`U.S. Patent No. 8,155,298
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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`____________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`____________
`
`YMAX CORPORATION,
`Petitioner
`
`v.
`
`FOCAL IP, LLC,
`Patent Owner
`_____________
`
`Inter Partes Review No.: Unassigned
`
`U.S. Patent No. 8,155,298
`
`_____________
`
`DECLARATION OF TAL LAVIAN, PH.D.
`IN SUPPORT OF THE PETITION FOR
`INTER PARTIES REVIEW OF PATENT NO. 8,155,298
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`{38560571;1}
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`Ex. 1002
`YMax Corporation
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`FOCAL IP, LLC EX2030 - 1
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`telephone call between two landline telephones is established, there is a continuous
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`physical path of wires, linked by one or more switches, between the telephones at
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`each end of the call that is dedicated solely to that call. This is the meaning of the
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`term “circuit switching.” The term refers to the switching of infrastructure from
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`one dedicated use to another. The network focus is on circuit-based, or connection-
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`oriented, systems designed for delivery of voice communications.
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`40.
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`Even more specifically, the PSTN uses a hierarchy of switches.4 This
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`makes it possible to scale the telecommunications network to accommodate a large
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`number of end users across the country. Traffic is managed between the various
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`switching offices depending on the type of traffic that was to be connected: local
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`traffic, long distance traffic, and international traffic.
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`41.
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`The switches in the PSTN use a five-level hierarchy: edge or end
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`(class 5), toll or tandem (class 4), primary (class 3), sectional (class 2) and regional
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`(class 1). Landline phones in people’s houses are generally connected to a
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`geographically local class 5 switch (also be called an edge switch, end switch, or
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`central office switch). Telephones in different geographic areas are connected to
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`different edge switches in different central offices. Tandem/Class 4 switches
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`generally connect edge/class 5 switches together, although nearby class 5 switches
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`can be connected directly. In the PSTN, class 2 and 3 switches are used
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`4 See Ex. 1012.
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`Ex. 1002
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`infrequently, and class 4 switches can be connected to one another as well as by a
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`class 1 switch. The basic architecture of the PSTN can therefore be illustrated by
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`the following diagram:
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`42.
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`The PSTN switch hierarchy does not mandate physical separation.
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`Switches from one or more adjacent classes (specifically edge and tandem) can be
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`located together in the same physical facility. A combined class 4/class 5 switch is
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`often called a “hybrid” switch.
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`43. When a telephone call is placed on the PSTN, the call typically travels
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`from the caller’s phone to the edge switch in the caller’s local central office.
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`Ex. 1002
`YMax Corporation
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`Unless the recipient is in the same geographical area and directly connected to the
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`same central office, the call is then typically routed to one or more tandem
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`switches (in sequence), until it reaches the edge switch that is directly connected to
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`the recipient’s phone, and finally to the recipient’s phone. The switches use the
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`telephone number dialed by the caller to know where to route the call. Thus, the
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`network of switches enables the communication network to connect users either
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`within or outside a local geographic area.
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`B.
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`44.
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`Signaling
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`In addition to carrying voice communications, the PSTN also carries
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`signaling, which is information used to control the call. Signaling communicates
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`information the network needs to operate, such as the signal sent to the local
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`central office from a telephone when the handset is picked up that notifies the
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`central office to send the telephone a dial tone, or the signal from the central office
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`that tells a telephone to ring because there is an incoming call. The protocol that is
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`used for signaling on the PSTN is called Signalling System 7, or SS7.5
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`45.
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`The SS7 signaling protocol has been used since well before June
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`1999.
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`It was first
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`issued by CCITT (for Comite Consultatif International
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`Telephonique et Telegraphique, now known as the ITU-T for Telecommunication
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`Standardization Sector of the International telecommunications Union, the primary
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`5 Ex. 1017.
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`Ex. 1002
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`international body for cooperative telecommunications standards) in 1980, and was
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`revised in 1984, 1988, and 1992.
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`C.
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`Packet-Switching Networks: the Internet and Voice over IP
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`46. Websites on the Internet were well known even to the general public
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`by June 1, 1999. As noted above, by June of 1999, there were over 3 million
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`websites on the web, including Yahoo, Amazon, and eBay. Leiner et al. explain in
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`the February 1997 issue of Communications of the ACM that by early 1997, the
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`Internet was already well established as a commercial platform:
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`In the last
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`few years, we have seen a new phase of
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`commercialization. Originally, commercial
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`efforts mainly
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`comprised vendors providing the basic networking products and
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`service providers offering connectivity and basic Internet
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`services. The Internet has now become almost a “commodity”
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`service, and much of the latest attention has been on the use
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`of this global information infrastructure as support for other
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`commercial services.
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`This activity has been accelerated by the widespread and rapid
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`adoption of browsers and Web technology, giving users easy
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`access to information linked around the globe. Products are
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`Ex. 1002
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`[1h] the web-enabled processing system coupled to at least one of the switching
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`facilities of the network,
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`105. The unified messaging system is connected to telephony-centric
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`network 129, such as the PSTN. Ex. 1003 at Fig. 1, 9:10-19. Being connected to
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`the PSTN inherently means being connected to one of the PSTN’s switches;
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`essentially all connections to the PSTN are connections to one of the PSTN’s
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`switches.
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`106. Furthermore, even if “switching facilities” were to be interpreted
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`narrowly to exclude edge switches (an interpretation that in my view would not be
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`the broadest reasonable interpretation for the reasons explained above),
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`the
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`connection to the PSTN in O’Neal is in any event an indirect connection to the
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`tandem switches of the PSTN. A tandem switch can be reached directly (or, at
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`worst, through other PSTN switches) from any PSTN edge switch. See, e.g., Ex.
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`1019 at 11 (“It is well known that a conventional PSTN includes edge switches
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`(commonly referred to as central office switches or C.O. switches) that originate
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`and terminate calls for connected subscribers, and tandem switches which route
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`these calls internally within the PSTN (i.e. tandem switches are not capable of
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`originating or terminating PSTN calls, but rather directs calls to/from an edge
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`switch or another tandem switch).”)
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`Ex. 1002
`YMax Corporation
`Page 53 of 78
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`BHN, et al. v. FOCAL IP, LLC
`FOCAL IP, LLC EX2030 - 6
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`Ex. 1002
`YMax Corporation
`Page 78 of 78
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`BHN, et al. v. FOCAL IP, LLC
`FOCAL IP, LLC EX2030 - 7
`Lavian Declaration Excerpts
`IPR2016-01263
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