`Tel: 571-272-7822
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`Paper No: 36
`Entered: May 14, 2018
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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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`CATERPILLAR INC.
`Petitioner,
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`v.
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`ERNIE BROOKINS,
`Patent Owner.
`
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`Case IPR2017-01020
`Patent 7,824,290 B1
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`Before JILL D. HILL, BEVERLY M. BUNTING, and TIMOTHY J.
`GOODSON, Administrative Patent Judges.
`HILL, Administrative Patent Judge.
`
`ORDER
`Oral Hearing
`37 C.F.R. § 42.70
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`IPR2017-01020
`Patent 7,824,290 B1
`Inter partes review IPR2017-01020 was instituted on September 12,
`2017. Paper 30. A Scheduling Order was issued on September 12, 2017,
`which set the date for oral hearing to June 5, 2018, if hearing were requested
`by the parties and granted by the Board. Paper 30. Patent Owner requested
`oral hearing pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.70. Paper 35. Patent Owner’s
`request for oral hearing is granted.
`Oral argument will commence at 1:00pm ET, on June 5, 2018, on
`the ninth floor of Madison Building East, 600 Dulany Street,
`Alexandria, Virginia. The Board will provide a court reporter for the
`hearing and the reporter’s transcript will constitute the official record of the
`hearing. The hearing will be open to the public for in-person attendance that
`will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis. If the parties have
`any concern about disclosing confidential information, they are requested to
`contact the Board at least seven days in advance of the hearing to discuss the
`matter.
`Each party will have thirty (30) minutes to present its arguments, for a
`total hearing length of 60 minutes. Petitioner bears the ultimate burden of
`proof that the claims at issue in this review are unpatentable. Therefore, at
`oral hearing, Petitioner will proceed first by presenting its case regarding the
`challenged claims for which the Board instituted trial. Patent Owner will
`then argue its opposition to Petitioner’s case. Petitioner may reserve rebuttal
`time to rebut Patent Owner’s opposition. Patent Owner may not reserve
`rebuttal time. Because neither party has proposed to offer live testimony, no
`live testimony from any witness will be taken at the oral argument. Also,
`the parties are reminded that, at the oral argument, they “may rely upon
`evidence that has been previously submitted in the proceeding and may only
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`IPR2017-01020
`Patent 7,824,290 B1
`present arguments relied upon in the papers previously submitted.” Office
`Patent Trial Practice Guide, 77 Fed. Reg. 48,756, 48,768 (Aug. 14, 2012).
`“No new evidence or arguments may be presented at the oral argument.” Id.
`Demonstrative exhibits in this proceeding are not evidence and are
`intended only to assist the parties in presenting their oral argument to the
`panel. Under 37 C.F.R. § 42.70(b), demonstrative exhibits must be served
`on the opposing party at least seven (7) business days before the hearing.
`The parties are directed to submit a copy of any demonstrative
`exhibits by email to Trials@uspto.gov at least five (5) business days prior to
`the hearing. The parties must file any objections to the demonstratives with
`the Board at least three (3) business days before the hearing. Objections
`should identify with particularity which demonstratives are subject to
`objection, and include a short (one sentence or less) statement of the reason
`for each objection. No argument or further explanation is permitted. Any
`objection to demonstrative exhibits that is not timely presented will be
`considered waived. Additionally, the Board expects that the parties will
`meet and confer in good faith to resolve any objections to demonstrative
`exhibits, but if such objections cannot be resolved, the parties are directed to
`request a conference call with the Board no later than two (2) business days
`prior to the hearing to resolve any dispute over the propriety of each party’s
`demonstrative exhibits. The parties are responsible for requesting such a
`conference sufficiently in advance of the hearing to accommodate this
`requirement. The Board asks the parties to confine demonstrative exhibit
`objections to those identifying egregious violations that are prejudicial to the
`administration of justice. The parties may refer to CBS Interactive Inc. v.
`Helferich Patent Licensing, LLC, IPR2013-00033 (PTAB October 23, 2013)
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`IPR2017-01020
`Patent 7,824,290 B1
`(Paper 118), and St. Jude Medical, Cardiology Div., Inc. v. The Board of
`Regents of the University of Michigan, IPR2013-00041 (PTAB Jan. 27,
`2014) (Paper 65) regarding the appropriate content of demonstrative
`exhibits.
`At least one member of the panel will be attending the hearing
`electronically from a remote location and will only have access to the
`courtesy copy of the demonstratives provided in advance, as referenced
`above, and will not be able to view the projection screen in the hearing
`room. Thus, if a demonstrative exhibit is not made available in advance or
`visible to the judge(s) presiding over the hearing remotely, that
`demonstrative exhibit will not be helpful. The parties are reminded that each
`presenter must identify clearly and specifically each demonstrative exhibit
`(e.g., by slide or screen number) referenced during the hearing to ensure the
`clarity and accuracy of the reporter’s transcript and for the benefit of the
`judge(s) presiding over the hearing remotely. A hard copy of the
`demonstratives, if used, may be provided to the court reporter at the hearing.
`Requests for audio-visual equipment are to be made no later than
`five (5) days in advance of the hearing date via email to Trials@uspto.gov.
`If the request is not received timely, the equipment may not be available on
`the day of the hearing. Questions regarding specific audio-visual equipment
`should be directed to the Board at (571) 272-9797.
`The Board expects lead counsel for each party having representation
`to be present in person at the oral hearing. Here, Petitioner is represented by
`counsel and Patent Owner is appearing pro se. Lead or backup counsel may
`present Petitioner’s argument. If Petitioner anticipates that its lead counsel
`will not be attending the oral argument, Petitioner should request a joint
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`IPR2017-01020
`Patent 7,824,290 B1
`telephone conference with the Board no later than two (2) business days
`prior to the oral hearing to discuss the matter.
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`It is
`ORDERED that oral argument will commence at 1:00 pm ET on June
`5, 2018 at the on the ninth floor of Madison Building East, 600 Dulany
`Street, Alexandria, Virginia.
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`IPR2017-01020
`Patent 7,824,290 B1
`PETITIONER:
`Roland G. McAndrews
`Dinesh N. Melwani
`Biju I. Chandran
`BOOKOFF McANDREWS, PLLC
`rmcandrews@bomcip.com
`dmelwani@bookoffmcandrews.com
`bchandran@bookoffmcandrews.com
`
`PATENT OWNER:
`Ernie Brookins, Pro se
`ernieslide@aol.com
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