IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`_________________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`_________________
`
`
`
`ALLSTEEL INC.
`Petitioner
`
`
`v.
`
`
`DIRTT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS LTD.
`Patent Owner
`
`__________________
`
`Case IPR2015-01691
`Patent No. 8,024,901
`__________________
`
`
`
`Before SALLY C. MEDLEY, SCOTT A. DANIELS, and
`JACQUELINE T. HARLOW, Administrative Patent Judges
`
`
`
`DECLARATION OF ROBERT WITTL
`
`US.107124594.02
`
`ALLSTEEL EXHIBIT 1033
`Allsteel v. DIRTT Environmental; IPR2015-001691
`
`
`_________________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`_________________
`
`
`
`ALLSTEEL INC.
`Petitioner
`
`
`v.
`
`
`DIRTT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS LTD.
`Patent Owner
`
`__________________
`
`Case IPR2015-01691
`Patent No. 8,024,901
`__________________
`
`
`
`Before SALLY C. MEDLEY, SCOTT A. DANIELS, and
`JACQUELINE T. HARLOW, Administrative Patent Judges
`
`
`
`DECLARATION OF ROBERT WITTL
`
`US.107124594.02
`
`ALLSTEEL EXHIBIT 1033
`Allsteel v. DIRTT Environmental; IPR2015-001691
`
`
`
`
`
`I, Robert Wittl, declare and state as follows:
`
`1.
`
`I am more than 18 years of age. I have personal knowledge of the
`
`facts set forth in this declaration and I am competent to testify to such facts if
`
`called upon to do so.
`
`2.
`
`I am submitting this declaration in connection with a Petition for Inter
`
`Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 8,024,901 (the “Petition”) filed by Allsteel, Inc.
`
`(“Petitioner”) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent
`
`Office (the “Board”).
`
`3.
`
`I am currently Fulfillment Manager for the Beyond Movable Wall
`
`product category at Allsteel, a position I have held since March 2016. In this role,
`
`I am responsible for ensuring that Allsteel’s customers receive Beyond products
`
`that are configured to their specifications, and am continually exploring ways to
`
`improve the Beyond product line.
`
`4.
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`I have been involved in the movable wall industry since 1992,
`
`including more than 20 years at Krueger International, Inc. (“KI”), which
`
`manufactures and sells the KI Genius® Architectural Wall—a movable wall
`
`product that has been on the market since 2002. Over my career in the movable
`
`wall industry, my job responsibilities have included marketing and selling KI’s
`
`products and contributing to product development. These responsibilities required
`
`that I understand the features of other manufacturers’ products on the market. For
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`example, the nature of the movable wall industry is such that it is often critical to
`
`understand what features other manufacturers’ products have because customers
`
`often specify a particular manufacturer’s wall in bid requests, but also allow other
`
`manufacturers to bid if they have a product that is comparable to the expressly
`
`specified product. To understand whether I have a comparable product that is
`
`appropriate to offer in response to bid requests like these, I need to understand the
`
`features of the specified wall.
`
`5.
`
`I have gained an understanding of the features of other movable wall
`
`products on the market from a variety of sources. For example, manufacturers
`
`typically offer publically available catalogs, brochures, and other product
`
`literature. It is my practice in the ordinary course of my work to retain an
`
`electronic copy of each publically available item of product literature that I receive.
`
`6.
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`I also regularly attend trade shows such as the annual NeoCon trade
`
`show in Chicago, where I am able to view examples of competitors’ products.
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`Similarly, the selling process for movable walls often involves the creation of
`
`“mock ups” by two or more manufacturers who are competing for a certain bid.
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`These occasions have given me numerous opportunities to view physical examples
`
`of various competitors’ products.
`
`7.
`
`For this declaration, I have been asked to provide testimony on
`
`
`
`2
`
`
`
`movable wall systems that were on the market prior to August 2004 (which I
`
`understand is the earliest priority date for the DIRTT patent at issue before the
`
`Board) and that included two basic physical features that are commonly used in
`
`movable wall systems: (1) vertical connecting strips—commonly called zippers—
`
`to connect adjacent wall modules together and (2) horizontal structural supports
`
`that have aesthetic components such as glass or wood affixed to them.
`
`8.
`
`Vertical connecting strips, which are known in the movable wall
`
`industry as “zippers,” are common and well-known features of movable walls used
`
`to connect adjacent modules (or to connect modules to corner posts, etc.). Zippers
`
`provide a stable connection between panels and also allow for quick de-installation
`
`and reconfiguration. Zippers are a common feature that I am aware has been used
`
`in a number of successful movable wall products over my twenty-five years in the
`
`industry.
`
`9.
`
`Horizontal structures with aesthetic components attached to the
`
`horizontal structures are another common and well-known feature of movable wall
`
`systems that have been used in a number of movable wall systems over my time in
`
`the industry. This feature provides movable wall customers with greater ability to
`
`customize the aesthetic appearance and componentry of their walls.
`
`10. Based on my knowledge and experience, as well as contemporaneous
`
`
`
`3
`
`
`
`documents referred to or attached to this declaration, there were widely used
`
`movable wall systems available on the market prior to August 2004 that included
`
`both a vertical connector strip (i.e., a zipper) and horizontal structural supports
`
`with affixed aesthetic components, including the KI Genius Wall and the Smed
`
`International LifeSPACE wall. I am very familiar with the features of each of
`
`these walls.
`
`11. The KI Genius Wall, which I had direct experience in marketing, is an
`
`example of a movable wall system that was commercially available prior to August
`
`2004 and that included both a vertical connector strip (i.e., a zipper) and horizontal
`
`structural supports with aesthetic features affixed to the horizontals. The KI Genius
`
`Wall, including the zipper feature and horizontal structural supports with affixed
`
`aesthetics, was introduced in 2002.
`
`12. To illustrate the zipper connection method of the Genius wall, I have
`
`attached as Exhibit 1034 to this declaration a 2003 installation manual, a document
`
`that has been in my possession and maintained in the ordinary course of my work
`
`since 2003, which depicts the “panel connector”—i.e., the zipper—used in the
`
`Genius Wall to “join two properly aligned and adjusted panels,” which is
`
`accomplished by “insert[ing] the panel connector flush with the top of the panel”
`
`and “zip[ping] the connector around the panel or post flanges down to the base.”
`
`
`
`4
`
`
`
`Ex. 1034 at 12.
`
`Id.
`
`The next image,from Exhibit 1009, illustrates the vertical zipper connectors used in
`
`the Genius wall to affix panels, door frames and posts together.
`
`
`
`
`
`5
`
`
`
`
`
`Id. at 3.
`
`13. To illustrate the horizontal structural supports of the KI Genius Wall, I
`
`refer to Ex. 1009, which is another 2003 brochure relating to the KI Genius Wall
`
`that I understand came from the files of Eberhard Von Huene. I recall Ex. 1009
`
`from my time at KI and it accurately depicts the KI Genius wall system as of 2003.
`
`The excerpted images and from this brochure depict examples of horizontal
`
`structural supports from the Genius wall system with a variety of aesthetic panels
`
`affixed to the horizontal components, including options for solid panels, glass
`
`panels, and a solid and glass hybrid.
`
`
`
`6
`
`
`
`Panel/Door Details*
`
`:11" ADjUSTMENT
`
`_+:'X;" ADJUSTMENT
`
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`
`RECESSED
`CHUNG
`CHANNEL
`
`FLUSH
`CEHJNG
`CFLQNNEL
`
`RECESSED
`CEILING
`CHANNEL
`
`4' BASE:
`:l"ADjUSTf‘-1ENT
`5"BASE=
`:ti'!2'ADjU§fMENT
`
`4° aASE=
`:!“ADJU':TTf*'lENT
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`d:J'a3''AD§USTMENT
`
`4" B""*5£=
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`1% ADEUSTMENT
`
`“
`
`So|idIG|ass
`Glass
`Solid
`*"A|E panels are 3‘f1"thick. Sing|e—g|azed glass can be W‘ to 3/a" thick. Ceiling height up to I 20", plus stackat
`
`
`Ex. 1009 at 3.
`
`EX. 1009 at 3.
`
`
`
`7
`
`
`
`
`
`Id. at 1.
`
`14. The Smed International LifeSPACE™ wall system, which was
`
`introduced in the early 1990s, is another example of a product that included a
`
`vertical connector strip (i.e., a zipper) and horizontal structural supports with
`
`affixed aesthetic components.
`
`15. To illustrate the zipper connection method of the LifeSPACE wall, I
`
`have attached as Exhibit 1035 to this declaration a brochure that I received on
`
`
`
`8
`
`
`
`August 13, 2002 and which I have maintained in the ordinary course of my work
`
`since that date. Exhibit 1035, which is excerpted below, depicts a “post cap”
`
`mechanism, which was used in the LifeSPACE wall system as a zipper to adjoin
`
`panels.
`
`
`
`Ex. 1035 at 3.
`
`16. The LifeSPACE wall also included horizontal structures that had
`
`aesthetics affixed to the horizontal structures. To illustrate these horizontal
`
`structures, I have attached as Exhibit 1036 to this declaration another LifeSPACE
`
`brochure, which I received on October 17, 2001 and which I have maintained in
`
`the ordinary course of my work since that date. Exhibit 1036, which is excerpted
`
`below, depicts various LifeSPACE panels attached to horizontal structural supports
`
`located at the top and bottom of the panel frames.
`
`
`
`9
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Ex. 1036 at 6.
`
`17.
`
`I declare that all statements made herein of my own knowledge are
`
`true and that all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true;
`
`and further that these statements were made with the knowledge that willful false
`
`statements and the like so made are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both,
`
`under Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code.
`10
`
`
`
`
`
`18. I declare under penalty of perjury that the statements in this
`
`declaration are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
`
`Executed: July 21, 2016
`
`~~~~2~C ~ w'~
`Rob Wittl
`
`11
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