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`Paper No.
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`
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`_____________________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`_____________________
`
`
`
`
`
`APPLE INC.,
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`PARTHENON UNIFIED MEMORY ARCHITECTURE LLC,
`Patent Owner
`
`_____________________
`
`
`
`Case IPR2016-01114
`Patent No. 7,777,753
`
`_____________________
`
`
`
`JOINT MOTION TO PARTIALLY TERMINATE UNDER 37 C.F.R. § 42.72
`
`
`

`

`Joint Motion to Partially Terminate
`IPR2016-01114 (Patent No. 7,777,753)
`
`Petitioner Apple Inc., (“Apple”) and Patent Owner Parthenon Unified
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Memory Architecture LLC (“PUMA”) (collectively, the “Parties”), pursuant to the
`
`authorization provided by the Board’s Order – Conduct of the Proceedings entered
`
`March 1, 2017 (Paper 28), 35 U.S.C. § 315(d) and 37 C.F.R. § 42.72, jointly
`
`request termination of this inter partes review only as to claims 1, 2, and 4. The
`
`instant motion is filed in lieu of a response to the Board’s Order to Show Cause
`
`issued February 22, 2017. Ex. 1026, 14:8-13.
`
`1. Statement of Facts
`
`On May 31, 2016, Petitioner filed a Petition requesting inter partes review
`
`of claims 1, 2, 4, 7-10, and 12 of U.S. Patent No. 7,777,753 (“the ’753 Patent”)
`
`(IPR2016-01114). On December 7, 2016, the Board instituted inter partes review
`
`as to all challenged claims (Paper 7). DUE DATE 1 (March 9, 2017) has passed
`
`and Patent Owner certifies that it has not filed (and will not file) a Response
`
`contesting the instituted grounds as to claim 1, 2, or 4 of the ’753 Patent.
`
`Claims 1-4 of the ’753 Patent were held unpatentable in the Final Written
`
`Decision in HTC Corp. v. Parthenon Unified Memory Architecture LLC, Case
`
`IPR2015-01501 (PTAB Jan. 4, 2017) (Paper 53) (“1501 FWD”). Patent Owner
`
`confirmed that it did not intend to appeal the 1501 FWD (Ex. 1026, 8:23-25), the
`
`time for such appeal expired March 8, 2017, and Patent Owner hereby certifies that
`
`no Notice of Appeal has been or will be filed relative to the 1501 FWD.
`
`
`
`-1-
`
`

`

`
`
`
`
`2. Relief Requested
`
`Joint Motion to Partially Terminate
`IPR2016-01114 (Patent No. 7,777,753)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Relative to the 1501 FWD, Patent Owner’s time for noticing an appeal to the
`
`Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit expired March 8, 2017, and Patent Owner
`
`certifies that it has not filed (and will not file) a notice of appeal of the 1501 FWD.
`
`35 USC §§ 141-142, 319; 37 CFR § 90.3. Thus, because a final written decision
`
`determining challenged claims 1, 2, and 4 to be unpatentable has issued, and
`
`because the time for appeal has expired, pursuant to 35 USC § 318, “the Director
`
`shall issue and publish a certificate canceling” claims 1, 2, and 4 of the ’753
`
`Patent. 35 USC § 318(a, b). When that certificate issues in due course based on
`
`the now-final determination of the 1501 FWD, claims 1, 2, and 4 will no longer be
`
`patent claims of the ’753 Patent and, relative to this proceeding, the Board will no
`
`longer be able to issue a “final written decision with respect to the patentability of
`
`[] patent claim[s 1, 2 or 4] challenged by the petitioner.” 35 USC § 318(a)
`
`(emphasis added). Because the Director must issue the certificate, this proceeding
`
`as to claims 1, 2, and 4 is now moot and should be terminated as to claims 1, 2, and
`
`4, but only as to such claims. Claims (7-10 and 12) continue to be challenged in the
`
`present inter partes review, and that challenge is not rendered moot.
`
`The Board has previously followed this very course of action, terminating-
`
`in-part an inter partes review as moot where that review challenged claims that
`
`were finally determined to be unpatentable in a previously-issued final written
`
`
`
`-2-
`
`

`

`Joint Motion to Partially Terminate
`IPR2016-01114 (Patent No. 7,777,753)
`
`
`decision. See International Business Machines Corp. v. Intellectual Ventures II
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`LLC, Case IPR2015-01323 (PTAB Apr. 7, 2016) (Paper 22). The Board based its
`
`decision (in part) on the additional fact that the time for appeal of the earlier final
`
`written decision had lapsed. The same course of action is appropriate here, as
`
`Patent Owner’s time for appeal of the 1501 FWD has expired and claims 1, 2, and
`
`4 challenged in the instant proceeding have been finally determined to be
`
`unpatentable. The Board’s authority to terminate can be found in 35 USC § 315(d).
`
`For avoidance of doubt, Petitioner respectfully submits that vacating the
`
`Decision to Institute is not appropriate. See Ex. 1026, 10:3-12:4. The Board has
`
`previously vacated an institution decision in very limited circumstances (e.g., no
`
`jurisdiction to review patent, defective petition, or misapprehension of claim
`
`dependency). None of those circumstances exist here, and accordingly, Petitioner
`
`respectfully submits that, while termination-in-part of this proceeding as moot is
`
`appropriate for the reasons set forth above, vacating the present Decision to
`
`Institute (even in-part) is not warranted.
`
`Because challenged claims 1, 2, and 4 have already been finally determined
`
`to be unpatentable, any decision the Board might reach in this proceeding
`
`regarding those claims would be moot and purely advisory. The Parties therefore
`
`respectfully request that the Board partially terminate the present proceeding, but
`
`only as to claims 1, 2, and 4, for which the present proceeding is now moot.
`
`
`
`-3-
`
`

`

`
`
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`Joint Motion to Partially Terminate
`IPR2016-01114 (Patent No. 7,777,753)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Masood Anjom
`Registration No. 62,167
`Counsel for Patent Owner
`
`
`
`/David W. OBrien/
`
`David W. O’Brien
`Registration No. 40,107
`Counsel for Petitioner
`
`Dated: March 10, 2017
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`-4-
`
`

`

`
`
`
`
`
`
`Joint Motion to Partially Terminate
`IPR2016-01114 (Patent No. 7,777,753)
`
`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
`
`
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §§ 42.6(e) and 42.105(a), this is to certify that I
`
`
`
`
`
`caused to be served a true and correct copy of the foregoing “Joint Motion to
`
`Partially Terminate” as detailed below:
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Date of service March 10, 2017
`
`Manner of service Electronic Mail to: manjom@azalaw.com
`aalavi@azalaw.com; sclark@azalaw.com; and
`mmcbride@azalaw.com
`
`Documents served Joint Motion to Partially Terminate
`
`Masood Anjom
`Amir Alavi
`Scott Clark
`Michael McBride
`AHMAD, ZAVITSANOS, ANAIPAKOS, ALAVI &
`MENSING P.C.
`1221 McKinney, Suite 2500
`Houston, TX 77010
`
`Persons served
`
`
`
`/David W. OBrien/
`David W. O’Brien
`Registration No. 40,107
`
`
`
`
`-5-
`
`

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