`Trials@uspto.gov
`571-272-7822
`
`Paper 30
`
` Entered: March 27, 2015
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`____________
`
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`____________
`
`ARRIS GROUP, INC.,
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`C-CATION TECHNOLOGIES, LLC,
`Patent Owner.
`____________
`
`Case IPR2014-00746
`Patent 5,563,883
`
`
`Before MIRIAM L. QUINN, Acting Vice Chief Patent Judge,
`KRISTEN L. DROESCH, and KALYAN K. DESHPANDE, Administrative
`Patent Judges.
`
`
`DROESCH, Administrative Patent Judge.
`
`
`DECISION
`Petitioner’s Motion to Expunge
`37 C.F.R. §§ 42.56, 42.71(a))
`
`
`
`
`
`On March 10, 2015, Petitioner filed a Motion to Expunge (Paper 29,
`
`“Mot. to Expunge”), requesting to expunge the following confidential
`
`information from the record of this proceeding: Exhibits 2012, 2014, 2015,
`
`2016, and Patent Owner’s unredacted Preliminary Response (Paper 19).
`
`
`
`
`
`
`IPR2014-00746
`Patent 5,563,883
`
`Mot. to Expunge 2. Exhibits 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016 were produced by
`
`Petitioner in response to the grant of Patent Owner’s Motion for Additional
`
`Discovery (Paper 15). Petitioner filed an unopposed Motion for Entry of the
`
`Default Protective Order (Paper 16, Ex. 1026) and filed Exhibits 2012, 2014,
`
`2015, and 2016 marked with “PROTECTIVE ORDER MATERIAL.” We granted
`
`Petitioner’s Motion for Entry of the Default Protective Order. Paper 18.
`
`Patent Owner filed an unredacted Preliminary Response (Paper 19),
`
`discussing the information disclosed in Exhibits 2012, 2014, 2015, and
`
`2016, along with a Motion to Seal the unredacted Preliminary Response
`
`(Paper 20), and a redacted public version of the Preliminary Response
`
`(Paper 21). In our Decision to Institute inter partes review (Paper 22,
`
`“Dec.”), we granted Patent Owner’s Motion to Seal the Preliminary
`
`Response. Dec. 27–28. Subsequently, on February 18, 2015, we granted
`
`Patent Owner’s request for adverse judgment. Paper 28.
`
`
`
`For the reasons that follow, Petitioner’s Motion to Expunge is
`
`granted.
`
`ANALYSIS
`
`
`
`A strong public policy exists for making information filed in an inter
`
`partes review publicly available. See Office Patent Trial Practice Guide,
`
`77 Fed. Reg. 48,756, 48,760–61 (Aug. 14, 2012). Only “confidential
`
`information” is protected from disclosure. 35 U.S.C. § 316(a)(7). After
`
`final judgment in a trial, a party seeking to maintain the confidentiality of
`
`the information may file a motion to expunge the information from the
`
`record. 37 C.F.R. § 42.56. Rule 42.56 “balances the needs of the parties to
`
`submit confidential information with the public interest in maintaining a
`
`
`
`2
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`IPR2014-00746
`Patent 5,563,883
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`complete and understandable file history for public notice purposes.” Office
`
`Patent Trial Practice Guide, 77 Fed. Reg. at 48,761.
`
`
`
`Petitioner provides argument, supported by declarant testimony,
`
`addressing the need to maintain the confidentiality of the information
`
`disclosed in Exhibits 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and Patent Owner’s
`
`unredacted Preliminary Response (Paper 19). Mot. to Expunge 3–4 (citing
`
`Ex. 1027 ¶¶ 3–5). Petitioner also points out that our Decision to Institute
`
`inter partes review (Paper 22, “Dec.”) does not discuss explicitly
`
`Petitioner’s confidential information. Id. at 4; see Dec. 8–10.
`
`
`
`In view of the limited discussion of Petitioner’s confidential
`
`information in our Decision (see Dec. 8–10), and Petitioner’s arguments
`
`addressing the confidentiality of the information, we conclude that
`
`Petitioner’s need to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed
`
`in Exhibits 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and the unredacted Preliminary
`
`Response (Paper 19) outweighs the public interest in maintaining a complete
`
`and understandable file history for public notice purposes.
`
`Accordingly, it is
`
`ORDER
`
`ORDERED that Exhibits 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and Patent Owner’s
`
`unredacted Preliminary Response (Paper 19) are expunged.
`
`
`
`
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`
`
`
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`3
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`IPR2014-00746
`Patent 5,563,883
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`
`
`PETITIONER:
`
`Andrew R. Sommer
`Jonathan E. Retsky
`WINSTON & STRAWN LLP
`asommer@winston.com
`jretsky@winston.com
`
`PATENT OWNER:
`
`Lewis V. Popovski
`Jeffrey S. Ginsberg
`David J. Kaplan
`David J. Cooperberg
`KENYON & KENYON LLP
`lpopovski@kenyon.com
`jginsberg@kenyon.com
`djkaplan@kenyon.com
`dcooperberg@kenyon.com
`
`
`
`4
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`