined
`subject from a database on
`the
`network based on each set of search
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`the retrieved
`to store
`rules and
`information in a local database.
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`II. ANALYSIS
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`A. Claim Construction
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`As a step in our analysis for determining whether to institute a trial,
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`we determine the meaning of the claims. The Board interprets claims of an
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`unexpired patent using the broadest reasonable construction. See 37 C.F.R.
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`§ 42.100(b); Office Patent Trial Practice Guide, 77 Fed. Reg. 48,756, at
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`48,766. Claim terms generally are given their ordinary and customary
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`meaning, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art in the
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`context of the entire disclosure. See In re Translogic Tech., Inc., 504 F.3d
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`1249, 1257 (Fed. Cir. 2007).
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`Petitioner proposes constructions of the terms “rule generation unit,”
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`“search agent,” “to store the retrieved information,” “storing the retrieved
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`information,” “user interface,” “using the computer system to receive the set
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`of user inputs from said one of the local users,” and “using the computer
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`system to output the information to said one of the local users.” For
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`purposes of this decision, however, no term in claims 1, 2, 20, 23, 29, and 30
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`requires express construction at this time.
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`B. Asserted Grounds of Unpatentability
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`1. Cited Prior Art
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`a. Reilly
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`Reilly describes a system for matching information to subscribers’
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`interests, retrieving the information, and displaying the information, together
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`with advertisements, in screen savers on the subscribers’ computers.
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`Ex. 1003, col. 1, ll. 4–10; col. 5, ll. 20–23.
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`Figure 1 of Reilly, reproduced below, illustrates an example:
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`Figure 1 is a block diagram of an information and advertising distribution
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`system. Ex. 1003, col. 3, ll. 30–32. Several subscriber computers, or clients
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`102, are connected to information server 104 via the Internet 119. Id. at
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`col. 4, ll. 8–10. Additional clients are connected to local area network
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`(“LAN”) server 108 on LAN 106, and LAN server 108 is connected to
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`information server 104 via the Internet 119. Petitioner focuses particularly
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`on this LAN embodiment, as will be explained below.
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`Information server 104 includes newswire interface 120 that receives
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`news feeds from services such as the Associated Press (“AP”), the DOW
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`news feed, and sports news feeds. Id. at col. 4, ll. 28–31. Information editor
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`130 edits and formats the received news items into a form suitable to
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`distribute to subscribers and stores the formatted items in information
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`database 134. Id. at col. 4, ll. 31–38. Information editor 130 assigns each
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`news item to an information category and, in some instances, a sub-category.
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`Id. at col. 4, ll. 39–42. Information database 134 also stores advertisements
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`138, which also are assigned to information categories. Id. at col. 4, l. 66–
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`col. 5, l. 1.
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`Each client 102 (or in the case of clients networked together in LAN
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`106, the LAN server 108) includes category managers. Id. at col. 6, ll. 62–
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`67. There can be a separate category manager for each information
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`category. Id. at col. 7, ll. 3–6. Each category manager includes a category
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`profiler, which presents a dialog box to a subscriber to determine whether
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`the subscriber is interested in specific subcategories (e.g., by selecting and
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`deselecting boxes corresponding to specific sports or specific sports teams,
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`as shown in Figure 5). Id. at col. 7, ll. 13–18; col. 9, ll. 36–57. The
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`categories selected by the subscriber are stored in a category profile data
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`structure. Id. at col. 7, ll. 18–20; col. 9, ll. 58–61.
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`A subscriber computer connects to the information server at a time
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`that the subscriber is not likely to be using the computer (e.g., once in the
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`middle of the night) or periodically (e.g., every four hours) to download
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`news items and advertisements, which then are stored in the subscriber
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`computer’s local information database. Id. at col. 8, ll. 19–31. In the case of
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`a LAN server serving several clients, the LAN server downloads news items
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`and advertisements for all of the clients and stores them on its local
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`database. Id. at col. 15, ll. 19–27. When an individual subscriber on a client
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`computer of the LAN wants to view news items, the news items are filtered
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`according to the subscriber’s user profile and the subscriber is presented
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`with only those items and advertisements that match the profile. Id. at
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`col. 15, ll. 27–39.
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`For a particular subscriber, a screen saver program displays news
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`items and advertisements (e.g., as shown in Figure 6). Id. at col. 11, ll. 40–
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`52. Advertisements are displayed on subscribers’ workstations
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`simultaneously with news items that have been assigned to the same
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`category. Id. at col. 5, ll. 1–4. If the subscriber wants to read a particular
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`news item, the subscriber can give a command (e.g., click on the news item
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`with the mouse), after which a data viewer (Figure 2, data viewer 208, and
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`Figure 10) is launched to display the full news story associated with the
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`news item. Id. at col. 9, ll. 11–17; col. 13, ll. 29–37.
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`b. Technology & Learning
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`Technology & Learning describes products offered by PRODIGY and
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`Scholastic on which classroom users search for and display information.
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`Ex. 1004, at 109. Petitioner cites Technology & Learning for its description
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`of different business models described for presenting information in a
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`classroom. Pet. 20–21. For example, according to Technology & Learning,
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`the Classroom PRODIGY product charged a user fee but blocked the display
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`of advertisements. Ex. 1004, at 109, 114. In contrast, the Scholastic
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`Network displayed advertisements and charged a user fee, although a
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`smaller user fee than Classroom PRODIGY. Id. at 110.
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`2. Anticipation by Reilly
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`Petitioner contends that Reilly anticipates claims 1, 2, 20, 23, 29,
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`and 30. Pet. 42. Regarding claim 1, Petitioner contends that Reilly’s LAN
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`server 108 is a “device for providing a plurality of local users with
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`information stored remotely on a network.” Pet. 21–22, 43. According to
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`Petitioner, the clients in LAN 106 are the plurality of local users. Id.
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`Petitioner further contends that Reilly’s category profiler is a “rule
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`generation unit,” the data structure the category profiler generates is a “set of
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`search rules,” and Reilly’s example category “football” corresponds to a
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`“predefined subject.” Id. at 22, 44–45.
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`Petitioner also contends that Reilly describes LAN server 108 as
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`configured to retrieve news items and advertisements relating to a category
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`selected by a subscriber and, thus, includes “a search agent configured to
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`retrieve information on . . . the predefined subject from a database on the
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`network based on each set of search rules.” Id. at 23, 45–46. Petitioner
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`argues that because both the news items and advertisements retrieved by
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`LAN server 108 relate to the same subject (e.g., “football”), the search agent
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`of the LAN server retrieves information “on only the predefined subject.”
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`Id. at 22. Petitioner contends that LAN server 108, when it downloads news
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`items into its local database, “store[s] the retrieved information in a local
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`database.” Id. at 23, 45–46.
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`Regarding claim 2, Petitioner contends that Reilly’s data viewer 208,
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`implemented on LAN server 108, is a “user interface” that enables Reilly’s
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`subscribers to access the information associated with the search rules from
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`the LAN server’s local database. Pet. 46.
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`Regarding claims 20 and 23, Petitioner makes substantially the same
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`contentions as it does for claim 1. Pet. 46–50. Regarding claims 29 and 30,
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`Petitioner makes substantially the same contentions as it does for claims 1
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`and 2. Pet. 51–57.
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`Based on our consideration of the evidence in the Petition and
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`included claim charts (Pet. 21–25, 42–57) and the Declaration of Dr. Kevin
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`C. Almeroth (Ex. 1005 ¶¶ 26–35), we are persuaded that Petitioner has made
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`a threshold showing that Reilly discloses the limitations of claims 1, 2, 20,
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`23, 29, and 30. Patent Owner does not present in the Preliminary Response
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`any argument regarding Reilly’s disclosure for this ground. Prelim. Resp. 2.
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`On this record, Petitioner has demonstrated a reasonable likelihood that it
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`would prevail in showing that Reilly anticipates claims 1, 2, 20, 23, 29,
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`and 30.
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`3. Obviousness over Reilly and Technology & Learning
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`Petitioner contends that claims 1, 2, 20, 23, 29, and 30 would have
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`been obvious over Reilly and Technology & Learning. Pet. 25. Petitioner
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`raises this ground in the event that Reilly’s “news” and “advertisements” are
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`interpreted as separate subjects (as opposed to items corresponding to a
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`single subject, such as news and advertisements relating to “football,” as
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`detailed above in Petitioner’s anticipation allegations). Pet. 22, 25–26, 30–
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`31. If news and advertisements are separate subjects, Reilly’s LAN server is
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`not “configured to retrieve information on only the predefined subject.” Id.
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`According to Petitioner, based on the disclosure in Technology &
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`Learning, a person of ordinary skill in the art, applying Reilly’s system in
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`other contexts, such as education, would have considered other revenue
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`models that eliminated advertisements. Id. at 26–27. Using that model,
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`Reilly’s LAN server would retrieve only news and not advertisements, and,
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`thus, would be configured to retrieve information on “only the predefined
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`subject,” as recited in claim 1, and similarly recited in claims 20 and 29.
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`Id. at 27, 34–35, 38–39. Regarding the remaining limitations of claims 1, 2,
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`20, 23, 29, and 30, Petitioner applies Reilly in the same manner as in its
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`anticipation allegations described above. Pet. 27–42.
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`Patent Owner argues that Petitioner’s proposed modification of Reilly
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`would have rendered it unsatisfactory for its intended purpose. Prelim.
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`Resp. 5. According to Patent Owner, Reilly’s entire disclosure, and thus its
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`intended purpose, is directed to a system for distributing advertising with
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`information. Id. at 5–7. For example, Patent Owner cites to the Abstract
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`and Summary of the Invention of Reilly as referring to “an information and
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`advertising distribution system.” Id. at 6 (quoting Ex. 1003, Abstract and
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`col. 2, ll. 62–63).
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`We are not persuaded by Patent Owner’s argument. “A reference may
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`be read for all that it teaches, including uses beyond its primary purpose.”
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`In re Mouttet, 686 F.3d 1322, 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2012). For the reasons Patent
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`Owner gives, delivering information and advertising together is one purpose
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`of Reilly’s invention. See, e.g., Ex. 1003, col. 1, ll. 46–52. However,
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`another purpose of Reilly’s invention is to address the problem of delivering
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`the content generally associated with news magazines and television
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`(including text, graphics, and animation) while facing communications
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`bandwidth constraints. Id. at col. 2, ll. 4–16. We are not persuaded that this
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`purpose of Reilly would have been defeated by eliminating advertising.
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`Patent Owner also contends that a person of ordinary skill in the art
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`would not have had reason to consider different revenue models for the
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`system described in Reilly. Prelim. Resp. 8. According to Patent Owner,
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`Petitioner’s own statement of the level of skill of an ordinarily skilled artisan
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`lacks any mention of education or experience related to revenue models.
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`Id. at 9. Patent Owner argues that the skill set of an artisan in the computer
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`sciences and the skill set of an artisan in the field of revenue models would
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`have been very different. Id. at 10. Similarly, Patent Owner contends that
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`Petitioner’s declarant, Dr. Almeroth, lacks a background in business and
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`revenue models and, hence, his opinions should be given little weight. Id. at
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`12–14.
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`Petitioner and Dr. Almeroth, however, do not rely simply on the
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`knowledge and background of an ordinarily skilled artisan to show how
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`different revenue models could be applied in a classroom setting. Rather,
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`Petitioner cites to Technology & Learning, which explicitly describes the
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`revenue models used by Classroom PRODIGY and Scholastic Network.
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`Pet. 26–27 (citing Ex. 1004, 109–10, 114); Ex. 1005 ¶ 39. Indeed,
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`Technology & Learning gives a reason to eliminate advertising, namely,
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`“barring kids from material parents and educators may find objectionable.”
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`Ex. 1004, 109. Dr. Almeroth also explains that such a modification to Reilly
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`would have been easy to implement as it would have involved only the
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`removal of a feature. Ex. 1005 ¶ 41. On this record, Petitioner has shown
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`that a skilled artisan would have had reason to apply the teachings of
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`Technology & Learning to Reilly and would have had the skill to do so.
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`In sum, on this record, Petitioner has demonstrated a reasonable
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`likelihood that it would prevail in showing that claims 1, 2, 20, 23, 29,
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`and 30 would have been obvious over Reilly and Technology & Learning.
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`III. CONCLUSION
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`We institute an inter partes review of claims 1, 2, 20, 23, 29, and 30.
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`The Board has not yet made a final determination of the patentability of
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`these claims or the construction of any claim term.
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`IV. ORDER
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`For the reasons given, it is
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`ORDERED that inter partes review is instituted as to claims 1, 2, 20,
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`23, 29, and 30 on the following grounds:
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`(1) Claims 1, 2, 20, 23, 29, and 30 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as
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`anticipated by Reilly; and
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`(2) Claims 1, 2, 20, 23, 29, and 30 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
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`obvious over Reilly and Technology & Learning.
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`No other ground is authorized;
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`FURTHER ORDERED that pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 314(a), inter
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`partes review of the ʼ686 patent is hereby instituted commencing on the
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`entry date of this Order, and pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 314(c) and 37 C.F.R.
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`§ 42.4, notice is hereby given of the institution of a trial; and
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`FURTHER ORDERED that an Initial Conference Call is scheduled
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`for Thursday, November 20, 2014, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The parties
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`should be prepared to discuss whether and how to coordinate the oral
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`arguments, if necessary, for the inter partes review proceedings initiated by
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`Petitioner against Patent Owner. After the Initial Conference Call, the Board
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`will issue a Scheduling Order in due course.
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`PETITIONER:
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`Andrea Reister
`Gregory Discher
`COVINGTON & BURLING LLP
`areister@cov.com
`gdischer@cov.com
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`PATENT OWNER:
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`Andrew Crain
`Vivek Ganti
`THOMAS | HORSTEMEYER, LLP
`Andrew.crain@thomashorstemeyer.com
`Vivek.ganti@thomashorstemeyer.com
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