PaperNo. 1
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`Filed on behalf of Qualcomm Incorporated
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`By: Nathan Rees
`Richard Zembek
`Eric Hall
`R. Ross Viguet
`Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
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`2200 Ross Avenue, Suite 3 600
`Dallas, Texas 75201-7932
`Tel: (21 4) 855-7164
`Fax: (21 4) 855-8200
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRA DEMARK OFFICE
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`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
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`PETITION FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
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`OF U.S. PATENT NO. 7,477,624
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`Mail Stop "PATENT BOARD"
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`Patent Trial and Appeal Board
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`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`P.O. B ox 1 45 0
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`Alexandria, V A 2231 3- 1 450
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`4 1779736.1
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`I. Mandatory Notices (37 C.F.R. § 42.8(a)(1 )) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................. 1
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`. . . ................... 2 (37 C.F.R. § 42.1 04(a)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .II. Grounds for Standing
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`3 .................. . . . . . . . .. . ..........III. Identification of Challenge (37 C.F.R. § 42. 104(b))
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`A. Statutory grounds for the challenge . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . ............................... 3
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`B . Citation o f Prior Art ....... ....................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ........ 3
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`............. 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...............................IV. The '624 Patent . . . .. . . . . . . ...............
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`A. Overview of the ' 624 Patent
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`4
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`B . Level o f Ordinary Skill i n the Art .... ............. . ...... ... ........ ..... ................ 6
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`C. Claim Construction ....................... . ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . ..................... 7
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`1 0 . .. .............. V. Grounds of Rejection . .............. ........................ . . . . . . . . . . ..................
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`. . .. ........... 1 0 A. Ground 1 : Gerten anticipates claims 5 , 8, 1 7, and 20 . . . . . . . . . .
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`........ 1 0 1 . Overview of Gerten ............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..........
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`.................. 1 2 2. Gerten anticipates claim 5 ......................................
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`a. Gerten discloses "[a] communications apparatus"
`[5P] . 1 2
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`b. Gerten discloses "means for selecting, based upon
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`performance of a plurality of communications
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`channels at a first time, a first set of two or more
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`communications channels from the plurality of
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`communications channels" [ S A] . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. ............ 1 2
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`c. Gerten discloses "means for causing the first set of
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`two or more communications channels to be used
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`for communications between a pair of participants"
`[5B]. 1 4
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`d. Gerten discloses "means for selecting, based upon
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`performance of the plurality of communications
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`channels at a second time that is later than the first
`time, a second set of two or more communications
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`4 1779736.1
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`channels from the plurality of communications
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`channels" [5C] . ............................................................... 1 5
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`e. Gerten discloses "means for causing the second set
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`of two or more communications channels to be
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`used for communications between the pair of
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`participants instead of the first set of two or more
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`communications channels" [5D] . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................. 1 6
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`f. Gerten discloses "wherein at each hop in a hopping
`sequence based on a frequency hopping protocol,
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`only one communications channel of the second
`set of two or more communications channels is
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`used for communications between the pair of
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`participants" [5E] . .. ........................................................ 1 8
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`g. Gerten discloses "wherein the pair of participants
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`includes a first participant and a second
`participant, wherein a default set of two or more
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`communications channels is associated with the
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`hopping sequence and is not changed based on the
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`performance of the plurality of communications
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`channels'' [5F] ............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . ..................... 20
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`h. Gerten discloses "the communications channel
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`selector apparatus further comprises: means [for]
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`the first participant to communicate with a third
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`participant over the default set of two or more
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`communications channels while communicating
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`with the second participant over the first set of two
`or more communications channels and while
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`communicating with the second participant over
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`the second set of two or more communications
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`channels'' [5G] ....................... . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . .... ........... 2 1
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`3 . Gerten anticipates claim 8 ............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ................... 22
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`a. Gerten discloses "[the] communications
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`apparatus . . . further comprising . . . means for,
`after selecting the first set of two or more
`communications channels, causing the first set of
`two or more communications channels to be
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`4 1779736.1
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`loaded into a register of each participant of the pair
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`of participants" [8A] . .....................................................
`22
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`b. Gerten discloses "[the] communications
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`apparatus . . . further comprising . . . means for,
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`after selecting the second set of two or more
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`communications channels, causing the second set
`of two or more communications channels to be
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`loaded into the register of each participant of the
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`pair of participants" [8B]
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`4. Gerten anticipates independent claim 1 7 and dependent
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`claim 20 .................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... ......... 25
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`B. Ground 2 : The combination ofGerten and Cuffaro renders
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`claims 6, 7, 1 8, and 1 9 obvious
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`1 . Gerten/Cuffaro renders claims 6 and 1 8 obvious .. ................... 27
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`a. Gerten/Cuffaro discloses the hopping sequence
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`claim limitations . . ........................................................... 27
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`of the b. Gerten/Cuffaro discloses "the performance
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`plurality of communications channels is based on
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`channel performance data that is transmitted over
`one or more of the plurality of communications
`channels based on the hopping sequence according
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`to the frequency hopping protocol" of claims 6 and
`1 8. 30
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`c. A POSIT A would have combined Gerten and
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`Cuffaro ............................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ................... 3 1
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`......... 3 3 2. Gerten/Cuffaro renders claims 7 and 19 obvious . .. . . . . . . . . .
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`renders C . Ground 3 : The combination o f Gendel and Haartsen
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`claims 5 , 7, 8, 1 7, 1 9, and 20 obvious .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ....................... 3 7
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`1 . Overview of Gendel . .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............. 3 7
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`2. The combination of Gendel and Haartsen renders claim 5
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`obvious
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`3 8
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`a. Gendel/Haartsen discloses "[a] communications
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`apparatus'' [5P] . .. ........... . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... 3 8
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`4 1779736.1
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`b. Gendel!Haartsen discloses "means for selecting,
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`based upon performance of a plurality of
`communications channels at a first time, a first set
`of two or more communications channels from the
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`plurality of communications channels" [SA] . ... . . . . . ........ 39
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`discloses c. The combination of Gendel and Haartsen
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`"means for causing the first set of two or more
`communications channels to be used for
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`communications between a pair of participants"
`[5B]. 42
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`d. Gendel!Haartsen discloses "means for selecting,
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`based upon performance of the plurality of
`communications channels at a second time that is
`later than the first time, a second set of two or
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`more communications channels from the plurality
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`of communications channels" [ 5C] . .. . ............................ 43
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`e. Gendel!Haartsen discloses "means for causing the
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`second set of two or more communications
`channels to be used for communications between
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`the pair of participants instead of the first set of
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`two or more communications channels" [50] .............. . 44
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`f. Gendel/Haartsen discloses "wherein at each hop in
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`a hopping sequence based on a frequency hopping
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`protocol, only one communications channel of the
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`second set of two or more communications
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`channels is used for communications between the
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`pair of participants" [ 5E] . .................. . . . . . . . . . . . .................. 45
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`pair of g. Gendel!Haartsen discloses "wherein the
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`participants includes a first participant and a
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`second participant, wherein a default set of two or
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`more communications channels is associated with
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`the hopping sequence and is not changed based on
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`the performance of the plurality of
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`communications channels" [SF] . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . .... 47
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`h. Gendel!Haartsen discloses "wherein . . . the
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`communications channel selector apparatus further
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`comprises . . . means [for] the first participant to
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`4 1779736.1
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`communicate with a third participant over the
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`default set of two or more communications
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`channels while communicating with the second
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`participant over the first set of two or more
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`communications channels and while
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`communicating with the second participant over
`the second set of two or more communications
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`channels'' [5G] .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . 48
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`renders claim 8 3 . The combination of Gendel and Haartsen
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`obvious .. . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 48
`a. Gendel/Haartsen
`discloses " [the] communications
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`apparatus . . . further comprising . . . means for,
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`after selecting the first set of two or more
`communications channels, causing the first set of
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`two or more communications channels to be
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`loaded into a register of each participant of the pair
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`of participants" [8A] .. . . . .. . . . . . .. . . ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . ... . .. ...... 49
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`b. Gendel/Haartsen discloses "[the] communications
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`apparatus . . . further comprising . . . means for,
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`after selecting the second set of two or more
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`communications channels, causing the second set
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`of two or more communications channels to be
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`loaded into the register of each participant of the
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`pair of participants" [8B] .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. .. . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . 5 1
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`.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 4. Gendel/Haartsen renders claims 1 7 and 20 obvious
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`.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 53 5 . Gendel/Haartsen renders claims 7 and 1 9 obvious
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`D. Ground 4: The combination of Gendel, Haartsen, and Sage
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`renders claims 6 and 1 8 obvious . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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`1 . Gendel/Haartsen/Sage discloses the hopping sequence
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`limitations .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . .. . . . . . 5 5
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`2. Gendel/Haartsen/Sage discloses "the performance of the
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`plurality of communications channels is based on channel
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`performance data that is transmitted over one or more of
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`the plurality of communications channels based on the
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`hopping sequence according to the frequency hopping
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`protocol" of claims 6 and 1 8 .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
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`4 1779736.1
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`VI. Conclusion
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`60
`60
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`Qualcomm Incorporated petitions for inter partes review of claims 5-8 and
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`1 7-20 of United States Patent No. 7,477,624 to Gan, et a!., titled "Approach for
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`Managing the Use of Communications Channels Based on Performance" (hereinaf­
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`ter "the '624 patent"). The '624 patent is provided as Exhibit 1 00 1 .
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`I. Mandatory Notices (37 C.F.R. § 42.8(a)(l))
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`The real parties-in-interest
`REAL PARTY IN INTEREST:
`of Petitioner are
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`Qualcomm Incorporated, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., Qualcomm Innovation Center,
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`Inc.
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`RELATED MATTERS: The '624 Patent is involved in the fol lowing proceed­
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`ings that may affect or be affected by a decision in this proceeding: Bandspeed,
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`Inc. v. STMicroelectronics NV, et a!. , 1 : 1 4-cv-0043 7, Bands peed, Inc. v. Broad­
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`com Corporation,
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`1 : 1 4-cv-00433 , Bandspeed, Inc. v. Texas Instruments Incorpo­
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`rated,
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`1 : 14-cv-00438, Bandspeed, Inc. v. Qualcomm Incorporated, et al., 1 : 14-cv-
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`00436, Bands peed, Inc. v. Marvell Semiconductor, Inc., 1 : 1 4-cv-00434, and
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`Bandspeed, Inc. v. MediaTek,
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`Inc., eta!., 1 : 1 4-cv-00435 , all in the Western Dis­
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`trict of Texas.
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`Three petitions for inter partes review of the claims of the ' 624 patent were
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`previously filed by Marvell Semiconductor, Inc., MediaTek, Inc., and MediaTek
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`USA, Inc. on November 26, 201 4 and all were instituted on June 1 1, 201 5 : Case
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`No. IPR20 1 5-0031 4 challenging claims 1 -4, 1 3- 1 6 and 25-29; Case No. IPR20 1 5-
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`0031 5 challenging claims 5-8 and 1 7 -20; and Case No. IPR20 1 5-0031 6 challeng­
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`ing claims 9-1 2 and 2 1-24. Petitioner is also filing with this petition two other pe­
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`titions for inter partes review of remaining claims of the ' 624 patent.
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`LEAD AND BACKUP COUNSEL: Pursuant to 3 7 C.P.R. § 42.8(b)(3) and
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`42.1 O(a), Petitioner appoints Nathan Rees (Reg. No. 63,820) as its lead counsel,
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`and Richard S. Zembek (Reg. No. 43,306), Eric Hall (Reg. No. 46,751 ), and R.
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`Ross Viguet (Reg. No. 42,203) as its back-up counsel.
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`Service may be delivered to: NORTON ROSE
`SERVICE INFORMATION:
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`FULBRIGHT US LLP, 2200 Ross Avenue, Suite 3600, Dallas, Texas 75201-7932,
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`phone number (21 4) 85 5-71 64 and facsimile (21 4) 855-8200. Petitioner consents
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`to electronic servtce by email at the email addresses:
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`sefulbright.com, nate.rees@nortonrosefulbright.com, richard.zembek@nortonro
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`eric.hall@nortonrosefulbright.com, and ross.viguet@nortonrosefulbright.com.
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`II. Grounds for Standing (37 C.F.R. § 42.104(a))
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`The undersigned, Qualcomm Incorporated that the ' 624 patent is available
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`fi led a motion for inter partes review. Qualcomm Incorporated has concurrently
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`for joinder to join the present case with Marvell Semiconductor,
`Inc. v. Bandspeed,
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`Inc., Case IPR20 1 5-0031 5. Qualcomm certifies that it is not barred or estopped
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`from requesting this inter partes review on the grounds identified herein, so long
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`as the motion for joinder is granted.
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`4 1779736.1
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`III. Identification of Challenge (37 C.F.R. § 42.104(b))
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`A. Statutory grounds for the challenge.
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`Petitioner requests review of claims 5-8 and 1 7-20 on four grounds:
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`GROUND 1 : Claims 5 , 8, 1 7, and 20 are anticipated under 3 5 U.S.C. § 1 02(e) by
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`Gerten. GROUND 2: Claims 6, 7, 1 8, and 1 9 are obvious over the combination of
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`Gerten and Cuffaro. GROUND 3: Claims 5, 7, 8, 1 7, 1 9, and 20 are obvious over
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`Gendel in view ofHaartsen. GROUND 4: Claims 6 and 1 8 are obvious over Gen­
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`del in view of Haartsen and Sage.
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`B. Citation of Prior Art
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`Petitioner cites the following prior art references in support of the grounds of
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`unpatentability: U.S. Patent No. 6,760,31 9 to Gerten, et a/., provided as Exhibit
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`1 003, U.S. Patent No. 6,418,31 7 to Cuffaro, eta!., provided as Exhibit 1 004, U.S.
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`to Haartsen, provided as Exhibit 1 006, and U.S. Patent No.
`Patent No. 7,280,580
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`5,781,582 to Sage, eta/. , provided as Exhibit 1 007, each qualifies as prior art un­
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`der at least 35 U.S.C. § 1 02( e) because each was filed prior to the earliest possible
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`priority date of the '624 patent
`(January 25, 200 1 ).
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`U.S. Patent No. 6,1 15,407 to Gendel, eta!., provided as Exhibit 1 005, quali­
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`fies as prior art under at least 3 5 U.S.C. § 1 02(a) because it issued on September 5,
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`2000 prior to the earliest possible priority date of the '624 patent.
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`IV. The '624 Patent
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`A. Overview of the '624 Patent
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`The ' 624 patent relates to "managing the use of communications channels
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`based on channel performance." ('624 patent, 1 :46-48.) FIG. 2 (reproduced right)
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`depicts a communications network having a number of communications devices
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`labeled master 2 1 0, slave 220 and slave 230. Each
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`I&ASTtR210
`of the communications devices includes a BJ [3] 2
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`21d 1
`I TRANSa:I\E�
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`memory, a processor that may execute instructions
`SLAYE220
`S\.AYEZlO
`I t.IE�� ml I ,6� I 2.31
`I ��341
`ured to transmit and receive communications with I �c�241
`other devices of the communications network. ����� I ��3?1
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`stored in memory, and a transceiver that is config-
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`(!d.' 9:53-59.)
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`To manage the communications channels, the system of the '624 patent se-
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`lects a first set of communications channels "based on the performance of the
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`communications channels and channel selection criteria." (/d., 4:11 - 13 .) "For ex-
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`ample, the selection criteria may be to select the good channels but not the bad
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`channels." (/d., 6:53-55 .) At start-up of the communications network, the system
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`selects an initial set of channels. (/d., 6:1 9-21 .) The system then periodically se-
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`lects sets of channels based on later performance of the communications channels.
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`(!d., 4:1 4- 16.)
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`The ' 624 patent describes various wel l-known techniques for measuring per-
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`formance of communications channels. (See id., 1 0:1 9- 14:59.) The disclosed tech­
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`niques utilize special test packets ( 10:33-1 2 :3 5), received signal strength indicators
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`(RSSI) ( 1 2 :3 7- 1 3:2), cyclic redundancy checks (CRC) ( 1 3:50- 14 : 6), and forward
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`error correction (FEC) ( 1 4: 1 9-41 ). The system classifies a communication channel
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`based on channel performance and one or more classification criteria. (!d., 1 4:63 -
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`65.) "For example, a channel may be classified as 'good' o r 'bad' based on there­
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`sults of the channel performance testing by applying one or more performance
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`measurements to specified performance criteria." (/d., 1 4: 65-1 5 :2 .)
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`"Channel testing and classification may be performed by a master" (e.g.,
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`master 2 1 0) "or other participants, such as slaves" (e.g., slaves 220 or 230). (!d.,
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`1 6:42-43.) "In addition, channel testing and classifications from multiple partici­
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`pants may be combined and/or weighted to determine an overall, or final, classifi­
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`cation for the channels of interest." (/d., 1 6:43-46.) The '624 patent describes one
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`technique for a '"referendum' approach" involving voting by participants. (!d.,
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`16:47-49.) In the exemplary voting technique, a participant has a "'vote' on wheth­
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`er to use the channel or not." (!d., 1 6:65-66.) For example, a vote may indicate that
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`the participant prefers not to use the channel (e.g., participant finds channel "bad")
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`or a vote may indicate that the participant prefers to use the channel (e.g., partici­
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`pant finds channel "good"). (/d., 1 6:66- 1 7:4.) A certain number of total votes "is
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`required for the channel to be judged 'good' and therefore available for use by the
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`4 1779736.1
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`- 5 -
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`FH communications system." (!d., 1 7:5-7.) "Not every participant needs to have
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`input for each channel under consideration." (!d., 1 7:29-30.) As explained in the
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`' 624 patent, participants "may collect and combine the channel performance in­
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`formation, or votes, to determine the final channel classifications." (/d., 1 7:30-34.)
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`In embodiments, the devices of the ' 624 patent communicate using a fre­
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`quency hopping (FH) protocol such as used in Bluetooth communications. The
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`' 624 patent explains that a FH protocol "uses a frequency hopping signal transmis­
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`sion technique in which information or data is transmitted over a set of frequencies
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`in a communications frequency band." (!d., 2:5-9.) These frequencies are often re­
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`ferred to as channels. (/d., 2: 1 9-20.) A FH protocol utilizes a hopping sequence,
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`which is "[t]he order in which the communications network hops among the set of
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`frequencies." (!d., 2:11 - 1 3 .) For example, "[t]he FH system transmits data on one
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`channel, hops to the next channel in the hopping sequence to transmit more data,
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`and continues by transmitting data on subsequent channels in the hopping se­
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`quence." (!d., 2:20-24.) "The use of an FH protocol helps to reduce problems with
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`interference from other communications systems and other interference sources."
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`(/d., 2:25-27.)
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`B. Level of Ordinary Skill in the Art
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`One of ordinary skill in the art would have a B . S . degree in Electrical and/or
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`Computer Eng., or an equivalent field, as well as at least 3-5 years of academic or
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`4 1 779736.1
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`industry experience in the wireless communications field. (Ding Decl. 1, ��1 4- 1 6.)
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`C. Claim Construction
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`Except for the exemplary terms set forth below, construed under the broad-
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`est reasonable interpretation standard, the terms are to be given their plain and or­
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`dinary meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art and consistent
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`with the disclosure. Petitioner reserves the right to present different constructions
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`in the District Court where a different claim construction standard applies. Further,
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`Petitioner's proposed constructions below for the means plus functions elements
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`attempt to identify structure corresponding to the elements. By proposing construc­
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`tions for the purpose of this inter partes review proceeding, Petitioner is not repre­
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`senting that the specification of the '624 patent discloses sufficient structure for
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`those claim limitations to satisfy the requirements of 3 5 U.S.C. § 1 12.
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`1. "vote" [claims
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`7 and 1 9]: The term "vote" is not explicitly defined in the
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`specification. However, a "vote" is a common term meaning an expression of a
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`choice (an indication). (Am. Her. Diet., 2nd Col. Ed. , Exh. 1 008, p. 1 356.) There­
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`fore, under the broadest reasonable interpretation standard,
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`"vote[s] to use the par­
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`ticular communications channef'
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`means at least an indication whether to use (or
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`not to use) the communications channel or an indication whether the communica­
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`tion channel is good or bad. (See, e.g., ' 624 patent, 1 6:66-1 7:4.)
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`1 The Declaration of Dr. Zhi Ding is provided as Exhibit 1002.
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`4 1779736.1
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`-7 -
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`2. means plus function limitations
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`The '624 patent explains the "invention is related to the use of computer sys-
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`tern 700 for implementing the techniques described herein. According to one
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`embodiment of the invention, those techniques are performed by computer system
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`700 in response to processor 704 executing one or more sequences of one or more
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`instructions contained in main memory 706." ('624 patent, 25: 13 -18 .) Thus, pro-
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`cessor 704 executing the instructions associated with the corresponding function is
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`the structure for the means plus function limitations listed below. The function of
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`the claim limitation is highlighted.
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`means for selecting, based upon performance of a FIG. 7· ' 25: 1 3- 1 8;
`channels at a first time, a 8 : 8- 1 7.
`plurality of communications
`first set of two or more communications channels from
`the plurality of communications channels [SA] , [ 1 7 A]
`of two or more com-FIG. 7· ' 25: 1 3- 18;
`means for causing the first set
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`munications ·channels to be used for communications be-8 :1 8-38 .
`tween a pair o f participants [5B], [ 1 7C]
`based upon performance of the FIG. 7· ' 25: 13-1 8;
`means for selecting,
`plurality of communications channels at a second time 8 :49-64.
`that is later than the first time, a second set of two or
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`more communications channels from the plurality of
`communications channels [5C] , [ 17D]
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`two or more FIG. 7· ' 25: 13- 18;
`means for causing the second set of
`8 :65 -9:1 6.
`communications channels to be used for communications
`between the pair of participants instead of the first set of
`channels [5D], [ 17F]
`two or more communications
`two or more FIG. 7· ' 25: 13- 1 8;
`means for, after selecting the first set of
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`communications channels, causing the first set of two or 1 9:25-20:67.
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`more communications channels to be loaded into a regis-
`ter of each participant of the pair of participants [8] ,
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`4 1779736.1
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`-8 -
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`[17B]
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`two or FIG. 7· ' 25:13-18;
`means for, after selecting
`the second set of
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`more communications channels, causing the second set of 19:25-20:67.
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`two or more communications channels to be loaded into
`the register of each participant of the pair of participants
`[8], [17E]
`means for selecting, based upon the performance of FIG. 7· ' 25:13-18;
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`the plurality of communications channels at the first time 8:8-17
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`and channel selection criteria, the first set of two or more
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`communications channels from the plurality of communi-
`channels" [7], [19]
`cations
`means for selecting, based upon the performance of FIG. 7· ' 25:13-18;
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`the plurality of communications channels at the second 8:49-64.
`time and the channel selection criteria, the second set of
`two or more communications channels from the plurality
`of communications channels [7], [19]
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`sequence based FIG. 7· ' 25: 13-18;
`means for performing the hopping
`2:5-13.
`on [a] frequency hopping protocol [6], [18]
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`Claims 5 and 20 include the additional means plus function claim limitation:
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`"means [for] the first participant to communicate with a third participant
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`the default set of two or more communications channels while communicating
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`with the second participant over the first set of two or more communications
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`chann