throbber
 
`

`Filed on behalf of TQ Delta, LLC
`By: Peter J. McAndrews
`Thomas J. Wimbiscus
`Scott P. McBride
`Christopher M. Scharff
`McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd.
`500 W. Madison St., 34th Floor
`Chicago, IL 60661
`Tel: 312-775-8000
`Fax: 312-775-8100
`E-mail: pmcandrews@mcandrews-ip.com
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`_____________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`_____________
`
`DISH NETWORK, LLC
`Petitioner
`
`v.
`
`TQ DELTA, LLC
`Patent Owner
`_____________
`
`
`Case No. IPR2016-01470
`Patent No. 8,611,404
`_____________
`
`
`PATENT OWNER’S PRELIMINARY RESPONSE
`
`
`
`
`

`
`
`
`

`

`
`
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
`
`SUMMARY OF THE ’404 PATENT ............................................................. 7
`

`
`I.
`
`II.
`
`III. CLAIM CONSTRUCTION ............................................................................ 8
`
`IV. NO REVIEW SHOULD BE INSTITUTED WITH RESPECT TO
`THE SINGLE GROUND RAISED BY PETITIONER—ALLEGED
`OVIOUSNESS OF CLAIMS 6, 11, 16, and 20 UNDER 35 U.S.C.
`§103 BY BOWIE, VAZIELEGHEM, AND ADSL 1995 ............................... 9
`
`A. The Asserted References Each Provide Very Different (or No)
`Low Power Mode Capabilities and Very Different Methods of
`Restoring Full Power Mode ................................................................... 10
`
`B. Petitioner Fails to Show That The Combination of References
`Discloses Each Element of the Claims .................................................. 12
`
`C. Petitioner Has Not Met its Burden of Showing a Reason to
`Combine Separate Features from the References in the Manner
`Claimed .................................................................................................. 16
`
`1. The Asserted Obviousness Rationales in the Petition Are
`Either Premised on Incorrect Facts, Wholly Conclusory, or
`Consist of Circular Hindsight ........................................................... 18
`
`(a) Petitioner provides no supported reason for modifying
`Bowie to store ADSL 1995’s alleged data parameters
`during low power mode ............................................................ 18
`
`(b) Petitioner provides no supported reason for modifying
`Bowie
`to
`receive Vanzieleghem’s synchronization
`signals ........................................................................................ 26
`
`for Any Reasonable
`2. Petitioner Provides No Support
`Expectation of Success ..................................................................... 32
`
`V.
`
`CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 36
`
`CERTIFICATE OF WORD COUNT ...................................................................... 38
`

`
`i
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`

`I.
`
`INTRODUCTION
`
`Patent Owner TQ Delta, LLC (“Patent Owner”) submits this preliminary
`
`response to the Petition filed by Dish, Inc. (“Petitioner”) requesting inter partes
`
`review of claims 6, 11, 16, and 20 of U.S. Pat. No. 8,611,404 (“the ’404 patent”).
`
`This is the second IPR petition filed against the ’404 patent. The first
`
`petition, filed in IPR2016-01160 by Arris Group, Inc. (a party similarly situated
`
`with Petitioner as a supplier of products accused of infringement in the related
`
`litigation identified in the Petition), is awaiting a decision regarding institution. In
`
`that petition, Arris challenged at least the same four claims as here. Arris also did
`
`so by asserting the same three prior art references (albeit the provisional patent
`
`application version of one reference rather than the EP publication, although Patent
`
`Owner does not dispute any relevant distinction). Patent Owner submitted a
`
`Preliminary Response to Arris’ petition, explaining how it consisted of merely
`
`cobbling together unrelated concepts from the three different references, based on
`
`only illogical and conclusory rationales. See IPR2016-01160 at Paper 7.
`
`This second Petition against the ’404 patent is deficient for similar reasons.
`
`Here, Petitioner raises a single Ground of alleged unpatentability for obviousness.
`
`Each of the asserted prior art references, however, differs significantly from the
`
`inventions claimed by the ’404 patent. At least two claim elements are missing
`
`from each of the asserted prior art references. Petitioner’s attempt to manufacture
`

`
`1
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`those elements from the prior art—by splitting them up into separate words (to
`
`ignore the actual invention) and then tacking together unrelated features from the
`
`prior art—cannot show obviousness. Moreover, Petitioner fails to provide any
`
`non-conclusory, non-hindsight reasons for combining or modifying the references.
`
`Petitioner also provides no support that persons of ordinary skill in the art would
`
`have reasonably expected its proposed modifications would work. At this stage,
`
`the Board can decline instituting trial because the Petition is deficient for the
`
`following reasons:
`
`References Fail to Disclose All Claim Limitations. First, Petitioner’s
`
`asserted obviousness combination still fails to disclose at least two limitations
`
`required by each of claims 6, 11, 16, and 20. Petitioner has not shown that any of
`
`the references discloses an apparatus operable to “[store/storing], in a low power
`
`mode, at least one parameter associated with the full power mode operation
`
`wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one of a fine gain parameter
`
`and a bit allocation parameter,” or operable to “[exit/exiting] from the low power
`
`[mode] and [restore/restoring] the full power mode by using the at least one
`
`parameter and without needing to reinitialize the transceiver.”
`
`Petitioner ignores that the full text of the claims requires intertwined
`
`concepts in both of these limitations. For example, Petitioner does not identify any
`
`disclosure or teaching in the references of storing a fine gain parameter or bit
`

`
`2
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`allocation parameter while in low power mode. Rather, Petitioner improperly
`
`splits this claim element up into individual words. Petitioner first points to alleged
`
`disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 5,956,323 (“Bowie”) of a transceiver with a low power
`
`mode, which allegedly stores during that low power mode “loop characteristics”
`
`(i.e., information about the transmission line itself). (See infra at § IV.B.)
`
`Separately, Petitioner points to the 1995 ANSI T1.413 Standard (“ADSL 1995”),
`
`which Petitioner concedes does not disclose any low power mode at all, much less
`
`any ability to store any parameters in a low power mode. (See id.) Petitioner just
`
`alleges that ADSL 1995 discloses the existence of fine gain and bit allocation
`
`parameters in general (parameters regarding the information to be transmitted), in
`
`an entirely different context. (See id.) Petitioner’s argument is akin to asserting
`
`that the first telephone was just an obvious combination of the concepts of
`
`electrical wires and sound waves—ignoring necessary teaching or disclosure of
`
`intertwining those two concepts.
`
`Similarly, Petitioner has not shown that any of the references disclose using
`
`stored fine gain or bit allocation parameters to restore full power mode from a low
`
`power mode. Petitioner just points to Bowie’s disclosure of using its very different
`
`stored “loop characteristics” to allegedly restore full power from a low power
`
`mode, and again also points to ADSL 1995’s disclosure of the existence of fine
`
`gain and bit allocation parameters in a different context. Petitioner does not show
`

`
`3
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`that any of the references discloses the specific, discrete concept of restoring full
`
`power mode from low power mode, using stored fine gain or bit allocation
`
`parameters.
`
`Obviousness Rationales Are Conclusory and Unsupported. Second,
`
`even if Petitioner could cut and paste together all of the limitations of the claims
`
`from disparate features in the asserted references, the Petition also fails because
`
`Petitioner provides no reasons, supported by evidence and logical underpinnings,
`
`for why a person of ordinary skill in the would have made the alleged
`
`combinations or modifications. (See infra at § IV.C.1.)
`
`With respect to the claim requirements of storing, in a low power mode, fine
`
`gain or bit allocation parameters, and then using that parameter to restore full
`
`power mode, Petitioner primarily alleges that it would have been obvious to
`
`modify Bowie to provide these features simply to comply with the 1995 ADSL
`
`standard. (See Pet. at 39-40, 44-45.) But Petitioner’s argument in this regard is
`
`nonsensical and a red-herring. Petitioner only points to the 1995 ADSL standard’s
`
`disclosure of “exchanging” (not storing) “initialization” information. As Petitioner
`
`admits, the 1995 ADSL standard nowhere discloses storing fine gain or bit
`
`allocation parameters while in a low power mode—and it certainly does not
`
`disclose that doing so is required for compliance with the standard. (See id.)
`
`Indeed, the 1995 ADSL does not even disclose a low power mode at all. (See id.)
`

`
`4
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`Petitioner’s real argument, therefore, appears to be simply a bare statement in the
`
`Petition that it would have been “predictable” to store fine gain or bit allocation
`
`parameters in low power mode, in order to reduce “the time needed to determine
`
`loop transmission characteristics.” (See id. at 40.) But Petitioner provides no
`
`support or explanation for its claim of predictability. Nor does Petitioner points to
`
`any reason—other than hindsight knowledge of the ‘404 patent—for why a person
`
`of ordinary skill in the art would have believed that storing the specific claimed
`
`parameters in particular would have reduced the time to restore full power mode.
`
`Similarly, each of the claims also requires that the apparatus be operable to
`
`“[receive/receiving], in the low power mode, a synchronization signal.” Petitioner
`
`circularly alleges only that it would have been obvious to add Vanzieleghem’s
`
`alleged low-power synchronization signals to Bowie so that Bowie has signals to
`
`maintain low-power synchronization. (See infra at § IV.C.1(b).) Petitioner,
`
`however, provides no support—just conclusory assumptions—that Bowie even
`
`needed synchronization or would benefit from a synchronization signal to begin
`
`with. Indeed, Petitioner later argues that Bowie alone already discloses the last
`
`element of the claims—the ability to “exit from the low power mode and restore
`
`the full power mode . . . without needing to reinitialize the transceiver.” (See Pet.
`
`at 43-44.) Namely, Petitioner argues that Bowie is able to resume full power mode
`
`without any further “handshaking” exchange of information. (See id.) But
`

`
`5
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`Petitioner cannot have it both ways. Either Bowie is able to restore transmission
`
`without needing a further exchange of information (and thus already is able to
`
`restore full power mode without a synchronization signal, making adding one
`
`superfluous) or else Bowie fails to disclose the claimed ability to “restore the full
`
`power mode . . . without needing to reinitialize the transceiver.”
`
`References Are Not Combinable. Third, the Petition also fails to establish
`
`any reasonable expectation of success in combining different bits and pieces from
`
`Bowie, ADSL 1995, and Vanzieleghem. In fact, combining them would change
`
`the fundamental principle of operation of Bowie and/or the proposed combination
`
`would render Bowie inoperable for its intended use. As discussed in detail below,
`
`Bowie and Vanzieleghem in particular operate in very different ways—Bowie’s
`
`low power mode comprises shutting down all signal processing, data transmit, and
`
`data receive circuitry (other than a limited resume signal detector). (See infra at §
`
`IV.C.2.) Vanzieleghem, in contrast, discloses a system that can reduce power
`
`depending on the kind of data it is receiving (effective data or idle data). (See id.)
`
`These are two mutually exclusive methods of implementing a low power mode.
`
`(See id.) Trying to shoe-horn Vanzieleghem’s synchronization signal into Bowie,
`
`for example, would run contrary to Bowie’s fundamental principle of operation
`
`and would in fact not even work in Bowie. (See id.)
`
`Accordingly, Petitioner has not carried its burden of showing that any of
`

`
`6
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`claims 6, 11, 16, or 20 are unpatentable. Petitioner has failed to show that any
`
`combination of prior art references expressly or inherently discloses every element
`
`of the claims. With respect to several claim elements, Petitioner relies on
`
`mischaracterizations of the references. And by failing to provide reasoned
`
`underpinnings for alleged obviousness, Petitioner has attempted to flip the burden
`
`to the Patent Owner to affirmatively prove patentability. But the burden of proving
`
`unpatentability of the challenged claims always rests with the Petitioner without
`
`any burden-shifting. See, e.g., Magnum Oil Tools Int’l, Ltd., No. 2015-1300, 2016
`
`U.S. App. LEXIS 13461 (Fed. Cir. July 25, 2016). Should the Board institute
`
`review, however, Patent Owner reserves the right to provide further technical
`
`evidence and expert testimony as to why Petitioner’s proposed combinations
`
`would not have been obvious and/or would not satisfy the elements of the claims.
`
`II.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE ’404 PATENT
`
`The ’404 patent is one of a series of patents by the named inventors
`
`covering inventions that are applicable to digital subscriber line (“DSL”) and other
`
`communications technologies. DSL is a technology that provides high-speed
`
`broadband access over the wires of a telephone network.
`
`The inventors were and are substantial contributors of core technology to
`
`DSL standards on behalf of TQ Delta and its predecessor in interest, Aware, Inc., a
`
`world-leading innovator and provider of DSL technologies. Some of the core
`

`
`7
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`technologies developed by Aware, including the inventions of the ’404 Patent,
`
`have been adopted for use in other communications systems, such as Multimedia
`
`over Coax (“MoCA”), which is used for high-speed communication of content
`
`over coaxial cables within a home. Petitioner has used the inventions of the ’404
`
`patent in its products.
`
`III. CLAIM CONSTRUCTION
`
`Petitioner has proposed constructions for the following terms: “low power
`
`mode” (claims 6, 11, 16), “fine gain parameter” (claims 6, 11, 16), and
`
`“transceiver” (claim 6). (See Pet. at 10-11.)
`
`Patent Owner submits, however, that no construction of these terms is
`
`required. As illustrated in the arguments below, construction of these terms is not
`
`necessary in deciding whether or not to institute trial. See Wellman, Inc. v.
`
`Eastman Chem. Co., 642 F.3d 1355, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (claim terms need only
`
`be construed “to the extent necessary to resolve the controversy”); EDMIT Indus.,
`
`Inc. v. Smartdoor Holdings, Inc., IPR2015-00013, Paper 31 (P.T.A.B. March 29,
`
`2016) (although Petitioner proposed constructions, Board agreed with Patent
`
`Owner that no constructions were necessary; “we determine that it is not necessary
`
`to construe explicitly any claim terms for purposes of this inter partes
`
`proceeding.”). Even under Petitioner’s proposed constructions, Petitioner has not
`
`shown that the prior art renders any claims of the ’404 patent obvious.
`

`
`8
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`IV. NO REVIEW SHOULD BE INSTITUTED WITH RESPECT TO THE
`SINGLE GROUND RAISED BY PETITIONER—ALLEGED
`OVIOUSNESS OF CLAIMS 6, 11, 16, and 20 UNDER 35 U.S.C. §103
`BY BOWIE, VAZIELEGHEM, AND ADSL 1995
`
`As explained in detail below, the Petition should be denied because it fails
`
`to establish a reasonable likelihood that the challenged claims are unpatentable.
`
`The Petition proposes only one ground against the ’404 patent, asserting
`
`obviousness in view of a combination of three different references:
`
`
`
`Ground 1. Unpatentability of claims 6, 11, 16, and 20 under 35 U.S.C.
`
`§ 103(a) over U.S. Patent No. 5,956,323 to Bowie (“Bowie”), in view of American
`
`Nat. Standards Inst. (ANSI) T1.413-1995 Standard, entitled “Network and Customer
`
`Installation Interfaces—Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) Metallic
`
`Interface” (“ADSL 1995”) and European Patent Publication No. EP 0883269 to
`
`Vanzieleghem (“Vanzieleghem”)
`
`The cited references do not, however, individually or collectively, disclose,
`
`teach, or suggest all of the elements of any of the foregoing claims. Additionally, the
`
`Petition also fails to provide sufficient, non-conclusory rationales or reasons for why the
`
`separate references would be combined or modified. Further, the Petition fails to
`
`provide any analysis or explanation regarding any alleged reasonable expectation of
`
`success in combining or modifying the references. For at least these and the
`
`following reasons, the Petition fails to establish alleged obviousness.
`

`
`9
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`A. The Asserted References Each Provide Very Different (or No)
`Low Power Mode Capabilities and Very Different Methods of
`Restoring Full Power Mode
`
`The three Ground 1 references disclose very different systems having very
`
`different functionalities. As shown below, Bowie discloses an ADSL unit 100 that
`
`includes signal processing electronics 111, modulated data transmit circuitry 112,
`
`modulated data receive circuitry 113, and a resume signal detector 115.
`
`
`
`(Ex. 1004, Bowie at Fig. 1.)
`
`
`
`When Bowie’s ADSL unit 100 receives a shut down signal, the unit 100
`
`enters a low power mode in which the signal processing electronics 111,
`
`modulated data transmit circuitry 112, and modulated data receive circuitry 113 all
`
`shut down. (See id. at 5:25-28.) The resume signal detector 115 remains
`
`operational in order to receive a resume signal. (See id. at 5:48-55.) The unit 100
`

`
`10
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`returns to full power after receiving a resume signal. (See id. at 5:60-62.) Bowie
`
`does not disclose that the unit 100 is capable of receiving a synchronization signal
`
`when in the low power mode. Bowie also does not disclose that the unit 100 stores
`
`a fine gain parameter or a bit allocation parameter when in the low power mode.
`
`Rather, Bowie discloses storing “characteristics of the loop” (e.g., “the loop length,
`
`wire gauge, wire composition, and other factors” of the loop 220)—in other words,
`
`information about the transmission line itself. (See id. at 5:1-24.) Bowie does not
`
`disclose storing any information regarding the data to be transmitted during low
`
`power mode, such as bit allocation parameters or fine gain parameters. (See id.)
`
`The system taught in Vanzieleghem operates differently. Vanzieleghem
`
`discloses a transmitter that reduces power dissipation depending on the type of
`
`input data it is being asked to transmit. The input data may be either effective data
`
`or idle data. (See Ex. 1005 at 5:33-35.) When effective data is to be transmitted,
`
`the transmitter uses all of its carriers (e.g., 256 carriers) to send the data – along
`
`with a synchronization symbol – to a receiver. (See id. at 5:66-6:15.) When the
`
`transmitter has only idle data to transmit, it reduces power dissipation by
`
`transmitting a reduced number of carriers. (See id. at 6:30-41.) If the set of
`
`carriers is reduced to a single carrier, the pilot tone is chosen to maintain frequency
`
`synchronization with a receiver. See id. Vanzieleghem does not disclose storing in
`
`a low power mode any parameters associated with the full power operation, much
`

`
`11
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`less any parameters regarding the data to be transmitted such as bit allocation or
`
`fine gain parameters.
`
`ADSL 1995, meanwhile, presents the electrical characteristics of ASDL
`
`signals appearing at a network interface and the requirements for transmission
`
`between a network and customer installation. (Ex. 1006 at 1.) ADSL 1995 does
`
`not discuss operation in a low power mode at all. (See id., passim.) Nor does
`
`ADSL 1995 disclose storing, in a lower power mode, any parameters regarding the
`
`data to be transmitted, such as fine gain or bit allocation parameters.
`
`B.
`
`Petitioner Fails to Show That The Combination of References
`Discloses Each Element of the Claims
`
`Where none of the asserted prior art references, alone or in combination,
`
`disclose an element of the claims, inter partes review for obviousness cannot be
`
`instituted. See, e.g., Umicore v. UChicago Argonne, LLC, IPR2016-00253
`
`(P.T.A.B. March 14, 2016) (“Because Ohzuku and Numata relate only to single-
`
`phase materials, even combining these references with the general knowledge of a
`
`POSA would not make claims 1, 8, or 9 of the '143 Patent obvious because none of
`
`the references disclose a structurally integrated two-component material.”); Arista
`
`Networks, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., IPR2016-00244 (P.T.A.B. March 3, 2016)
`
`(“[N]one of the references asserted by the Petitioner, either alone or in
`
`combination, teach or suggest all of the elements of the challenged independent
`
`claims. As explained below, none of the references ever teach or suggest any
`12
`

`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`conversion of CLI output messages that are generated based on executing a CLI
`
`command requested by an XML-formatted input command, which both challenged
`
`independent claims 1 and 6 require.”).
`
`In analyzing alleged obviousness, claims must be compared “as a whole”
`
`against the prior art—discrete claim elements cannot be broken down and then
`
`pieced together by picking and choosing disparate disclosure from references. See
`
`Princeton Biochemicals, Inc. v. Beckman Coulter, Inc., 411 F.3d 1332, 1337 (Fed.
`
`Cir. 2005) (obviousness must be analyzed against the claim “as a whole”; “Without
`
`this important requirement, an obviousness assessment might successfully break an
`
`invention into its component parts, then find a prior art reference corresponding to
`
`each component.”); Ex parte Wong, Appeal 2013-010048 (P.T.A.B. March 2,
`
`2016) (“The Examiner, improperly, picks disparate pieces of the Fell and Von
`
`Kaenel references while using Appellant’s claim as a road map and filling in the
`
`gaps with the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art.”).
`
`Here, each of the claims requires (a) “[store/storing], in a low power mode,
`
`at least one parameter associated with the full power mode operation wherein the
`
`at least one parameter comprises at least one of a fine gain parameter and a bit
`
`allocation parameter,” and (b) “[exit/exiting] from the low power mode and
`
`[restore/restoring] the full power mode by using the at least one parameter and
`
`without needing to reinitialize the transceiver.” (Ex. 1001, claims 6, 11, 16, 20)
`

`
`13
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`Petitioner, however, fails to show that any of Bowie, ADSL 1995, or
`
`Vanzieleghem discloses either of these discrete limitations.
`
`What Petitioner does is improperly split these discrete claim limitations into
`
`smaller pieces in order to distance the claimed invention of the ‘404 from its
`
`individual words. First, Petitioner points to Bowie just for alleged disclosure of
`
`“[store/storing], in a low power mode, at least one parameter associated with the
`
`full power mode operation.” (Pet. at 33-35, 51, 53.) In particular, Petitioner cites
`
`to Bowie’s alleged disclosure of a modem having a low power mode. (See Pet. at
`
`33-34, citing Ex. 1004, Bowie at 5:18-25, 5:60-66, 7:23-26, 8:8-9, 8:22-25.)
`
`According
`
`to Petitioner, Bowie discloses storing “loop characteristics”
`
`information, and then using that stored loop characteristics information to enable
`
`data transmission to resume more quickly by “reducing the time needed to
`
`determine loop transmission characteristics.” (See id.) This “loop characteristics”
`
`information in Bowie is as an initial matter not “associated with the full power
`
`mode operation”—rather it is limited to information related to the actual
`
`transmission line itself (i.e., information that is independent of full power or low
`
`power mode) such as “loop length, wire gauge, wire composition, and other
`
`factors.” (See Ex. 1004, Bowie at 5:1-24.) But moreover, Petitioner points to
`
`nothing in Bowie that discloses storing the claimed bit allocation parameters or
`
`fine gain parameters, or any sort of information related to the data to be
`

`
`14
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`transmitted. (See Pet. at 33-35.) Nor does Petitioner point to anything in Bowie
`
`disclosing the use of such stored information related to the data to be transmitted in
`
`order to restore full power more quickly. (See id.)
`
`Petitioner then separately points to ADSL 1995 for alleged disclosure of “at
`
`least one of a fine gain parameter and a bit allocation parameter.” (See Pet. at 35-
`
`37, 51, 53.)1 However, all Petitioner can do is simply point to disclosure in ADSL
`
`1995, in a vacuum, to allege that the mere existence of bit allocation and fine gain
`
`parameters were known in a completely different context. (See Pet. at 36 (alleging
`
`that ADSL discloses communicating, in full power mode, the “the number of bits
`
`and relative power levels to be used on each DMT sub-carrier”).) Assuming,
`
`arguendo, that what Petitioner cites in ADSL 1995 even constitute “bit allocation
`
`parameters” or “fine gain parameters” in the first place, Petitioner does not allege
`
`that they are ever stored on a transceiver. (See id.) Petitioner certainly can point to
`
`                                                            
`1  Petitioner does not allege that Vanzieleghem discloses either the Storing
`
`Limitation or Restoring Full Power Limitation. Although Petitioner alleges that
`
`Vanzieleghem also discloses a modem having a low power mode, Petitioner does
`
`not allege that Vanzieleghem discloses storing any parameters or other information
`
`at all to aid in restoring full power mode, much less bit allocation or fine gain
`
`parameters. (See, e.g., Pet. at 33-40.)
`

`

`
`15
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`no disclosure in ADSL 1995 of storing the alleged bit allocation parameters or fine
`
`gain parameters during a low power mode (again, ADSL 1995 discloses no low
`
`power mode). (See id.)
`
`In other words, Petitioner cannot show that any of the Ground 1 references
`
`disclose storing bit allocation or fine gain parameters during a low power mode, or
`
`using such parameters to restore full power mode. So Petitioner misleadingly
`
`breaks up these discrete limitations into smaller sub-parts and makes a different
`
`invalidity argument with respect to each sub-part. Petitioner’s effort to break up
`
`the claim limitations, however, is improper. The “at least one parameter [that]
`
`comprises at least one of a fine gain parameter and a bit allocation parameter”
`
`must be the same “at least one parameter” that is “store[d], in low power mode.”
`
`Thus, those two requirements related to the “at least one parameter” are not
`
`discrete limitations and cannot be separated into disparate references for purposes
`
`of an invalidity analysis. See Umicore, IPR2016-00253 (P.T.A.B. March 14,
`
`2016); Arista, IPR2016-00244 (P.T.A.B. March 3, 2016).
`
`C.
`
`Petitioner Has Not Met its Burden of Showing a Reason to
`Combine Separate Features from the References in the Manner
`Claimed  
`
`Even if Petitioner had shown that all of the elements of the challenged
`
`claims could be satisfied by piecing together and modifying Bowie, ADSL 1995,
`
`and Vanzieleghem, is well established that an invention “composed of several
`

`
`16
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`elements is not proved obvious merely by demonstrating that each of its elements
`
`was, independently, known in the prior art.” KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550
`
`U.S. 398, 418-19 (2007). Rather, “[o]n a fundamental level, the creation of new
`
`compositions and products based on combining elements from different sources
`
`has long been a basis for patentable inventions.” DDR Holdings, LLC v.
`
`Hotels.com, L.P., 773 F.3d 1245, 1258 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (emphasis added). See
`
`also KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 418-19 (2007) (“[I]nventions in
`
`most, if not all, instances rely upon building blocks long since uncovered, and
`
`claimed discoveries almost of necessity will be combinations of what, in some
`
`sense, is already known.”) (emphasis added).
`
`Therefore, to guard against improper hindsight or conclusory allegations, an
`
`obviousness showing must include “whether there was an apparent reason to
`
`combine the known elements in the fashion claimed by the patent at issue,” and an
`
`analysis of such an apparent reason “should be made explicit”; obviousness
`
`grounds “cannot be sustained by mere conclusory statements.” KSR Int'l Co. v.
`
`Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-418 (2007) (emphasis added). Put another way,
`
`“obviousness requires the additional showing that a person of ordinary skill at the
`
`time of the invention would have selected and combined those prior art elements in
`
`the normal course of research and development to yield the claimed invention.”
`
`Unigene Labs., Inc. v. Apotex, Inc., 655 F.3d 1352, 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2011). The
`

`
`17
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`only purported obviousness reasoning or rationales provided in the Petition,
`
`however, wholly fail in this regard.
`
`1.
`
`The Asserted Obviousness Rationales in the Petition Are
`Either Premised on Incorrect Facts, Wholly Conclusory, or
`Consist of Circular Hindsight
`
`(a) Petitioner provides no
`for
`reason
`supported
`modifying Bowie to store ADSL 1995’s alleged data
`parameters during low power mode 

`Petitioner provides no reason supported by rational underpinnings to
`
`combine the asserted references to provide the claimed “[store/storing], in a low
`
`power mode, at least one parameter associated with the full power mode operation
`
`wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one of a fine gain parameter
`
`and a bit allocation parameter.” Rather, Petitioner’s only asserted reasons for
`
`modifying Bowie to store bit allocation or fine gain parameters during low power
`
`mode, and use those stored parameters to restore full power mode, are based on
`
`smoke and mirror arguments, conclusory statements, or mere hindsight.
`
`Petitioner’s primary argument is that it would have allegedly been obvious
`
`to “combine the bit allocation and fine gain parameter disclosures in the 1995
`
`ADSL Standard with Bowie” because Bowie “must comply with ADSL standards
`
`to function properly.” (Pet. at 39.) Similarly, Petitioner argues that Bowie
`
`“implemented” the 1995 ADSL standard because Bowie discloses that it can use a
`
`Motorola CopperGold chip set, which Petitioner alleges employed the 1995 ADSL
`

`
`18
`
`

`
`Patent Owner’s Preliminary Response
`IPR2016-01470
`
`standard. (See id. at 40.) But Petitioner’s argument in this regard is based on a
`
`fundamental mischaracterization and distortion of ADSL 1995.
`
`As Petitioner concedes, ADSL 1995 does not disclose or involve in any way
`
`storing bit allocation or fine gain parameters during a low power mode. (See Pet.
`
`at 33-36; Ex. 1006, ADSL 1995 at passim.) Indeed, Petitioner does not even allege
`
`that ADSL 1995 discloses a low power mode at all. (See id.) Therefore,
`
`Petitioner’s implication that a person of ordinary skill in the art would need to store
`
`ADSL’s “C-B&G and R-B&G” parameters during low power mode, in order to
`
`“comply” with the ADSL 1995 standard, is wholly false.
`
`What ADSL 1995 does disclose is only “exchanges” or “communication” of
`
`information (including the C-B&G and R-B&G parameters) between a transceiver
`
`and receiver during full power mode—a wholly different function than storing
`
`information on a transceiver during a low power mode and using that stored
`
`information to restore full power. (See P

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