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`ROBERT R. GILMAN (Pro Hac Vice)
`Email: rgilman@hayesmessina.com
`Telephone: 617-345-6904
`JONATHAN R. DEBLOIS (Pro Hac Vice)
`Email: jdeblois@hayesmessina.com
`Telephone: 617-345-6918
`200 State Street, 6th Floor
`Boston, Massachusetts 02109
`Facsimile: 617-443-1999
`
`KARLA J. KRAFT (SBN 205540)
`Email: kkraft@sycr.com
`
`SALIL BALI, (SBN 263001)
`Email: sbali@sycr.com
`STRADLING YOCCA CARLSON & RAUTH
`A Professional Corporation
`Newport Beach, CA 92660-6422
`Telephone: (949) 725-4000
`Facsimile: (949) 725-4100
`
`
`
`Attorneys for Plaintiff
`BLACK HILLS MEDIA LLC
`
`
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`
`CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA WESTERN DIVISION
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`BLACK HILLS MEDIA,
`LLC,
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`
`
`
`
`v.
`
`SONOS INC.,
`
`Defendant
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Master Case No. 14-CV-00486-SJO (PJWx)
`
`
`The Honorable S. James Otero
`The Honorable Patrick J. Walsh
`
`Black Hills Media, LLC’s Amended Disclosure
`of Asserted Claims and Infringement
`Contentions to Sonos Inc.
`
`
`
`
`
`Pursuant to the parties Joint Motion to Amend Infringement and Invalidity Contentions,
`
`plaintiff Black Hills Media, LLC (“Black Hills”) makes this amended disclosure of asserted claims
`
`and infringement contentions to defendant Sonos Inc. (“Sonos”).
`
`06075868
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 1
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`PATENT
`ASSERTED CLAHVIS
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`
`
`6, l3
`6,757,517
`6,826,283 _
`7,236,739
`7,742,740 —
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`
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`\OOOHO‘UI-k
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`I.
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`P.R. 3-1 Disclosure of Asserted Claims and Infringement Contentions
`
`a.
`
`Sonos infringes at least each of the following claims:
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`Sonos directly infringes the asserted claims under 35 U.S.C. § 271(a).
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`b.
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`Sonos infringes by making, using, selling, offering to sell and/or importing networked
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`audio devices, including Playz5, P1ay:3, Play: 1, Bridge, ConnectzAmp, Connect, Playz5, Playz3, Sonos
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`Control, Controller 100, Controller 200, ZonePlayer S5, ZoneBridge BR 100, ZonePlayer 80,
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`ZonePlayer 90, ZonePlayer 100, ZonePlayer 120, Sonos:Sub, Sonos Dock and Playbar. (the “Accused
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`Products” or “Accused Instrumentalities”)
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`c.
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`Infringement claim charts showing the correspondence between (i) the element of each
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`asserted claim and (ii) the corresponding structure of, or step performed by, the Accused
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`Instrumentalities are provided in Exhibits A - D. Black Hills reserves the right to supplement and/or
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`amend these infringement contentions as additional proprietary information is obtained from Sonos
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`through the course of discovery.
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`e.
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`Based on its current understanding of the claim language and available information
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`regarding the Accused Instrumentalities, Black Hills asserts that Sonos literally infiinges the asserted
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`claims and may also infringe under the doctrine of equivalents set forth in Exhibits A - D. Any claim
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`element or step not literally present in the accused products as set forth in the claim charts is found in
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`those products or steps under the doctrine of equivalents because any differences between such claim
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`element and accused element or step are insubstantial and/or the accused element or step performs
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`substantially the same function, in substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same result
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`as the corresponding claim element(s). Black Hills reserves the right to supplement and/or amend
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`_ 2 _
`BlackHills Media, LIE’s AmendedDisclosure ofAssertcd Claims andlnfiingemmt Contentimsto Sonoshc.
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 2
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 2
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`
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`these infringement contentions with respect to infringement under the doctrine of equivalents as
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`additional proprietary information is obtained from Sonos.
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`f.
`
`The priority date for each claim of each asserted patent is set forth below:
`
`PATENT
`
`ASSERTED CLAIMS
`
`PRIORITY DATE 7,742,740
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`
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`\OOO\I0\UI-¥>
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`Ma 6, 2002
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`g.
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`h.
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`Black Hills is not relying on the assertion that it practices the claimed inventions.
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`Black Hills is not alleging willful infringement at this time.
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`11.
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`RR. 3—2 Document Production Accompanying Disclosure
`
`a.
`
`b.
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`Black Hills is not aware of any documents meeting the description set forth in 3-2(a).
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`Black Hills has produced documents bearing bates numbers BHM BHM 0006907 -
`
`000731 1 and BHM-Sonos 000001-000019.
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`c.
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`Copies of the file histories for each patent-in-suit were produced to Sonos previously
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`and bear bates numbers BHM 0000001 - 0006559.
`
`(1.
`
`Documents evidencing ownership of the patents-in—suit have been previously provided
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`to Sonos and bear bates numbers BHM 0006559 - 0006720.
`
`e.
`
`Black Hills has not identified instrumentalities pursuant to Patent LR. 3-l(g).
`
`_ 3 _
`BlackHills Media, LLC‘s AmendodDisclosm'e ofAsscrted Claims andlnfiingemmt Contenfimsto Sonoshc.
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 3
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 3
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`Dated: September 03, 2014
`
`BLACK HILLS MEDIA, LLC
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`By: Robert R. Gilman
`Robert R. Gilman,
`HAYES MESSINA GILMAN &
`HAYES LLC
`Counsel for Plaintiff Black Hills
`Media, LLC
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`- 4 -
`Black Hills Media, LLC’s Amended Disclosure of Asserted Claims and Infringement Contentions to Sonos Inc.
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 4
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`The undersigned hereby certifies that the following counsel of record for Sonos
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`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
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`Inc., who have consented to electronic service in this case pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P.
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`5(b)(2)(E), are each being served with this document via email on September03, 2014
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`at the following email addresses:
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` George I. Lee, Esq. (lee@mbhb.com)
`
` Ryan Clark, Esq. (clark@mbhb.com)
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`/s/ Jonathan R. DeBlois
`Jonathan R. DeBlois
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`- 5 -
`Black Hills Media, LLC’s Amended Disclosure of Asserted Claims and Infringement Contentions to Sonos Inc.
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 5
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`EXHIBIT C
`EXHIBIT C
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 6
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`U.S. Patent
`6,757,517
`
`6. A method
`for
`interactively
`playing music
`between
`multiple
`users,
`including at
`least a first
`user and a
`second user,
`
`comprising
`the steps of:
`
`Exhibit B to Plaintiff’s Preliminary Infringement Contentions
`Claim Chart – U.S. Pat. No. 6,757,5171;2
`
` ACCUSED PRODUCTS
`
`Claim 6
`The Sonos Wireless HiFi System (“Sonos Devices”) is a network based music listening
`system that consists of media player devices and at least one controller that controls
`what each media player device in the system is playing.
`
`Sonos directly infringes by performing the claimed method, including each and every
`one of the following elements.
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`
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`1 In the examples in this claim chart, the sample Sonos Wireless HiFi System includes two Sonos Connect media
`player devices (one named “Family Room” and one named “Kitchen”) as well as a Sonos Control device and the
`Sonos app running on an iPhone. The sample Sonos Wireless HiFi System charted herein is representative of
`numerous Sonos infringing systems and devices including without limitation Play:5, Play:3, Play 1, Bridge,
`Connect:Amp, Connect, 2x Play:5, 2x Play:3, Sonos Control, Controller 100, Controller 200, ZonePlayer S5,
`ZoneBridge BR 100, ZonePlayer 80, ZonePlayer 90, ZonePlayer 100, ZonePlayer 120, Sonos:Sub, Sonos Dock, and
`Playbar.
`
`2 As demonstrated herein, the accused devices literally infringe each of the asserted claims. However, to the extent
`any limitation is not literally met, it is under the doctrine of equivalents. BHM contends that a person of ordinary
`skill in the art, at the time the accused devices were imported into the United States, sold for importation into the
`United States, or sold in the United States after importation, would have considered any difference between any
`specific claim limitation and the corresponding element or feature in the accused system, to the extent such
`limitation is not literally infringed, to be insubstantial or that the alternate implementation(s) employed (1) perform
`substantially the same function and (2) work in substantially the same way (3) to achieve substantially the same
`result as the requirement of the claim limitation at issue. Sonos directly infringes and/or induces infringement of
`each of the asserted claims through at least the identified media sharing applications. For example, Sonos directly
`infringes by making, using, offering for sale, and selling the Sonos devices in the U.S. Sonos directly infringes the
`method claims by testing the media sharing applications on the Sonos devices in the U.S. Similarly, Sonos
`indirectly infringes each of the asserted claims by inducing, with knowledge of the ‘517 Patent, users of the Sonos
`Devices, to practice each and every one of the following claim elements, either literally or under the doctrine of
`equivalents with knowledge that such practice infringes the ‘517 Patent. Sonos has had knowledge of the ‘517
`Patent since at least as early as the filing of the First Amended Complaint in the instant suit.
`
`06075742
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 7
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`Source: http://www.sonos.com/system
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`Source: http://www.sonos.com/system
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 8
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`Source: http://www.sonos.com
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`Source: http://www.sonos.com/system
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`Source: http://www.sonos.com/system
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`The Sonos Devices practice a method for interactively playing music between multiple
`users, including at least a first user and a second user.
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`For example, the Sonos Devices allow for the synchronous playback of the same stream
`of music across devices in different rooms of a home, enabling the interactive playing of
`music between multiple users as shown below.
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`
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`3
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 9
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`The reason Sonos works so flawlessly all over the house is because we designed a
`complete multi-room music system from the ground up, one that's as expandable as
`you'd like. And we made sure it all works together seamlessly and wirelessly. Which is
`why you can play the same song in every room with perfect synchronicity or
`simultaneously play different songs in different rooms. Of course, how many rooms of
`music you have is up to you — start with one or fill the entire house by adding
`ZonePlayers wirelessly. That same spirit of flexibility applies to our Controllers. Use
`one or many to play your music. That's the joy of multi-room music with Sonos.
`
`Source: http://www.sonos.com/experience/multiroom (As of 5/31/2011)
`Source: http://www.cronks-electronics.com/sonos multi
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 10
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`used by the
`first user and
`a second
`listening
`apparatus
`used by the
`second user
`
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`The key to designing a music system that plays music all over the house is having a
`wireless network that works all over the house. That’s why Sonos created a wireless
`mesh network called SonosNet to deliver the range and performance required of a
`multi-room music system. When you need to stream music wirelessly, the network you
`use really matters. When a network is overloaded or stretched to its limits, you hear
`echoes and delays from room to room, and your Internet speed can be sluggish. Not so
`with Sonos.
`
`Sonos chose a mesh network because a traditional network with a central hub relaying
`all the traffic didn’t provide the house-wide coverage we wanted. What’s more, access
`point networks were plagued by performance issues. SonosNet changes all that —
`providing the extensive range and superior performance you need to enjoy music in
`every room without requiring a massive wiring remodel.
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`Source: http://www.sonos.com/experience/wireless (as of 5/31/2011)
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`On wireless computer networks, ad-hoc mode is a method for wireless devices to
`directly communicate with each other. Operating in ad-hoc mode allows all wireless
`devices within range of each other to discover and communicate in peer-to-peer fashion
`without involving central access points (including those built in to broadband wireless
`routers).
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`Source: http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/wirelessfaqs/f/adhocwireless.htm
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`Sonos uses something called Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) to manage its network.
`Spanning Tree causes a very small data packet (less than 100 bytes) to be sent every few
`seconds, so that Sonos devices know what connections are available, and which
`connection to use.
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`Source: https://ask.sonos.com/sonos/topics/sonosnet
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`SonosNet mesh network technology makes every ZonePlayer a repeater to push music to
`the far corners of your home, from the bedroom to the basement to the backyard.
`Incorporating sophisticated MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) technology,
`SonosNet uses multiple antennas and radios together to boost signal strength and reach
`remote locations, delivering up to double the range offered by a traditional wireless
`access point. The result: all the music gets to the right room – near or far – at the right
`time.
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`Source: http://www.sonos.com/experience/wireless (as of 5/31/2011)
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`“Sonosnet is a proprietary wireless mesh network unique to Sonos. A Wireless Mesh
`Network allows wireless devices and access points to communicate with other nodes
`without being routed through a central switch point.”
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`7
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 11
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`synchronizing
`playing the
`song in the
`apparatuses.
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`The Sonos Devices also practice the step of synchronizing playing the song in the
`apparatuses.
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`For example, Sonos Devices that are in the same “group” as described above will
`synchronously play the same song at the same time.
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`14
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`SONOS 1012 - Page 12
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