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`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
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`MICROSOFT CORPORATION
`Petitioner
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`v.
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`BRADIUM TECHNOLOGIES LLC
`Patent Owner
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`CASE: To Be Assigned
`Patent No. 8,924,506 B2
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`PETITION FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
`OF U.S. PATENT NO. 8,924,506 B2
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`V.
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`Page
`EXHIBIT LIST ........................................................................................................ ii
`I.
`INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1
`II. MANDATORY NOTICES UNDER 37 C.F.R. § 42.8(B) ............................ 1
`III. REQUIREMENTS FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW ................................... 2
`A. GROUND FOR STANDING ............................................................... 3
`B.
`IDENTIFICATION OF CHALLENGE ............................................... 3
`IV. OVERVIEW OF THE 506 PATENT ............................................................. 5
`A.
`PRIORITY DATE OF THE 506 PATENT ......................................... 5
`B.
`SUMMARY OF THE 506 PATENT ................................................... 6
`C.
`SUMMARY OF THE PROSECUTION FILE HISTORY .................. 9
`D.
`LEVEL OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART ............................... 10
`E.
`PROPOSED CLAIM CONSTRUCTION .......................................... 11
`THERE IS A REASONABLE LIKELIHOOD THAT AT LEAST
`ONE CLAIM OF THE 506 PATENT IS UNPATENTABLE .................... 11
`A.
`IDENTIFICATION OF THE REFERENCES AS PRIOR ART ....... 11
`B.
`SUMMARY OF INVALIDITY POSITIONS ................................... 12
`VI. DETAILED EXPLANATION OF GROUNDS FOR
`UNPATENTABILITY OF CLAIMS 1-21 OF 506 PATENT ..................... 12
`A. GROUND 1: CLAIMS 1-21 ARE UNPATENTABLE UNDER
`35 U.S.C. § 103(a) OVER POTMESIL, HORNBACKER,
`AND LINDSTROM ........................................................................... 13
`B. GROUND 2: CLAIMS 1-3, 5-10, 12-17 AND 19-21 ARE
`UNPATENTABLE UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) AS BEING
`OBVIOUS OVER RUTLEDGE IN VIEW OF LIGTENBERG
`AND COOPER ................................................................................... 34
`C. GROUND 3: CLAIMS 4, 11 AND 18 ARE UNPATENTABLE
`UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) AS BEING OBVIOUS OVER
`RUTLEDGE IN VIEW OF LIGTENBERG, COOPER AND
`HASSAN ............................................................................................ 58
`VII. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 59
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`-i-
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent 8,924,506 B2
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`EXHIBIT LIST
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`
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`Ex. 1001 U.S. Patent No. 8,924,506 B2 to Levanon et al. (“the 506 Patent”)
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`Ex. 1002 Declaration of Judea d’Arnaud, attaching the article Maps Alive:
`Viewing Geospatial Information on the WWW, Michael Potmesil,
`Computer Networks and ISDN Systems Vol. 29, issues 8-13, pp.
`1327-1342 (“Potmesil”) as Exhibit A.
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`Ex. 1003
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`
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`Ex. 1004
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`PCT Publication WO 99/41675 to Cecil V. Hornbacker, III
`(“Hornbacker”)
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`
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`An Integrated Global GIS and Visual Simulation System by P.
`Lindstrom et al., Tech. Rep. GIT-GVU-97-07, March 1997
`(“Lindstrom”)
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`Ex. 1005 U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,441 to Adrianus Ligtenberg et al (“Ligtenberg”)
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`Ex. 1006 U.S. Pat. No. 6,650,998 to Charles Wayne Rutledge et al (“Rutledge”)
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`Ex. 1007 U.S. Pat. No. 6,118,456 to David G. Cooper (“Cooper”)
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`Ex. 1008 U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,117 to Amer Hassan et al (“Hassan”)
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`Ex. 1009 Declaration of Prof. William R. Michalson
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`Ex. 1010
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`Provisional Applications to which the 506 Patent claims priority
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`Ex. 1011
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`EP1070290 to Cecil V. Hornbacker, III
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`Ex. 1012 Numbering of Claim Elements of Challenged Claims of the 506
`Patent
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`Ex. 1013 Declaration of Dr. Peter Lindstrom (including Exhibits A, B and C)
`regarding the publication of the 1997 article entitled “An Integrated
`Global GIS and Visual Simulation System” which is Ex. 1004
`(“Lindstrom”)
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`-ii-
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent 8,924,506 B2
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`
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`Ex. 1014 Declaration of Mr. Charles Randall Carpenter (including Exhibits A,
`B, C and D) regarding the publication of 1997 article entitled “An
`Integrated Global GIS and Visual Simulation System” which is Ex.
`1004 (“Lindstrom”)
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`-iii-
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`I.
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`INTRODUCTION
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`Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 311 and 37 C.F.R. § 42.100, Microsoft Corporation
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`(“Microsoft” or “Petitioner”) petitions for inter partes review (“IPR”) of claims 1-
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`21 of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2 (“the 506 Patent,” Ex. 1001), currently owned by
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`5
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`Bradium Technologies LLC (“Bradium” or “Patent Owner”). This Petition shows
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`there is a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner will prevail with respect to at least
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`one of the claims 1-21 challenged under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a). As demonstrated by a
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`preponderance of the evidence in this Petition in compliance with 35 U.S.C. §
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`316(e), claims 1-21 are unpatentable under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. §103. Thus,
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`Petitioner respectfully requests the Office to institute a trial for inter partes review
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`and to cancel claims 1-21. This Petition is a remedial measure for correcting the
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`issuance of invalid claims in the original examination and is necessitated by Patent
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`Owner’s improper enforcement of the invalid claims.
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`II. MANDATORY NOTICES UNDER 37 C.F.R. § 42.8(B)
`REAL PARTY IN INTEREST: Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §312(a)(2) and 37
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`C.F.R. §42.8(b)(1), Petitioner Microsoft constitutes all real parties in interest for
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`this proceeding.
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`RELATED MATTERS: The 506 Patent and two other patents in the same
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`family, U.S. Patent Nos. 7,139,794 and 7,908,343, are being asserted against
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`Petitioner in an on-going patent infringement lawsuit in Bradium Techs. LLC v.
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`Microsoft Corp., 1:15-cv-00031-RGA, filed in the U.S. District Court for the
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`District of Delaware on Jan. 9, 2015. In addition, Petitioner is pursuing petitions
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`for inter partes review of the 794 and 343 patents asserted in the above litigation.
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`NOTICE OF COUNSEL AND SERVICE INFORMATION: Pursuant to 37
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`5
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`C.F.R. §§ 42.8(b)(3), 42.8(b)(4) and 42.10(a), Petitioner appoints Bing Ai (Reg.
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`No. 43,312) as its lead counsel, Matthew Bernstein (pro hac vice), Vinay Sathe
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`(Reg. No. 55,595) and Patrick McKeever (Reg. No. 66,019) as its back-up
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`counsel. Petitioner also requests authorization to file a motion for Mr. Bernstein to
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`appear pro hac vice, as Mr. Bernstein is an experienced patent litigation attorney,
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`is lead counsel for Petitioner in the district court litigation, and has an established
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`familiarity with the subject matter at issue in this proceeding. Petitioner intends to
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`file such a motion once authorization is granted. The above attorneys are all at the
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`mailing address of Perkins Coie LLP, 11988 El Camino Real, Suite 350, San
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`Diego, CA 92130, contact numbers of 858-720-5700 (phone) and 858-720-5799
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`(fax), and the following email for service and all communications:
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`PerkinsServiceBradiumIPR@perkinscoie.com.
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`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.10(b), a Power of Attorney executed by
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`Microsoft for appointing the above designated counsel is concurrently filed.
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`III. REQUIREMENTS FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
`This Petition complies with all statutory requirements and requirements
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`-2-
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`under 37 C.F.R. §§ 42.104, 42.105 and 42.15 and thus should be accorded a filing
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`date as the date of filing of this Petition pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.106.
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`A. GROUND FOR STANDING
`Pursuant to § 42.104(a), Petitioner hereby certifies that the 506 Patent is
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`available for IPR and that the Petitioner is not barred or estopped from requesting
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`inter partes review challenging claims of the 506 Patent on the grounds identified
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`herein. Specifically, Petitioner has the standing, or meets all requirements, to file
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`this Petition under 35 U.S.C. §§ 315(a)(1), 315(b), 315(e)(1) and 325(e)(1); and 37
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`C.F.R. §§42.73(d)(1), 42.101 and 42.102.
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`IDENTIFICATION OF CHALLENGE
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`B.
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §§ 42.104(b) and 42.22, the precise relief requested by
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`Petitioner is that the Board institute an IPR trial on Claims 1-21 and cancel the
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`claims because they are invalid on the grounds and evidence presented in this
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`Petition.
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`Claims Challenged: Claims 1-21 of the 506 Patent.
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`The Prior Art: The prior art references relied upon are 7 references listed in
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`the Exhibit List: (1) Maps Alive: Viewing Geospatial Information on the WWW,
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`Michael Potmesil, Computer Networks and ISDN Systems Vol. 29, issues 8-13, pp.
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`1327-1342 (“Potmesil”) (Ex. 1002); (2) PCT Publication No. WO 1999/041675 by
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`Cecil V. Hornbacker, III (“Hornbacker”) (Ex. 1003); (3) An Integrated Global GIS
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`-3-
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`and Visual Simulation System by P. Lindstrom et al., Tech. Rep. GIT-GVU-97-07,
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`March 1997 (“Lindstrom”) (Ex. 1004 and associated Ex. 1013 and Ex. 1014), (4)
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`U.S. Pat. No. 6,650,998 to Charles Wayne Rutledge et al (“Rutledge”) (Ex. 1006);
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`(5) U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,441 to Adrianus Ligtenberg et al (“Ligtenberg”) (Ex. 1005);
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`(6) U.S. Pat. No. 6,118,456 to David G. Cooper (“Cooper”) (Ex. 1007), and (7)
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`U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,117 to Hassan et al (“Hassan”) (Ex 1008).
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`Supporting Evidence Relied Upon For The Challenge: The Declaration of
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`Prof. William R. Michalson (Ex. 1009) supporting the invalidity grounds in this
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`Petition and other supporting evidence in the Exhibit List are filed herewith.
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`Statutory Ground(s) Of Challenge And Legal Principles: Pursuant to 37
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`C.F.R. § 42.104 (b)(2), the review of patentability of claims 1-21 requested in this
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`Petition is governed by pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103 that were in effect
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`before March 16, 2013. Further, statutory provisions of 35 U.S.C. §§ 311 to 319
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`and 325 that took effect on September 16, 2012 govern this IPR.
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`Claim Construction: The 506 Patent has not expired. In IPR, a claim in an
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`unexpired patent shall be given by the Patent Office “its broadest reasonable
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`interpretation in light of the specification of the patent in which it appears” to one
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`of ordinary skill in the art. 37 C.F.R. § 42.100(b). SAP v. Versata, CBM2012-
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`00001, Final Written Decision at 10 (PTAB June 11, 2013), Paper No. 70; In re
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`Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC, No. 2014-1301 at 11-19 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 4, 2015).
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`How Claims Are Unpatentable Under Statutory Grounds: Pursuant to 37
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`C.F.R. § 42.104 (b)(4), Section VI provides an explanation of how claims 1-21 of
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`the 506 Patent are unpatentable and specifies where each element of the claim is
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`found in the prior art of patents or printed publications relied upon.
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`IV. OVERVIEW OF THE 506 PATENT
`The 506 Patent is entitled “Optimized Image Delivery Over Limited
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`Bandwidth Communication Channels” and was granted on December 30, 2014
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`from non-provisional App. No. 13/027,929 filed on February 15, 2011. Per
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`USPTO record, the 506 Patent was originally assigned by the inventors to Inovo
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`Ltd. On June 17, 2013, Inovo assigned the 506 Patent to Bradium. The 506 Patent
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`has a pending child patent application No. 14/547,148 filed on Nov. 19, 2014 and
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`has not been subject to a post-grant proceeding before the Office.
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`PRIORITY DATE OF THE 506 PATENT
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`A.
`The App. No. 13/027,929 is a continuation-in-part of App. No. 12/619,643,
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`filed on Nov. 16, 2009 and now Pat. No. 7,908,343. The 12/619,643 App. is a
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`continuation of App. No. 10/035,987, filed on Dec. 24, 2001 and now Pat. No.
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`7,644,131. The 10/035,987 application further claims priority to six provisional
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`applications, App. Nos. 60/258,488, 60/258,489, 60/258,465, 60/258,468,
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`60/258,466, and 60/258,467, all filed on Dec. 27, 2000. No other priority claims
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`were made. Based on the USPTO record, the earliest priority date of the 506 Patent
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`is no earlier than Dec. 27, 2000.
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`SUMMARY OF THE 506 PATENT
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`B.
`The “Background” of the 506 Patent describes a “well recognized problem”
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`of how to reduce the latency for transmitting full resolution images over the
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`Internet, so such images can be received on an “as needed” basis, particularly for
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`“complex images” such as “geographic, topographic, and other highly detailed
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`maps.” Ex. 1001 at 1:41-59. The 506 Patent admits that solutions already in
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`existence included “transmitting the image in highly compressed formats that
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`support progressive resolution build-up of the image within the current client field
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`of view.” Id. at 1:59-65. Such “conventional” solutions, like the ones described in
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`U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,698,689 (Tzou) and 6,182,114 (Yap), however, usually “presume
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`that client systems have an excess of computing performance, memory and storage”
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`and are “generally unworkable for smaller, often dedicated or embedded” clients.
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`Id. at 1:59-3:12. According to the 506 Patent, the conventional solutions do not
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`work well under “very limited network bandwidth” situations. Id. at 3:12-25.
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`To address these perceived issues in the existing art, the 506 Patent purports
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`to disclose a system capable of “optimally presenting image data on client systems
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`with potentially limited processing performance, resources, and communications
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`bandwidth.” Id. at 3:46-49.
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`Specifically, the 506 Patent describes an image distribution system having a
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`network image server and a client
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`system, where a client can input
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`navigational command to adjust a
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`3D viewing frustum for the image
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`displayed on the client system. Id. at
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`5:30-59. High-resolution source image data is pre-processed by the image server
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`into a series K1-N of derivative images of progressively lower image resolution. Id.
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`at 6:7-22, Fig. 2. The source image is also subdivided into a regular array of 64 by
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`64 pixel resolution image parcels (a.k.a. image tiles), and each image parcel may
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`be compressed to fit into a single TCP/IP packet for faster transmission. Id. at
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`6:12-28; 8:14-32.
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`The client system has a “parcel request” subsystem to request image parcels
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`from the server, a “control block” that directs the transfer of received image
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`parcels and overlay data to a
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`local parcel data store. Id. at
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`7:10-32. The control block
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`also decompresses the image
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`parcels and directs a
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`“rendering engine” to render them. Id. at 7:34-36; Fig. 3.
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`When the viewing point is changed in response to a user navigation
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`command, the control block “determines the ordered priority of image parcels to be
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`requested from the server . . . to support the progressive rendering of the displayed
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`image.” Id. at 7:59-62. Image parcel requests are then placed in a request queue,
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`and are to be issued by the parcel request subsystem according to each request’s
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`assigned priority. Id. at 7:62-64; 9:7-19. Although various factors may affect the
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`priority assigned to a parcel request, e.g., the “resolution of the client display”
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`(9:37-54) or whether the image parcel is “outside of the viewing frustum” (10:9-
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`12), generally speaking, “image parcels with lower resolution levels will
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`accumulate greater priority values,” so “a complete image of at least low resolution
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`will be available for rendering” in a fast manner (10:59-67). In addition, the control
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`parameter for calculating the priority can be set in a way that gives “higher priority
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`for parcels covering areas near the focal point of the viewer” to make sure that
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`image parcels are requested “based on the relative contribution of the image parcel
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`data to the total display quality of the image.” Id. at 11:1-19.
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`After the needed image parcels are requested and received, an algorithm is
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`used to select the image parcels for rendering and display. Id. at 9:20-25. Overlay
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`data may also be added to the display if its image coordinates matches the current
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`image parcel location. Id. at 9:29-34.
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`-8-
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`The 506 Patent states that the disclosed technology can achieve faster image
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`transfer by (1) dividing the source image into parcels/tiles; (2) processing the
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`parcels/tiles into a series of progressively lower resolution parcels/tiles; and (3)
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`requesting and transmitting the needed parcels/tiles in a priority order, generally
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`lower-resolution tiles first.
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`As shown by this Petition, the 506 Patent is merely repetitive of the long
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`history of prior art publications on relevant technical features that the Patent
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`Owner attempts to claim as its own years later. See, e.g., Michalson’s Declaration
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`in Ex. 1009, ¶¶ 32-77 in “VI. TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND OF THE 506
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`PATENT.” As shown in Section VI of this Petition, all of these features and their
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`combinations in claims 1-21 were known or predictable and/or obvious
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`combinations of the prior art features, and were published prior to the earliest
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`priority date of the 506 Patent. Prof. Michalson opines that claims 1-21 are obvious
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`for additional grounds. Id., ¶¶ 92-481. Claims 1-21 of the 506 Patent reflect the
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`Patent Owner’s belated effort to “re-patent” subject matter that was already in the
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`public domain.
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`SUMMARY OF THE PROSECUTION FILE HISTORY
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`C.
`In the original examination of the 506 Patent, the Examiner relied on an
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`incomplete record of prior art and thus did not know that the subject matter of the
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`issued claims 1-21 in the 506 Patent was well known and published by others
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`before its filing date and thus was not patentable. The incomplete record of the
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`original examination is shown by cited prior art references in this Petition and
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`additional prior art references in Prof. Michalson’s declaration that were absent in
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`the original examination, such as Potmesil, Hornbacker, Rutledge, Ligtenberg,
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`5
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`Lindstrom, Cooper and others. In addition, the file history contains no discussions
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`on the prior art U.S. Patent No. 6,182,114 (Yap) that is listed on the face of the 506
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`Patent and is mentioned in the “Background of the Invention” of the 506 Patent.
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`This lack of specific discussion of the Yap reference with respect to claims 1-21 is
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`an oversight by the Examiner because the disclosure of the Yap reference is highly
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`relevant and is material to the patentability of claims 1-21. Prof. Michalson opines
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`that claims 1-21 are obvious over the Yap reference in view of additional prior art.
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`Ex. 1009, ¶¶ 386-473.
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`This Petition is a remedial measure for correcting the unfortunate outcome
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`of issuing the invalid claims 1-21 in the 506 Patent due to the lack of a fuller and
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`more complete record of relevant prior art and due to lack of adequate
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`consideration of relevant teaching in the cited prior art in the original examination.
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`D. LEVEL OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART
`A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) for the 506 Patent should
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`have a Master of Science or equivalent degree in electrical engineering or
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`20
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`computer science, or alternatively a Bachelor of Science or equivalent degree in
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`electrical engineering or computer science, with at least 5 years of experience in a
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`technical field related to geographic information system (“GIS”) or the
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`transmission of digital image data over a computer network. Ex. 1009, ¶¶ 27-31.
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`PROPOSED CLAIM CONSTRUCTION
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`E.
`Petitioner proposes that each of claim terms be construed to have its
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`ordinary and plain meaning in light of the specification of the 506 Patent pursuant
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`to the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) standard for inter partes review.
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`The proposed BRI claim constructions are offered only to comply with 37 C.F.R.
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`§§ 42.100(b) and 42.104(b)(3) and for the sole purpose of this Petition, and thus do
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`not necessarily reflect appropriate claim constructions to be used in litigation and
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`other proceedings where a different claim construction standard applies.
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`V. THERE IS A REASONABLE LIKELIHOOD THAT AT LEAST ONE
`CLAIM OF THE 506 PATENT IS UNPATENTABLE
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`Claims 1-21 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103(a) for merely reciting
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`known, predictable and/or obvious combinations of the cited prior art references.
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`IDENTIFICATION OF THE REFERENCES AS PRIOR ART
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`A.
`All prior art references cited in this Petition were not on record during the
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`original examination of the 506 patent. Potmesil, Hornbacker, Lindstrom,
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`Ligtenberg and Hassan are prior art under § 102(b). Rutledge was filed on July 28,
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`1997 and patented on Nov. 18, 2003 and thus is prior art under at least §
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`102(e).Cooper was filed on April 2, 1998 and patented on September 12, 2000.
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`Cooper is prior art under at least § 102(e).
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`SUMMARY OF INVALIDITY POSITIONS
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`B.
`The cited prior art references in this Petition, not previously before the
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`Office, disclose systems and methods of subdividing large images into a regular
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`array of tiles, compressing these tiles into a series of reduced-resolution tiles,
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`requesting image tiles of various resolutions in a priority order based on the user’s
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`viewpoint, and rendering the received image tiles for display on a client device.
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`Therefore, there is a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner will prevail with respect
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`to at least one of claims 1-21. Specifically, claims 1-21 are rendered obvious by (1)
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`Potmesil in view of Hornbacker and Lindstrom, and (2) Rutledge in view of
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`Ligtenberg, Cooper and/or Hassan.
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`VI. DETAILED EXPLANATION OF GROUNDS FOR
`UNPATENTABILITY OF CLAIMS 1-21 OF 506 PATENT
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`The language of claims 1-21 of the 506 Patent is partitioned into claim
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`elements that are each identified by respective claim element numbers as defined
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`in Ex. 1012. The claim element numbers are used to identify claim elements and
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`specify where each element of the claim is found in the prior art patents or printed
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`publications relied upon.
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`Besides Grounds 1 to 3 discussed in this Petition, Prof. Michalson opines
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`that claims 1-21 are obvious for four more grounds in view of additional prior art.
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`Ex. 1009, ¶¶ 285-479.
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`A. GROUND 1: CLAIMS 1-21 ARE UNPATENTABLE UNDER 35
`U.S.C. § 103(a) OVER POTMESIL, HORNBACKER, AND LINDSTROM
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`Potmesil and Hornbacker disclose similar technologies for retrieving images
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`from networked servers using Internet web browsers and HTTP protocol and
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`provide solutions to similar technical issues.
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`Potmesil teaches an online system, including map servers as well as software
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`operating on a client computer, which allows users to view geographic information
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`over the worldwide web (WWW) using 2D or 3D map browsers. Ex. 1002 at
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`Abstract. The system is designed for use in a wide variety of devices, such as
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`cellular phones and heads-up displays in vehicles. Id. at 1328. The system includes
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`a “tile server” which stores images such as aerial images and elevation data in a
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`power-of-two pyramid to allow fast access and scroll and zoom operations. Id. at
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`Fig. 1, 1329-30. Potmesil teaches that the use of prefiltered power-of-two images
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`for texture mapping was well-known in the art, including in the OpenGL standard
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`used for rendering in the 3D browser. Id. at 1334, 1340. In the OpenGL standard,
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`such tiles are referred to as “mip-maps,” the same term used for image tiles in the
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`provisional applications that the ‘506 Patent claims priority to. Ex. 1002 at 1329;
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`Ex. 1010 at 1010, 7:13-9:6, Ex. 1009, ¶¶ 69-75, 96. The 2D and 3D geographical
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`map browsers implement a tile caching process that calculates the tiles needed to
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`render the current view and tiles likely to be needed in the future, requests those
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`tiles from the server, and caches those tiles. For example, in a “flight simulator”
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`mode, the 3D browser requests and caches tiles from the flight path ahead of the
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`user’s simulated viewpoint. Id. at 1332-33, Fig. 2. Image tiles may be compressed
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`using a variety of formats such as JPEG or GIF. Id. at 1334-35. Potmesil teaches
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`that the geographical system outlined in the paper may be used in a variety of
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`applications such as traditional computers, notebook computers (NCs), Interactive
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`TVs (ITV’s), cellular phones, and heads-up displays on car windshields. Id., 1328.
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`Hornbacker teaches a method and a system for displaying portions of very
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`large images (such as digital documents) retrieved over a network from a server.
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`The system includes a web server networked to client workstations, which use a
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`web browser on the workstation to request image views by means of Uniform
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`Resource Locator (URL) code using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Ex.
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`1003, 5:3-8, 5:16-25. The documents are divided into 128X128 pixel view tiles,
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`which are further organized into a hierarchy of tiles at differing resolutions spaced
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`by factors of two. Id., 6:13-20, 7:11-14. The image tiles may be compressed using
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`GIF compression with a typical compression ratio of 4:1. Id., 6:20-7:3.
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`In the same technology field as Potmesil and Hornbacker, Lindstrom teaches
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`an online client/server system for viewing large-scale geographic data, e.g. terrain
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`elevation and imagery data, using a 3D perspective view with multiple windows.
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`Ex. 1004, Abstract, §§ 1, 3, 4.1, 4.2.6, Fig. 1. Lindstrom uses a pyramidal quadtree
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`structure to organize multi-resolution terrain and image data in a hierarchical
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`manner, and processes requests for image tiles using a prioritized queue and an
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`image cache. Id., Abstract, §§2, 3, 4, 4.1, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3. Lindstrom further
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`teaches that the display process on the client is multithreaded to improve the
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`utilization of the system to facilitate balanced and separable management of the
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`system parts and support display in multiple windows. Id., Abstract, Fig. 1, §§ 1, 3,
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`4, 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.2.3, 4.2.5, 4.2.6, 6. A POSITA would recognize that Lindstrom
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`teaches a substantially similar online system to Potmesil with similar goals, and
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`that the multi-threaded system of Lindstrom would provide similar advantages to
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`speeding up processing in the system of Potmesil, particularly in view of the
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`related teaching in Potmesil that the tile caching and compositing processes run
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`independently and asynchronously. Ex. 1002, 1333, Ex. 1008, ¶ 97.1, 97.2.
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`Additionally, a POSITA would recognize that the specific teachings of Lindstrom
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`about the function of the LOD manager including the dynamically updated priority
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`queue for tile requests and the limiting of rendering based on display thresholds
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`would provide additional implementation details to assist a POSITA in
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`implementing the technology disclosed by Potmesil. Ex. 1008, ¶ 101.
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`The combination of Potmesil, Hornbacker, and Lindstrom collectively
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`teaches or suggests all the limitations of claims 1-21 and renders each claim as a
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`whole obvious and unpatentable. Ex. 1009 at ¶¶ 92-94.
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`A POSITA would be motivated to combine Potmesil, Hornbacker, and
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`Lindstrom because they both address the common technical issues in visualizing
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`large amounts of data obtained over a data network, using a client viewing device
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`with much smaller memory than the database which stores the imagery data. Ex.
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`1009 at ¶¶ 101-102. In this regard, Potmesil, Hornbacker, and Lindstrom address
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`similar or the same technical problems in rendering the images on the client device
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`from image data received over a data network, e.g., optimizing bandwidth,
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`prioritizing use of bandwidth, determining which portions of a larger set of image
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`data to request, etc. Id. Potmesil and Lindstrom specifically discloses use of the
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`technology in terrain visualization applications and map applications. The
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`teachings of Hornbacker are readily applicable to online mapping references
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`because online maps represent a scenario in which a much larger amount of
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`geographically organized imagery must be stored on a server than can be stored at
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`one time on a client. The European counterpart of Hornbacker, EP1070290,
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`specifically recognizes the relevance of teachings relating to mapping to the
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`disclosure of Hornbacker by citing and explaining several online mapping
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`references, including Potmesil, in the description of the prior art. Ex. 1011 at
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`[0006], [0007]. Accordingly a POSITA would be motivated to consider the
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`teachings of both references in designing a mapping application designed to view a
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`map over a limited bandwidth communications channel. Ex. 1009, ¶ 103. In
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`addition, the analyses of Potmesil, Hornbacker, and Lindstrom in connection with
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`claim limitations of claims 1-21 below provide additional reasons or motivations
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`that would cause a POSITA to combine Potmesil, Hornbacker, and Lindstrom in
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`the manner as suggested in this Petition.
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`Detailed element-by-element analyses are provided below.
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`Claim 1, Preamble:
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`The preamble of claim 1 is taught by both Potmesil
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`and Hornbacker, which collectively describe systems that perform the claimed
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`method. Potmesil teaches a client system for dynamic visualization of image data
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`(through a terrain rendering program) which requests image data from a network
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`containing large-scale images divided into tiles. Ex. 1002 at Abstract, 1327-28,
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`1335. Potmesil specifically suggests that the system will be used in cellular phones.
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`Id., 1328. Hornbacker teaches a client system for dynamic visualization of image
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`data (through an online image viewing program) which requests image data from a
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`network server contain image tiles and which may be used to retrieve data over a
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`low bandwidth communication channel such as a 28.8 kbaud modem. Ex. 1003 at
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`Abstract, 13:28-14:11. The system may be used on devices such as notebook
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`computers, palm-top computers, and Web television adapters. Id. at 14:26-28.
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`Hornbacker further teaches that the use of compression for image tiles, including
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`compression at a fixed 4:1 ratio, may be used to reduce the necessary bandwidth to
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`transmit such data. Ex. 1003 at 6:20-7:1. A POSITA would recognize that the
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,506 B2
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`compression techniques taught by Hornbacker could advantageously be used to
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`implement the connection over a mobile network as suggested by Potmesil. Ex.
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`1009, ¶¶ 105-107.
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`Claim 1, Claim Element 1.A: Potmesil teaches software as part of the
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`client image visualization application that requests and caches tiles from the server.
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`Ex. 1002 at Abstract, 1328, 1329-30 (§§ 2, 2.1), 1332-33 (§§ 3, 3.1), Fig. 2.
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`Hornbacker teaches that tiles within a large database may be located by requests to
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`a server which use URLs to identify the specific tile by characteristics such as
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`resolution, location, view angle, etc. Ex. 1003, Abstract, 3:10-27, 5:16-25, 6:13-19,
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`7:26-8:6, 8:30-9:28, 10:24-28, 12:24-13:10. Potmesil and Hornbacker both teach
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`methods of requesting image tiles over a network according to a priority order.
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`Potmesil and Hornbacker identify a common problem with the display of portions
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`of very large images over a network, which is the latency and bandwidth
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`consumption associated with downloading an entire image, and arrive at similar
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`solutions in the form of requests for specific tiles in a priority order based on how
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`soon the tiles need to be displayed. A POSITA would recognize that the teachings
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`of the two references solving similar problems in closely related fields could be
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`considered in combination when designing a display