UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`____________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`____________
`
`Unified Patents Inc.,
`Petitioner
`v.
`
`Sentegra, LLC
`Patent Owner
`
`IPR2016-01109
`
`Patent 8,706,627
`
`____________
`
`PETITIONER’S VOLUNTARY INTERROGATORY RESPONSES
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Unified Patents Exhibit 1002, pg. 1
`
`
`
`____________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`____________
`
`Unified Patents Inc.,
`Petitioner
`v.
`
`Sentegra, LLC
`Patent Owner
`
`IPR2016-01109
`
`Patent 8,706,627
`
`____________
`
`PETITIONER’S VOLUNTARY INTERROGATORY RESPONSES
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Unified Patents Exhibit 1002, pg. 1
`
`
`
`
`Petitioner Unified Patents Inc. provides the following voluntary interrogatory
`
`IPR2016-01109
`Patent 8,706,627
`
`responses.
`
`DEFINITIONS
`
`A.
`
`’627 PATENT means U.S. Patent No. 8,706,627.
`
`B. COMMUNICATIONS means the transmission or receipt of information of
`
`any kind through any means (e.g., email, text message, voicemail, audio,
`
`computer readable media, or orally).
`
`C. MEMBER means any company that participates in UNIFIED’S solution
`
`and MEMBERS means all such companies.
`
`D.
`
`IPR means inter partes review.
`
`E. THE INSTANT IPR means this proceeding.
`
`F.
`
`PETITION means the petition, including the exhibits thereto, for THE
`
`INSTANT IPR.
`
`G. UNIFIED means Unified Patents Inc. and include any shareholder, officer,
`
`director, employee, agent, representative, privies, intermediaries or other
`
`individual authorized to act on behalf of Unified Patents Inc.
`
`H. USPTO means the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
`
` 1
`
`Unified Patents Exhibit 1002, pg. 2
`
`
`
`
`RESPONSES TO INTERROGATORIES
`
`INTERROGATORY NO. 1:
`
`IPR2016-01109
`Patent 8,706,627
`
`Identify any COMMUNICATIONS between UNIFIED and any entity other than
`
`its counsel relating to the financing, preparation, editing, prior review, or approval
`
`of the PETITION.
`
`RESPONSE NO. 1:
`
`UNIFIED states that no such communication exist.
`
`UNIFIED states that it was founded by intellectual property professionals
`
`concerned about the increasing risk of non-practicing entities (NPEs) asserting
`
`poor-quality patents against strategic technologies and industries. The founders
`
`thus created a first-of-its-kind company whose sole purpose is to deter NPE
`
`litigation by protecting technology sectors, such as, inter alia, the content delivery
`
`technologies at issue in the ’627 PATENT. Companies in a technology sector
`
`subscribe to UNIFIED’s technology-specific deterrence. UNIFIED performs many
`
`NPE-deterrent activities, such as analyzing the technology sector and monitoring
`
`patent activity (including patent ownership, assignment data, patent sales,
`
`prosecution, demand letters, threats, litigation, other challenges, and company
`
`data). UNIFIED’s monitoring activities help UNIFIED to identify patents,
`
` 2
`
`Unified Patents Exhibit 1002, pg. 3
`
`
`
`
`perform prior art research, analyze patentability, and in some cases file
`
`IPR2016-01109
`Patent 8,706,627
`
`reexamination requests, PGR petitions, or IPR petitions against patents.
`
`UNIFIED states that it has sole and absolute discretion over its decision to
`
`contest patents through the USPTO’s post-grant proceedings. Based on its own
`
`analysis, UNIFIED determines which patents are worth searching for prior art,
`
`performing patentability analyses, categorizing, monitoring, or taking action, such
`
`as filing a PGR, IPR, or an ex parte reexamination. UNIFIED’s decisions to file
`
`an IPR or an ex parte reexamination are made independently, without the input,
`
`assistance, or approval of its MEMBERS. Should UNIFIED decide to challenge a
`
`patent, UNIFIED independently controls every aspect and every stage of such a
`
`challenge, including controlling which patent and claims to challenge, which prior
`
`art to apply, and the grounds raised in the challenge, when to bring any challenge,
`
`and by what mechanism.
`
`MEMBERS receive no notice of UNIFIED’s patent challenges. After filing
`
`a post-grant proceeding, UNIFIED retains sole and absolute discretion and control
`
`over all strategy decisions, including any decision to continue or terminate
`
`UNIFIED’s participation, or any settlement agreement with the patent owner.
`
`Members exercise no direction, provide no prior art, and do not control any aspect
`
`of any particular proceeding, and are not privy to or made aware of any settlement
`
` 3
`
`Unified Patents Exhibit 1002, pg. 4
`
`
`
`
`negotiations. UNIFIED is also solely responsible for paying for the preparation,
`
`IPR2016-01109
`Patent 8,706,627
`
`filing, and prosecution of any post-grant proceeding, including any expenses
`
`associated with the proceeding. UNIFIED is solely responsible for any
`
`negotiations or agreements made related to settlements. UNIFIED does not make
`
`or accept monetary settlement offers.
`
`In THE INSTANT IPR, UNIFIED exercised its sole discretion and control
`
`in deciding to file this PETITION against the ’627 PATENT, including paying for
`
`all fees and expenses. UNIFIED shall exercise sole and absolute control and
`
`discretion of the continued prosecution of this proceeding (including any decision
`
`to terminate UNIFIED’s participation, seek and negotiate a settlement, or appeal)
`
`and shall bear all subsequent costs related to this proceeding.
`
`INTERROGATORY NO. 2:
`
`Identify any individuals acting for or on behalf of any entity other than
`
`UNIFIED’S counsel and expert that participated or assisted in any way with the
`
`financing, preparation, editing, prior review, approval, or filing of the PETITION.
`
` 4
`
`Unified Patents Exhibit 1002, pg. 5
`
`
`
`
`RESPONSE NO. 2:
`
`IPR2016-01109
`Patent 8,706,627
`
`UNIFIED states that no such individuals exist. UNIFIED further states that
`
`no individuals other than UNIFIED employees and its counsel had any prior
`
`knowledge of the filing of THE INSTANT IPR.
`
`As stated in response to Interrogatory No. 1, in the instant proceeding,
`
`UNIFIED exercised its sole discretion and control in deciding to file this petition
`
`against the ’627 PATENT, including paying for all fees and expenses. UNIFIED
`
`shall continue to exercise sole and absolute control and discretion of the continued
`
`prosecution of this proceeding (including any decision to terminate UNIFIED’s
`
`participation) and shall bear all subsequent costs related to this proceeding and any
`
`subsequent appeals.
`
`UNIFIED further states that its MEMBERS do not get to participate in any
`
`way in UNIFIED’s deterrent activities. UNIFIED does not receive input from its
`
`members, nor does it give them an opportunity to participate in or an opportunity
`
`to even know that UNIFIED is contemplating filing an IPR before the IPR is filed.
`
`In the instant proceeding, none of UNIFIED’s MEMBERS had any prior
`
`knowledge of, or involvement in, the preparation and filing of the INSTANT IPR.
`
`UNIFIED does not notify its members when seeking or discussing settlement.
`
`UNIFIED’s MEMBERS do not get to participate in any subsequent appeals.
`
` 5
`
`Unified Patents Exhibit 1002, pg. 6
`
`
`
`
`INTERROGATORY NO. 3:
`
`IPR2016-01109
`Patent 8,706,627
`
`Identify payments by any entity to UNIFIED relating to the financing of the
`
`INSTANT IPR.
`
`RESPONSE NO. 3:
`
`UNIFIED states that no such payments exist.
`
`UNIFIED states that its MEMBERS pay a yearly subscription fee related to
`
`specific technology zones. UNIFIED performs many NPE-deterrent activities,
`
`including data analytics, prior art searching, validity and patentability analyses,
`
`and post-grant review requests. UNIFIED’s MEMBERS do not pay any fees
`
`designated for IPRs, let alone for IPRs against specific patents. It is UNIFIED and
`
`UNIFIED alone that determines how to spend its money. UNIFIED independently
`
`selects which patents to target based on the perceived deterrent value to a
`
`technology zone. Based on its own analysis, UNIFIED determines which patents
`
`are worth pursuing in terms of filing an IPR or performing some other activity.
`
`UNIFIED’s decisions to file an IPR are made independently, without the input,
`
`assistance, or approval of its MEMBERS. UNIFIED states that there are no
`
`explicit or implicit agreements with its MEMBERS about UNIFIED’s performing
`
`any particular deterrent strategy, including the INSTANT IPR.
`
` 6
`
`Unified Patents Exhibit 1002, pg. 7
`
`
`
`
`Unified Patents Inc.
`
`IPR2016-01109
`Patent 8,706,627
`
`
`
`
`
`/Michael L. Kiklis/
`By:
`Michael L. Kiklis, Reg. No. 38,939
`OBLON, MCCLELLAND, MAIER & NEUSTADT, L.L.P.
`1940 Duke Street
`Alexandria, Virginia 22314
`703-413-3000
`CPDocketKiklis@oblon.com
`
`
`
` 7
`
`
`
`Unified Patents Exhibit 1002, pg. 8
`
`
`
`
`
`VERIFICATION
`
`IPR2016-01109
`Patent 8,706,627
`
`I, Kevin Jakel, state that I am CEO of Unified Patents Inc., and that I am
`authorized to make this verification for and on its behalf. I certify that I have read
`the foregoing Interrogatory responses, and that the responses are true and accurate
`to the best of my own knowledge, information and belief. Further, I make this
`verification 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 and that such willful false statements may jeopardize the
`results of these proceedings.
`I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
`
`By:
`
`
`Kevin Jakel
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
` 8
`
`Unified Patents Exhibit 1002, pg. 9
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