throbber

`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`____________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`____________
`
`VALVE CORPORATION,
`
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`IRONBURG INVENTIONS LTD.,
`
`Patent Owner.
`
`____________
`
`Cases
`
`IPR2016-00948 (Patent 8,641,525 B2)
`
`IPR2016-00949 (Patent 9,089,770 B2)
`
`
`
`PATENT OWNER’S REPLY TO MOTION TO EXCLUDE
`
`PURSUANT TO 37 C.F.R. § 42.64(c)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`
`2.
`
`2.
`
`Page
`INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1
`I.
`II. ARGUMENT .................................................................................................. 2
`A.
`Exhibit 1007 ......................................................................................... 2
`1.
`Exhibit 1007 is not self-authenticating and Petitioner’s
`sole reliance on the IPR Petition and the Harrison
`declaration is fatal ...................................................................... 2
`Exhibit 1007 is Inadmissible Hearsay ....................................... 4
`a.
`The public records hearsay exception is
`inapplicable ...................................................................... 4
`The exception of documents that affect an interest
`in property is inapplicable ............................................... 5
`3. Mr. Donohoe’s purported “expert” opinions are irrelevant ....... 6
`4.
`FRE 403 is applicable in this case and the Board
`routinely makes evidentiary rulings based on F.R.E 403 .......... 7
`Exhibits 1025-1028 .............................................................................. 7
`1.
`Petitioner admits that Exhibits 1025 and 1026 are moot,
`and offers no explanation of how Exhibits 1027 and 1028
`support the admissibility of Exhibit 1007 .................................. 7
`Exhibits 1027 and 1028 are inadmissible because
`unauthenticated and irrelevant ................................................... 8
`Petitioner’s Response ........................................................................... 8
`C.
`III. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 9
`
`b.
`
`B.
`
`
`
`-i-
`
`

`

`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`
`
`Page
`
`CASES
`Belden Techs., Inc. v. Superior Essex Commc'ns, LP,
`802 F.Supp.2d 555 (D.Del. 2011) ......................................................................... 7
`Callaway Golf v. Acushnet Co.,
`576 F.3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2009) ............................................................................ 7
`EMC Corp. v. Personalweb Techs., LLC,
`Case IPR2013-00084, slip op. 45 (PTAB May 15, 2014) ........................ 1, 2, 3, 8
`Gen. Mills Operations, LLC v. Five Star Custom Foods, Ltd.,
`703 F.3d 1104 (8th Cir. 2013) .............................................................................. 5
`IA Labs CA, LLC v. Nintendo Co., Ltd.,
`857 F.Supp.2d 550 (D. Md., Feb. 14, 2012) ......................................................... 6
`Loraine v. Markel Am. Ins. Co.,
`241 F.R.D. 534 (D. Md. 2007) ............................................................................. 4
`St. Luke's Cataract & Laser Inst., P.A. v. Sanderson,
`2006 WL 1320242 (M.D. Fla. May 12, 2006) ..................................................... 3
`Transamerica Life Ins. v. Lincoln Nat'l Life Ins. Co.,
`597 F.Supp.2d 897 (N.D.Iowa 2009) ................................................................... 7
`United States v. Jackson,
`208 F.3d 633 (7th Cir. 2000) ................................................................................ 3
`United States v. Mackey,
`117 F.3d 24 (1st Cir. 1997) ................................................................................... 5
`United States v. Ortiz,
`125 F.3d 630 (8th Cir. 1997) ................................................................................ 5
`Victaulic Co. v. Tieman,
`499 F.3d 227 (3d Cir. 2007) ................................................................................. 3
`STATUTES
`37 C.F.R. § 42.65 ....................................................................................................... 6
`RULES
`F.R.E. 401 .................................................................................................................. 6
`F.R.E. § 403 ............................................................................................................... 7
`
`
`
`-ii-
`
`

`

`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`(continued)
`
`Page
`
`Fed. R. Evid. 403 ....................................................................................................... 7
`Fed. R. Evid. 803(8) ................................................................................................... 5
`Fed. R. Evid. 803(8)(A)(iii) ....................................................................................... 5
`Fed. R. Evid. 803(15) ................................................................................................. 6
`Fed. R. Evid. 803(15) ................................................................................................. 5
`Fed. R. Evid. 902(3) ............................................................................................... 4, 8
`
`
`
`
`-iii-
`
`

`

`I.
`
`INTRODUCTION
`
`IPR2016-00948
`IPR2016-00949
`
`
`Petitioner’s Exhibit 1007 should be excluded as lacking authentication,
`
`inadmissible hearsay, irrelevant to the present action, and/or confusing or
`
`misleading.
`
`First, Petitioner has taken a shifting sand approach to its use of the U.K.
`
`Examiner’s statements. Clearly, the Petitioner’s statements in the Petition and
`
`Petitioner’s Reply show that Petitioner is using the U.K. examiner’s statements to
`
`argue and support Petitioner’s obviousness challenge, but now Petitioner appears
`
`to change position and assert that it is using the U.K. Examiner’s statements
`
`merely to show the “state of the art.” Tellingly, this mischaracterization of the
`
`record is a silent admission that Petitioner’s use of Exhibit 1007 is inadmissible
`
`hearsay. Further, none of the hearsay exceptions are applicable here.
`
`Second, Petitioner recognizes that Exhibit 1007 is not self-authenticating,
`
`and relies solely on the Harrison Declaration and the IPR Petition for
`
`authentication. However, both are grossly deficient and do not meet the standard
`
`set forth in Nestle Oil OYJ, v. REG Synthetic Fuels, LLC, IPR2013-00578, Paper
`
`53 at 4 (PTAB March 12, 2015) and its progeny. Notably, Petitioner has failed to
`
`address Nestle Oil or any of the cases raised by Patent Owner in the Motion to
`
`Exclude.
`
`
`
`1
`
`

`

`Third, although Petitioner contends that Exhibits 1025-1027, and now
`
`IPR2016-00948
`IPR2016-00949
`
`
`Exhibit 1028, were submitted only to support the admissibility of Exhibit 1007,
`
`Petitioner has failed to explain how Exhibits 1025-1028 actually support the
`
`admissibility of Exhibit 1007. Not surprisingly, Petitioner now acknowledges that
`
`“admissibility of Exhibits 1025 and 1026 is moot because those exhibits are not
`
`being relied upon in this proceeding” (Opp. at 12), and thus, could not have
`
`supported admissibility of Exhibit 1007. Exhibit 1027, and now Exhibit 1028,
`
`should also be expunged for the same reasons.
`
`Finally, Petitioner did not oppose the exclusion of Petitioner’s Response
`
`(dated April 13, 2017), and therefore, it should be excluded in its entirety.
`
`
`
`II. ARGUMENT
`A. Exhibit 1007
`1.
`Exhibit 1007 is not self-authenticating and Petitioner’s sole
`reliance on the IPR Petition and the Harrison declaration is
`fatal
`
`Recognizing that Exhibit 1007 is not self-authenticating, Petitioner relies
`
`instead on the IPR Petition and the Harrison Declaration. However, Petitioner’s
`
`reliance is misplaced as both are grossly deficient and do not meet the standard set
`
`forth in Nestle Oil OYJ, v. REG Synthetic Fuels, LLC, IPR2013-00578, Paper 53 at
`
`4 (PTAB March 12, 2015) and its progeny.
`
`In Nestle Oil, the Board explained:
`
`
`
`2
`
`

`

`IPR2016-00948
`IPR2016-00949
`
`
`Ms. Queler’s testimony may establish that the exhibits are true and
`correct printouts of the identified webpages, but this is beside the
`point. Nestle wishes to rely on the dates reflected in the printouts to
`establish that the Kubíčka reference was publicly available prior to
`December 10, 2007. Paper 24, 15. When offering a printout of a
`webpage into evidence to prove the website’s contents, the proponent
`of the evidence must authenticate the information from the website
`itself, not merely the printout. See Victaulic Co. v. Tieman, 499 F.3d
`227, 236 (3d Cir. 2007), as amended (Nov. 20, 2007) (citing United
`States v. Jackson, 208 F.3d 633, 638 (7th Cir. 2000)). For this reason,
`the Board has required that “[t]o authenticate printouts from a
`website, the party proffering the evidence must produce some
`statement or affidavit from someone with knowledge of the website . .
`. for example a web master or someone else with personal knowledge
`would be sufficient.” EMC Corp. v. Personalweb Techs., LLC, Case
`IPR2013-00084, slip op. 45 (PTAB May 15, 2014) (Paper 64)
`(quoting St. Luke's Cataract & Laser Inst., P.A. v. Sanderson, 2006
`WL 1320242, at *2 (M.D. Fla. May 12, 2006)).
`
`Nest;e has not provided the testimony of any witness with personal
`knowledge of the websites depicted in the printouts; nor do we have
`any other basis for concluding that the contents of the website are
`authentic. For this reason, Exhibits 1101, 1070, and 1129 lack
`authentication and are inadmissible.
`
`IPR2013-00578, Paper 53 at 4.
`
`Here, the signature of Petitioner’s attorney in connection with the IPR
`
`Petition as well as the Harrison Declaration, at best, merely establish that EX1007
`
`is a true and correct printouts of the U.K. website. Neither the Petitioner nor the
`
`Harrison Declaration authenticate the information from the website itself.
`
`Petitioner has not provided the testimony of any witness with personal knowledge
`
`of the U.K. website depicted in the printouts; nor do we have any other basis for
`
`concluding that the contents of the website are authentic.
`
`
`
`3
`
`

`

`IPR2016-00948
`IPR2016-00949
`
`Notably, despite Petitioner’s attempts to authenticate Exhibit 1007 by simply
`
`saying-so, merely providing a URL and an attorney declaration from Petitioner’s
`
`counsel is insufficient, as the requirements of F.R.E. 902(3) and the cases cited in
`
`Ironburg’s Motion to Exclude are clear and unequivocal. Nowhere does
`
`Petitioner’s attorney declaration or the Petition offer evidence that “provide[s]
`
`factual specificity about the process by which the electronically stored information
`
`is created, acquired, maintained, and preserved without alteration or change, or the
`
`process by which it is produced if the result of system or process that does so.”
`
`Loraine v. Markel Am. Ins. Co., 241 F.R.D. 534, 545 (D. Md. 2007). Indeed, Mr.
`
`Harrison is neither someone with knowledge of the website, like a webmaster, nor
`
`a custodian of the information in Exhibit 1007. And as such, he cannot
`
`authenticate Exhibit 1007. Because Petitioner provides insufficient authenticating
`
`testimony, Exhibit 1007 should be excluded.
`
`2.
`
`Exhibit 1007 is Inadmissible Hearsay
`
` Petitioner did not refute that Exhibit 1007 is hearsay. Opp. at 5. Instead,
`
`Petitioner relied on two exceptions to the hearsay rule, none of which is applicable
`
`here.
`
`a.
`
`The public records hearsay exception is inapplicable
`
`Exhibit 1007 is not admissible under the public records hearsay exception
`
`just because it appears within public records. Nothing in Mr. Donohoe’s report
`
`
`
`4
`
`

`

`provides any factual findings, nor has Petitioner established that there are any
`
`IPR2016-00948
`IPR2016-00949
`
`
`“factual findings resulting from a legally authorized investigation” within Mr.
`
`Donohoe’s statements, that may qualify as public records under the public records
`
`exception. See Gen. Mills Operations, LLC v. Five Star Custom Foods, Ltd., 703
`
`F.3d 1104, 1108 (8th Cir. 2013) (quoting Fed. R. Evid. 803(8)(A)(iii)) (The public-
`
`records hearsay exception “provides that a ‘record or statement of a public office’
`
`is not hearsay if it sets out, in a civil case, ‘factual findings from a legally
`
`authorized investigation.’”); see, e.g., United States v. Ortiz, 125 F.3d 630, 632
`
`(8th Cir. 1997); United States v. Mackey, 117 F.3d 24, 28–29 (1st Cir. 1997)
`
`(holding that “hearsay statements by third persons ... are not admissible under this
`
`exception [FRE 803(8) ] merely because they appear within public records”).
`
`Not only are there no factual findings in Exhibit 1007, but also Petitioner
`
`relies on the U.K. Examiner’s statements as a purported expert opinion to support
`
`its obviousness challenge. Therefore, Mr. Donohoe’s statements do not qualify
`
`under the public records exception to the hearsay rule.
`
`b.
`
`The exception of documents that affect an interest in
`property is inapplicable
`
`Exhibit 1007 is also not admissible as a document that affects an interest in
`
`property. Under Rule 803(15), a hearsay statement is admissible if: (1) it is
`
`“contained within a document that affects an interest in property;” (2) it is
`
`“relevant to the purport of the document;” and (3) “if dealings with the property
`
`
`
`5
`
`

`

`since the document was made have not been inconsistent with the truth of the
`
`IPR2016-00948
`IPR2016-00949
`
`
`statement.” F.R.E. § 803(15).
`
`Exhibit 1007 in no way affects any interest in any property relevant to this
`
`case. Nor is any U.K. intellectual property interest relevant to this case.
`
`Therefore, Exhibit 1007 is not admissible as a document that affects any interest in
`
`any property.
`
`3. Mr. Donohoe’s purported “expert” opinions are irrelevant
`
`Regardless of whether Mr. Donohoe’s statements are presented to support
`
`Petitioner’s obviousness arguments or now for the purported “state of the art,” they
`
`are nevertheless presented as those of a person skilled in the art, and as such, must
`
`meet the PTAB rules on expert declarations. 37 C.F.R. § 42.65. As previously
`
`stated in the Motion to Exclude, Petitioner failed to establish that Mr. Donohoe
`
`qualifies as an expert. This is critical to the underlying issue of relevance, and
`
`therefore, Mr. Donohoe’s statements should be excluded under F.R.E. 401.
`
`Even if Mr. Donohoe qualifies as an expert, which he does not, his
`
`statements have no relevance to factual issues underlying the question of
`
`obviousness in the present case. Patent Owner has cited to numerous cases on this
`
`issue, none of which were ever addressed or acknowledged by Petitioner. See IA
`
`Labs CA, LLC v. Nintendo Co., Ltd., 857 F.Supp.2d 550 (D. Md., Feb. 14, 2012)
`
`(holding that evidence relating to PTO reexamination be excluded because the
`
`
`
`6
`
`

`

`probative value was outweighed by its potential for undue prejudice) (citing
`
`IPR2016-00948
`IPR2016-00949
`
`
`Callaway Golf v. Acushnet Co., 576 F.3d 1331, 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Belden
`
`Techs., Inc. v. Superior Essex Commc'ns, LP, 802 F.Supp.2d 555, 569 (D.Del.
`
`2011); Transamerica Life Ins. v. Lincoln Nat'l Life Ins. Co., 597 F.Supp.2d 897,
`
`907 (N.D.Iowa 2009)). As such, Exhibit 1007 is irrelevant and should be excluded
`
`on that basis as well.
`
`4.
`
`FRE 403 is applicable in this case and the Board routinely
`makes evidentiary rulings based on F.R.E 403
`
`Not only is F.R.E. § 403 germane to Exhibit 1007, the Board routinely
`
`considers evidence exclusion based on F.R.E. 403 and Petitioner has not
`
`established or made any argument to refute Ironburg’s original assertion that
`
`Exhibit 1007 is confusing and misleading. Providing evidence of obviousness
`
`based on an examination of patentability by a non-U.S. patent examiner that is
`
`based on non-U.S. patent law, is in fact misleading and confusing for the same
`
`reasons that were enumerated in Ironburg’s Motion to Exclude.
`
`B.
`
`Exhibits 1025-1028
`
`1.
`
`Petitioner admits that Exhibits 1025 and 1026 are moot, and
`offers no explanation of how Exhibits 1027 and 1028
`support the admissibility of Exhibit 1007
`
`Although Petitioner contends that Exhibits 1025-1027, and now Exhibit
`
`1028, were submitted only to support the admissibility of Exhibit 1007, Petitioner
`
`has not provided any explanation in its Opposition or otherwise, of how these
`
`
`
`7
`
`

`

`supplemental Exhibits 1025-1028 support the admissibility of Exhibit 1007. Not
`
`IPR2016-00948
`IPR2016-00949
`
`
`surprisingly, Petitioner now acknowledges that “admissibility of Exhibits 1025 and
`
`1026 is moot because those exhibits are not being relied upon in this proceeding”
`
`(Opp. at 12), and thus, could not have supported admissibility of Exhibit 1007.
`
`Exhibit 1027 and now Exhibit 1028 also fail to support the admissibility of Exhibit
`
`1007. As such, Exhibits 1025-1028 should be expunged from the record.
`
`2.
`
`Exhibits 1027 and 1028 are inadmissible because
`unauthenticated and irrelevant
`
`As discussed above with respect to Exhibit 1007, Exhibits 1027/1028 also
`
`require a final certification to be authenticated under F.R.E. 902(3). Exhibits
`
`1027/1028 are also not properly authenticated by self-serving statements made by
`
`an interested party, namely Petitioner’s counsel, who is not a custodian or a person
`
`with personal knowledge of such a record. Nestle Oil OYJ, v. REG Synthetic
`
`Fuels, LLC, IPR2013-00578, Paper 53 at 4 (PTAB March 12, 2015). As such,
`
`Exhibit 1027/1028 are unauthenticated. They are also irrelevant to this proceeding.
`
`Petitioner’s Response
`
`C.
`Petitioner did not oppose the exclusion of Petitioner’s Response (dated April
`
`13, 2017), and therefore, it should be excluded in its entirety.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`8
`
`

`

`III. CONCLUSION
`For the reasons discussed above, Patent Owner respectfully requests that
`
`IPR2016-00948
`IPR2016-00949
`
`
`Exhibits 1007, 1025-1028 be excluded from this proceeding, and the April 13,
`
`2017 Response, including Exhibits 1025-1027, and Exhibit 1028 submitted on
`
`May 18, 2017, be expunged from the record.
`
`Date: May 25, 2017
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`By: /s/ Danielle Mihalkanin
`
`Ehab Samuel
`
`Attorney for Patent Owner
`
`Reg. No. 57,905
`
`
`
`
`
`Danielle Mihalkanin
`Attorney for Patent Owner
`Reg. No. 69,506
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`9
`
`

`

`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
`
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §§ 42.6(e) and 42.105(b), the undersigned certifies
`
`IPR2016-00948
`IPR2016-00949
`
`
`
`
`that on May 5, 2017, a complete and entire electronic copy of this PATENT
`
`OWNER’S REPLY TO MOTION TO EXCLUDE PURSUANT TO 37 C.F.R. §
`
`42.64(c), was served via PTAB E2E to Petitioner’s counsel of record at the
`
`following address:
`
`
`
`
`Joshua C. Harrison, Reg. No. 45,686, josh@bhiplaw.com
`Reynaldo C. Barcelo, Reg. No. 42,290, rey@bhiplaw.com
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`By: /s/ Danielle Mihalkanin
`
`Ehab Samuel
`
`Attorney for Patent Owner
`
`Reg. No. 57,905
`
`
`
`
`
`Danielle Mihalkanin
`Attorney for Patent Owner
`Reg. No. 69,506
`
`Date: May 25, 2017
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`10
`
`

This document is available on Docket Alarm but you must sign up to view it.


Or .

Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.

After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.

Accept $ Charge
throbber

Still Working On It

This document is taking longer than usual to download. This can happen if we need to contact the court directly to obtain the document and their servers are running slowly.

Give it another minute or two to complete, and then try the refresh button.

throbber

A few More Minutes ... Still Working

It can take up to 5 minutes for us to download a document if the court servers are running slowly.

Thank you for your continued patience.

This document could not be displayed.

We could not find this document within its docket. Please go back to the docket page and check the link. If that does not work, go back to the docket and refresh it to pull the newest information.

Your account does not support viewing this document.

You need a Paid Account to view this document. Click here to change your account type.

Your account does not support viewing this document.

Set your membership status to view this document.

With a Docket Alarm membership, you'll get a whole lot more, including:

  • Up-to-date information for this case.
  • Email alerts whenever there is an update.
  • Full text search for other cases.
  • Get email alerts whenever a new case matches your search.

Become a Member

One Moment Please

The filing “” is large (MB) and is being downloaded.

Please refresh this page in a few minutes to see if the filing has been downloaded. The filing will also be emailed to you when the download completes.

Your document is on its way!

If you do not receive the document in five minutes, contact support at support@docketalarm.com.

Sealed Document

We are unable to display this document, it may be under a court ordered seal.

If you have proper credentials to access the file, you may proceed directly to the court's system using your government issued username and password.


Access Government Site

We are redirecting you
to a mobile optimized page.





Document Unreadable or Corrupt

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket

We are unable to display this document.

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket