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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`________________
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`
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`________________
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`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC.,
`
`Petitioner
`
`
`v.
`
`
`FOCAL IP, LLC,
`
`Patent Owner
`
`________________
`
`Case IPR2016-01257
`Patent Number: 8,457,113
`________________
`
`
`
`PATENT OWNER FOCAL IP, LLC’S RESPONSE TO
`PETITION FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
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`Case IPR2016-01257
`Patent 8,457,113
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`Paper No. 25
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`I.
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`II.
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`III.
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`A.
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`B.
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`IV.
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`A.
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`B.
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`V.
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`A.
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`B.
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`C.
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`D.
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`VI.
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`A.
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1
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`SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT .............................................................. 1
`
`DISCUSSION OF THE PSTN AND OVERVIEW OF THE ’113
`PATENT ................................................................................................. 4
`
`Overview of the PSTN ......................................................................... 4
`
`The ’113 Patent .................................................................................... 9
`
`LEGAL STANDARDS ......................................................................... 10
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`IPR Procedures ................................................................................... 10
`
`Obviousness ....................................................................................... 15
`
`The ’113 Patent Contains an Unmistakable Disclaimer of Subject Matter
`and Claim Scope for Call Controllers Connected to an Edge Switch or
`Edge Device. ......................................................................................... 16
`
`Disparaging the Prior Art is Sufficient to Disclaim Claim Scope. .... 16
`
`Disclaimer in the ’113 Patent. ............................................................ 20
`
`The Prosecution History Confirms and Reinforces the Disclaimer, and
`Does Not Provide a Basis to Rescind the Plain Disclaimer from the
`Specification. ...................................................................................... 27
`
`Scope of General Disclaimer ............................................................. 35
`
`CLAIM CONSTRUCTION .................................................................. 36
`
`Legal Standards for Claim Construction - Broadest Reasonable
`Interpretation (“BRI”) ........................................................................ 36
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`“Controller” ........................................................................................ 37
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`SUMMARY OF THE REFERENCES ................................................. 39
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`State of the Art ................................................................................... 39
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`Summary of Burger ............................................................................ 43
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`Summary of Archer ............................................................................ 46
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`ARGUMENTS ...................................................................................... 48
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`Petitioner Has Not Met Its Burden Under Grounds 1 and 2. ............. 49
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`Petitioner Has Not Met Its Burden under Ground 3 .......................... 51
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`CONCLUSION ..................................................................................... 53
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`iii
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`B.
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`VII.
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`A.
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`B.
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`C.
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`VIII.
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`A.
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`B.
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`IX.
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`Paper No. 25
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`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`
`Cases:
`
`Akamai Techs., Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc.,
`629 F.3d 1311 (Fed. Cir. 2010) ...................................................................... 19-20
`
`
`Akamai Techs., Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc.,
`419 F. App’x 989 (Fed. Cir. 2011) ..................................................................... 19
`
`
`Akamai Techs., Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc.,
`805 F.3d 1368 (Fed. Cir. 2015) ........................................................................... 19
`
`
`Align Tech., Inc. v. ITC,
`771 F.3d 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2014) ........................................................................... 12
`
`
`Belden, Inc. v. Berk-Tek LLC,
`805 F.3d 1064 (Fed. Cir. 2015) ........................................................................... 11
`
`
`Bicon, Inc. v. Straumann Co.,
`441 F.3d 945 (Fed. Cir. 2006) ............................................................................. 38
`
`
`Biogen, Inc. v. Berlex Labs., Inc.,
`318 F.3d 1132 (Fed. Cir. 2003) ...................................................................... 19-20
`
`
`Chi. Bd. Options Exch., Inc. v. Int’l Secs. Exch., LLC,
`677 F.3d 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2014) ................................................................ 17-18, 37
`
`
`City of Arlington v. FCC,
`133 Sup. Ct. 1863 (2013) .................................................................................... 13
`
`
`Cuozzo Speed Techs., Inc. v. Lee,
`136 S.Ct. 2131 (2016) ......................................................................................... 11
`
`
`Dell, Inc. v. Acceleron, LLC,
`818 F.3d 1293 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ...................................................................... 12-13
`
`
`Edmund Optics, Inc. v. Semrock, Inc.,
`Case IPR2014-00599, Paper 72 (PTAB Sept. 16, 2015) .................................... 17
`iv
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`Epistar Corp. v. Int’l Trade Comm’n,
`556 F.3d 1321 (Fed. Cir. 2009) ........................................................................... 19
`
`
`Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. v. Covidien LP,
`812 F.3d 1023 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ........................................................................... 14
`
`
`GE Lighting Solutions, LLC v. AgiLight, Inc.,
`750 F.3d 1304 (Fed. Cir. 2014) ........................................................................... 36
`
`
`Graham v. John Deere Co. of Kansas City,
`383 U.S. 1 (1966) ................................................................................................ 16
`
`
`Hakim v. Cannon Avent Group, PLC,
`479 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2007) ........................................................................... 33
`
`
`Honeywell Int’l, Inc. v. ITT Indus., Inc.,
`452 F.3d 1312 (Fed. Cir. 2006) ...................................................................... 18-20
`
`
`In re Baker Hughes, Inc.,
`215 F.3d 1297 (Fed. Cir. 2000) ........................................................................... 37
`
`
`In re CSB-Sys. Int’l,
`832 F.3d 1335 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ........................................................................... 36
`
`
`In re Kahn,
`441 F.3d 977 (Fed. Cir. 2006) ........................................................................ 15-16
`
`
`In re Magnum Oil Tools,
`829 F.3d 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ...................................................................... 13-14
`
`
`In re Man Mach. Interface Techs. LLC,
`822 F.3d 1282 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ................................................................. 3, 18, 37
`
`
`In re Nuvasive, Inc.,
`841 F.3d 966 (Fed. Cir. 2016) .................................................................. 11-12, 15
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`In re Van Os,
`844 F.3d 1359 (Fed. Cir. 2017) ........................................................................... 15
`
`
`Innogenetics, N.V. v. Abbott Labs.,
`512 F.3d 1363 (Fed. Cir. 2008) ........................................................................... 16
`
`
`Kingston Tech. Co., Inc. v. Imation Corp.,
`Case IPR2015-00066, Paper 19 (PTAB March 24, 2016) .................................. 17
`
`
`KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc.,
`550 U.S. 398 (2007) ............................................................................................ 16
`
`
`LG Electronics., Inc. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.,
`Case IPR2015-00324, Paper 39 (PTAB May 23, 2016) ..................................... 16
`
`
`Microsoft Corp. v. Proxyconn, Inc.,
`789 F.3d 1292 (Fed. Cir. 2015) ........................................................................... 37
`
`
`Openwave Sys., Inc. v. Apple Inc.,
`808 F.3d 509 (Fed. Cir. 2015) ............................................................................. 18
`
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`Poly-America, L.P. v. API Indus., Inc.,
`839 F.3d 1131 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ........................................................................... 17
`
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`Power Integrations, Inc. v. Lee,
`797 F.3d 1318 (Fed. Cir. 2015) ........................................................................... 11
`
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`PPC Broadband, Inc. v. Corning Optical Commc’ns. RF, LLC,
`815 F.3d 747 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ............................................................................. 37
`
`
`Saffran v. Johnson & Johnson,
`712 F.3d 549 (Fed. Cir. 2013) ............................................................................. 17
`
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`SAS Institute, Inc. v. ComplementSoft, LLC,
`825 F.3d 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ...................................................................... 36-37
`
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`SciMed Life Sys., Inc. v. Advanced Cardiovascular Sys., Inc.,
`242 F.3d 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2001) ................................................................ 17-18, 37
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`Scotts Co. LLC v. Encap, LLC,
`Case IPR2013-00110, Paper 79 (PTAB June 24, 2014) ..................................... 16
`
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`Sony Corp. v. Memory Integrity, LLC,
`Case IPR2015-00158, Paper 35 (PTAB May 19, 2016) ..................................... 16
`
`Synopsis, Inc. v. Mentor Graphics Corp.,
`814 F.3d 1309 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ........................................................................... 15
`
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`Telcordia Techs., Inc. v. Cisco Sys.,
`612 F.3d 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2010) ...................................................................... 19-20
`
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`Trs. of Columbia Univ. v. Symantec Corp.,
`811 F.3d 1359 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ........................................................................... 17
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`
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`Statutes:
`
`5 U.SC. § 552(a) ..................................................................................................... 12
`
`5 U.S.C. § 554(a) .................................................................................................... 11
`
`5 U.S.C. § 554(b) .................................................................................................... 11
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`5 U.S.C. § 554(c) .................................................................................................... 11
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`5 U.S.C. § 556 ......................................................................................................... 11
`
`5 U.S.C. § 556(d) .................................................................................................... 11
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`5 U.S.C. § 556(e) .................................................................................................... 13
`
`5 U.S.C. § 557(c)(3)(A) .......................................................................................... 15
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`5 U.SC. § 706(2)(D) ................................................................................................ 12
`
`35 U.S.C. § 103 ....................................................................................................... 15
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`35 U.S.C. § 314 ....................................................................................................... 14
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`35 U.S.C. § 314(a) .............................................................................................. 1, 14
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`35 U.S.C. § 316 ....................................................................................................... 14
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`35 U.S.C. §316(e) ................................................................................................... 13
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`35 U.S.C. §318 ........................................................................................................ 14
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`35 U.S.C. §318(a) ................................................................................................... 15
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`Regulations:
`
`37 C.F.R. § 42.4(a) .................................................................................................. 14
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`37 C.F.R. § 42.23(b) ............................................................................................... 12
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`37 C.F.R. § 42.100(b) ............................................................................................. 36
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`37 C.F.R. § 42.108(c) .............................................................................................. 14
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`7,764,777
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`of U.S. Patent No.
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`UPDATED LIST OF EXHIBITS
`
`Declaration of Regis J. “Bud” Bates filed with Preliminary
`Response
`Ray Horak, Communications Systems & Networks, (2nd ed. 2000)
`Ray Horak, Webster’s New World Telecom Dictionary (2008)
`Ray Horak, Telecommunications and Data Communications
`(2007)
`Prosecution History
`(“’777ProsHist”)
`Harry Newton, Newton’s Telecom Dictionary, (23rd ed. 2007)
`Declaration of John P. Murphy in Support of Unopposed Motion
`for Pro Hac Vice Admission
`Declaration of Hanna F. Madbak in Support of Unopposed Motion
`for Pro Hac Vice Admission
`Corrected Declaration of Hanna F. Madbak in Support of
`Unopposed Motion for Pro Hac Vice Admission
`Excerpts of Deposition Transcript of Dr. La Porta, Feb. 23, 2017,
`for IPR2016-01259, -01261, -01262, and 01263 (“La Porta Dep.”)
`Deposition Transcript of Mr. Willis, Mar. 1, 2017, for IPR2016-
`01254 and -01257. (“Willis Dep.”)
`Declaration of Regis J. “Bud” Bates in Support of Response
`(“BatesDec”)
`Excerpts of Petition filed in IPR2016-01261 (“-01261 Pet.”)
`Excerpts of Petition filed in IPR2016-01254 (“-01254 Pet.”)
`Excerpts of Petition filed in IPR2016-01260 (“-01260 Pet.”)
`Excerpts of Declaration of Dr. La Porta in support of the Petition,
`Ex. 1002 of IPR2016-01262 (“La Porta Dec. of IPR2016-01262”)
`Excerpts of Declaration of Mr. Willis in support of the Petition,
`Ex. 1002 of IPR2016-01254 (“Willis Dec. of IPR2016-01254”)
`Excerpts of Declaration of Dr. Lavian in support of the Petition,
`Ex. 1002 of IPR2016-01258 (“Lavian Dec. of IPR2016-01258”)
`Excerpts of Deposition Transcript of Dr. Lavian, March 29, 2017,
`for IPR2016-01256, -01258, and -01260 (“Lavian Dep.”)
`Excerpts of Declaration of Dr. Lavian in support of the Petition,
`Ex. 1002 of IPR2016-01256 (“Lavian Dec. of IPR2016-01256”)
`ix
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`2001
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`2002
`2003
`2004
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`2005
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`2006
`2007
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`2008
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`2009
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`2020
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`2021
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`2022
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`2023
`2024
`2025
`2026
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`2028
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`2030
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`2040
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`2041
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`2042
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`2043
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`2044
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`2046
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`2048
`2049
`2050
`2051
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`2064
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`Declaration of Regis J. “Bud” Bates in Support of Motion to
`Amend (“BatesDec”)
`Listing of Section 112 Written Description Support for the
`Proposed Substitute Claims
`Application No. 11/948,965, filed on November 20, 2007
`(annotated with line numbers)
`Application No. 10/426,279, filed on April 30, 2003 (annotated
`with line numbers)
`Application No. 09/565,565, filed on May 4, 2000 (annotated with
`line numbers)
`U.S. Patent No. 6,381,323 to Schwab, et al. (“Schwab”)
`U.S. Patent No. 6,463,145 to O’Neal et al. (“O’Neal”)
`U.S. Patent No. 6,683,870 to Archer (“Archer”)
`U.S. Patent No. 5,958,016 to Chang et al. (“Chang”)
`U.S. Patent No. 6,353,660 to Burger et al. (“Burger”)
`U.S. Patent No. 6,798,767 to Alexander et al. (“Alexander”)
`PCT Application No. WO 99/14924
`to Shtivelman
`(“Shtivelman”)
`U.S. Patent No. 5,809,128 to McMullin (“McMullin”)
`U.S. Patent No. 6,445,694 to Swartz (“Swartz”)
`An Overview of Signaling System No. 7, Abdi R. Modarressi, and
`Ronald A. Skoog, April, 1992
`U.S. Patent No. 4,646,296 to Bartholet et al. (“Bartholet”)
`$200 Billion Broadband Scandal, Bruce Kushnick, 2006
`U.S. Patent No. 6,744,759 to Sidhu et al. (“Sidhu”)
`U.S. Patent No. 6,041,325 to Shah et al. (“Shah”)
`U.S. Patent No. 5,802,160 to Kugell et al. (“Kugell”)
`Karen Kaplan, Can I Put You on Hold? Profits are Calling, Los
`Angeles Times, February 3, 1997
`Redline Comparison of the Proposed Substitute Claims and the
`Original Claims and Clean Versions of the Proposed Substitute
`Claims
`“Cheat Sheet” listing the various IPRs by docket number, along
`with the identity of the petitioner, claims at issue, and art at issue
`Excerpts of Declaration of Thomas La Porta in Support of Petition
`for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 8,457,113, June 23,
`2016, submitted in support of IPR2016-01261
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`Excerpts of Declaration of Dr. Tal Lavian in Support of Petition
`for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 7,764,777, June 23,
`2016, submitted in support of IPR2016-01258
`Application No. 12/821,119, filed on June 22, 2010
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`I.
`
`INTRODUCTION
`On December 28, 2016, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”)
`instituted an inter partes review (the “IPR”) trial, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 314(a), as
`to Claims 143-147, 149, 150, 163, and 176-178 of U.S. Patent No. 8,457,113 (the
`“Challenged Claims and the “’113 Patent,” respectively) that the Challenged Claims
`were obvious on each of the following instituted grounds
`1) U.S. Pat. No. 6,353,660 to Burger (“Burger”) and the knowledge of a
`person of ordinary skill in the art (a “POSA”), including the SS7 Paper;
`2) Burger, the knowledge of a POSA, including the SS7 Paper, and U.S. Pat.
`No. 6,798,767 to Alexander (“Alexander”); and
`3) U.S. Pat. No. 6,683,870 to Archer (“Archer”) and the knowledge of a
`POSA.
`Decision Granting Institution of Inter Partes Review, Dec. 28, 2016, Paper No. 15.
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`II.
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`SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
`The Board’s institution decision was erroneous because it failed to give effect
`to the ’113 Patent’s disclaimer of subject matter and claim scope that is plain and
`unmistakable from the face of the ’113 Patent itself. The Board’s claim
`constructions have the effect of expanding the scope of the claims to cover known
`prior art network configurations that the patent specification thoroughly criticizes,
`distinguishes, and disclaims. Where a disclaimer of claim scope is apparent on the
`face of the patent, it is inappropriate to rely on after-the-fact statements made during
`prosecution as a basis for ignoring the disclaimer in the specification and for
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`broadening the scope of the claims to encompass the disclaimed subject matter. It
`is particularly inappropriate here, where the entirety of the prosecution history
`reinforces the disclaimer from the specification.
`The ’113 Patent specification is clear that the inventive concept of the ’113
`Patent relates to modifying a known telecommunications network configuration in a
`way that relocates call control operations away from “edge” devices and switches.
`This is accomplished in the ’113 Patent by connecting the Tandem Access Controller
`(“TAC”) to a PSTN tandem switch, rather than edge switches and edge devices.
`Thus, broadly speaking, the subject matter of the ’113 Patent relates to novel (and
`claimed) network configurations that were invented specifically to overcome the
`technical limitations of the edge switch configuration and to improve call control
`functionality as compared to prior art solutions configured via edge switches and
`edge devices. This architecture further allows the TAC to manage two calls (e.g., a
`first incoming call and a second outgoing call) from within the PSTN. When a patent
`specification criticizes or disparages the prior art in this manner, and discloses that
`the invention modifies the prior art to overcome technical limitations in the art, the
`law states that the patent has disclaimed or disavowed claim coverage for the
`disparaged prior art configurations. See Section V, infra (collecting and discussing
`Federal Circuit cases).
`In light of the clarity of the ’113 Patent specification, Patent Owner
`respectfully contends that the Board’s claim constructions in the Institution Decision
`are erroneous. Simply stated: “[t]he broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim
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`term cannot be so broad as to include a configuration expressly disclaimed in the
`specification.” In re Man Mach. Interface Techs. LLC, 822 F.3d 1282, 1286 (Fed.
`Cir. 2016) (emphasis added).
`Based on proper constructions, the Challenged Claims are patentable over the
`prior art. With respect to the particular prior art references at issue here, Burger and
`Archer are prior art references that discloses application of call processing features
`using an edge device (or at best, the purported “controller” of Burger and Archer is
`in communication with or coupled to an edge switch or edge device), which is the
`configuration disclaimed by Applicants. For at least these reasons, the Challenged
`Claims are patentable over the references cited in Grounds 1, 2, and 3.
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`III. DISCUSSION OF THE PSTN AND OVERVIEW OF THE ’113
`
`PATENT
`A. Overview of the PSTN
`The PSTN employs various equipment to route calls. This equipment
`includes switches and databases, and is arranged in a hierarchical fashion:
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`BatesDec, ¶36 (Ex. 2022). Notably, the same hierarchical levels/equipment may be
`referred to by a variety of names. In both examples above, the class 4 level refers to
`both a “toll center” and a “tandem switch.” This understanding is important because
`the ’113 Patent and prior art references sometimes use different terminology to refer
`to the same hierarchical level. Id.
`At the top of the hierarchy are regional toll centers (class 1 offices). These
`offices are interconnected with sectional toll centers (class 2 offices), which in turn
`connect to primary centers (class 3 offices). Class 4 and 5 levels comprise the rest
`of the hierarchy and are of particular relevance to the ’113 Patent. Class 4 centers
`contain tandem switches. Id. Class 4 centers are also referred to as toll centers, and
`tandem switches are also referred to as Class 4 switches or toll switches.
`Accordingly, the ’113 Patent refers to “PSTN tandem switches” as “exchanges that
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`direct telephone calls (or other traffic) to central offices [] or to other tandem
`switches.” ’777 Patent, 4:47-49; BatesDec, ¶37. These “PSTN tandem switches”
`are in the PSTN. Id. (citing Lavian Dec. of IPR2016-01258 (Ex. 2028), ¶¶39-45).
`Class 5 offices contain edge switches and are interconnected by tandem
`switches. BatesDec, ¶38. Edge switches are sometimes referred to as central offices
`(“COs”). Id. Central offices have been defined as:
`[Offices] which serve end users through local loop connections [local
`loops are the actual copper wires that run from a customer’s premises
`to the central office].
`Ex. 2002 at 159. They have also been described as:
`. . . a CO traditionally houses one or more voice-optimized circuit
`switches to interconnect subscriber lines within a local area known as
`the carrier serving area (CSA) and to connect subscriber local loops to
`network trunks.
`Ex. 2003 at 102; BatesDec, ¶38. The ’113 Patent’s description of edge switches is
`consistent with the above:
`The [PSTN] consists of a plurality of edge switches connected to
`telephones on one side and to a network of tandem switches on the
`other. The tandem switch network allows connectivity between all of
`the edge switches, and a signaling system is used by the PSTN to allow
`calling and to transmit both calling and called party identity.
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`’113 Pat., 1:45-51 and Fig. 2; BatesDec, ¶38. The extrinsic and intrinsic evidence
`confirm that (1) edge switches are connected directly to subscribers or edge devices
`via end-lines (i.e., there are copper wires (or other media) that run directly between
`the edge switches and subscribers); and (2) tandem switches are not directly
`connected to subscribers or edge devices, but are instead connected to edge switches
`and other tandem switches. BatesDec, ¶38; Lavian Dec. of IPR2016-1256 (Ex.
`2030), ¶¶105-106; Lavian Dep. (Ex. 2029) at 31:5-32:16.
`Petitioners largely agree with how a tandem switch functions in the PSTN. In
`a Related IPR, Petitioner BHN states, “[t]he PSTN consists of switches known as
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`tandem switches or class 4 switches (switching facilities in the claims) which serve
`to interconnect between different geographical regions and edge switches or class 5
`switches, which connect to end-user devices, like telephones, within a local
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`geographic area.” -01261 Pet. (Ex. 2023) at 29 (emphasis added). In a different
`Related IPR, Petitioner Cisco states, “[c]lass 3 switches are also known as tandem
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`switches and generally provide long distance calling links by interconnecting
`between edge switches and other tandem switches.” -01254 Pet. (Ex. 2024) at 7
`(emphasis added). In yet another Related IPR, Petitioner YMax states that “[w]hen
`a telephone call is placed on the PSTN, the call typically travels from the caller’s
`phone to the edge switch in the caller’s local central office. Unless the recipient is
`in the same geographical area and directly connected to the same central office, the
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`call is then typically routed to one or more tandem switches (in sequence), until it
`reaches the edge switch that is directly connected to the recipient’s phone, and
`finally to the recipient’s phone.” -01260 Pet. (Ex. 2025) at 13 (emphasis added);
`BatesDec, ¶39; Lavian Dec. of IPR2016-1256 (Ex. 2030), ¶¶41-43; Lavian Dep. (Ex.
`2029) at 23:11-25:11.
`At the time of the invention, the PSTN utilized the Signaling System 7 (“SS7”)
`protocol to set up calls.1 SS7 signaling flows between one CO and another, including
`all switches in between (e.g., tandem switches). SS7 signaling does not flow past
`COs to edge devices, as edge devices are not equipped to process and respond to
`SS7 signaling. BatesDec, ¶40.
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`1 “Setting up” calls refers to the exchange of control signaling that causes the
`establishment of a path over which voice data can flow. BatesDec, ¶40.
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`B.
`The ’113 Patent
`Generally, the ’113 Patent relates to the provision of call control features in
`the PSTN. Call forwarding (e.g., transferring a voice call originally directed to 703-
`555-1212 to an alternate telephone number) is an exemplary call control feature.
`The ’113 Patent discloses a Tandem Access Controller (“TAC”) that implements
`call control features. The TAC is a combination of computing hardware and
`software that is appropriately programmed to process calls. ’113 Pat., 4:35-47;
`BatesDec, ¶41.
`The Background section acknowledges that, at the time of the invention,
`various devices existed to provide call control features. One novel and important
`aspect of the ’113 Patent concerns where in the PSTN such call control features are
`implemented. As discussed in more detail below, the ’113 Patent expressly
`recognizes that prior art call control devices were attached to an edge device (e.g.,
`phones and PBXs) or an edge switch located in a CO. ’113 Pat. 1:52-67 and 2:40-
`54. These prior art edge devices received and answered a call on one line, then
`dialed out on another line, and then connected the two lines together. BatesDec, ¶42.
`By contrast, the ’113 Patent discloses connecting the TAC to a tandem switch
`(hence the name Tandem Access Controller). Id., ¶43. This arrangement allows
`calls to be intercepted and processed before they are handed off to the CO (edge
`switch) associated with the called party. Stated differently, instead of a call being
`passed to a destination CO, then on to a controller connected to the CO that would
`perform a call control feature, the TAC processes the call at a tandem switch before
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`it is ever routed to the destination CO. Further, the TAC “is not an edge device such
`as a PBX or central office (CO) switch . . . .” ’113 Pat., 5:4-6;BatesDec, ¶43.
`This novel arrangement has several advantages. The first advantage concerns
`costs. Calls coming into and out of controllers connected to COs incurred charges
`for each incoming and outgoing call. See ’113 Pat., 2:17-22 (discussing this
`scenario). BatesDec, ¶44. Using a TAC instead avoids these costs. See ’113 Pat.,
`4:55-5:3; BatesDec, ¶44.
`Another advantage regarding the TAC’s placement at a tandem switch
`concerns call quality. BatesDec, ¶45. Running an analog voice signal from an edge
`switch to an edge device over copper wire degrades the quality of the signal. An
`edge device is a device connected to an edge switch, typically on a customer’s
`premises, such as a private branch exchange (PBX) or a generic telephone. See ’113
`Pat., 5:4-7. Handling calls at the tandem level maintains the quality of the call, as it
`is processed within the PSTN, where the signal may be in digital form and/or carried
`over high-quality lines (as compared to the end lines that carry a call from a CO to
`a phone). ’113 Pat., 1:59-2:623, 2:40-54; BatesDec, ¶45.
`
`IV. LEGAL STANDARDS
`A.
`IPR Procedures
`This IPR is an administrative trial in which Patent Owner’s property interests
`in the ’113 Patent are at issue and at risk of being taken or revoked. Patent Owner
`is entitled to the applicable procedural protections required by the due process clause
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`of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Administrative Procedure
`Act (“APA”). See, e.g., In re Nuvasive, Inc., 841 F.3d 966, 971 (Fed. Cir. 2016);
`Belden, Inc. v. Berk-Tek LLC, 805 F.3d 1064, 1080 (Fed. Cir. 2015); Power
`Integrations, Inc. v. Lee, 797 F.3d 1318, 1323 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (“Proceedings of the
`Board are governed by the APA . . . which establishes a scheme of reasoned decision
`making”) (internal citations and quotations omitted). Because an adversarial hearing
`in IPR is required by statute, IPR trials are considered formal agency adjudications
`under Administrative Procedures Act and are therefore subject to the APA
`provisions that govern the conduct of formal adjudications. See 5 U.S.C. §§ 554(a),
`556; see also Nuvasive, 841 F.3d at 971. In an IPR, a patent owner is entitled to
`prior notice of any arguments, evidence, grounds or theories that the Board considers
`or relies upon for its final written decision. See 5 U.S.C. § 554(b); see also Nuvasive,
`841 F.3d at 971; Belden, 805 F.3d at 1080. Patent Owner is entitled to a fair
`opportunity to respond to all evidence and arguments with rebuttal evidence and
`rebuttal argument of its own. See 5 U.S.C. §§ 554(c), § 556(d); see also Nuvasive,
`841 F.3d at 971; Belden, 805 F.3d at 1080.
`Under the IPR rules, a patent owner’s due process rights are potentially
`implicated when a petitioner is permitted to offer new evidence, arguments, or
`theories in reply, and the Federal Circuit reviews whether a patent owner is given
`notice, an opportunity to respond, and other procedural protections required by due
`process and APA. See, e.g., Cuozzo Speed Techs., Inc. v. Lee, 136 S.Ct. 2131, 2141-
`42 (2016) (“[W]e do not categorically preclude review of a final decision where a
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`petition fails to give ‘sufficient notice’ such that there is a due process problem with
`the entire proceeding.”); Nuvasive, 841 F.3d at 973-75 (vacating and remanding IPR
`decision that relied upon new arguments made in reply without giving required due
`process and APA procedural protections to the patent owner).
`The USPTO’s administrative regulations governing PTAB trials (such as 37
`C.F.R. §42.23(b) restricting the permissible scope of reply) are the product of the
`USPTO’s formal rulemaking process pursuant to the APA. For that reason, the
`Board h