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`Filed on behalf of Unified Patents Inc.
`By: Ashraf A. Fawzy, Reg. 67,914
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`Jonathan Stroud, Reg. 72,518
`Unified Patents Inc.
`1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 10
`Washington, DC, 20009
`Tel: (202) 871-0110
`Email: afawzy@unifiedpatents.com
`Email: jonathan@unifiedpatents.com
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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`____________________________
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`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
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`____________________________
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`UNIFIED PATENTS INC.
`Petitioner
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`v.
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`SILVER STATE INTELLECTUAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
`Patent Owner
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`____________________________
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`
`
`Case IPR2017-01531
`Patent 7,650,234
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`____________________________
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`PETITIONER’S VOLUNTARY INTERROGATORY RESPONSES
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`Page 1 of 9
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`Unified Patents Exhibit 1013
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`Voluntary Interrogatories, IPR2017-01531
`U.S. Patent 7,650,234
`Petitioner Unified Patents Inc. provides the following voluntary interrogatory
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`responses.
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`DEFINITIONS
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`A.
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`’234 PATENT means U.S. Patent No. 7,650,234.
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`B. COMMUNICATIONS means the transmission or receipt of information of
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`any kind through any means (e.g., email, text message, voicemail, audio,
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`computer readable media, or orally).
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`C. MEMBER means any company that participates in UNIFIED’S solution
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`and MEMBERS means all such companies.
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`D.
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`IPR means inter partes review.
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`E. THE INSTANT IPR means this proceeding.
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`F.
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`PETITION means the petition, including the exhibits thereto, for THE
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`INSTANT IPR.
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`G. UNIFIED means Unified Patents Inc. and include any shareholder, officer,
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`director, employee, agent, representative, privies, intermediaries or other
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`individual authorized to act on behalf of Unified Patents Inc.
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`H. USPTO means the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
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`1
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`Page 2 of 9
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`Unified Patents Exhibit 1013
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`Voluntary Interrogatories, IPR2017-01531
`U.S. Patent 7,650,234
`RESPONSES TO INTERROGATORIES
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`INTERROGATORY NO. 1:
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`Identify any COMMUNICATIONS between UNIFIED and any entity other than
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`its counsel relating to the financing, preparation, editing, prior review, or approval
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`of the PETITION.
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`RESPONSE NO. 1:
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`UNIFIED states that no such communication exist.
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`UNIFIED states that it was founded by intellectual property professionals
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`concerned about the increasing risk of non-practicing entities (NPEs) asserting
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`poor-quality patents against strategic technologies and industries. The founders
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`thus created a first-of-its-kind company whose sole purpose is to deter NPE
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`litigation by protecting technology sectors, such as the “Internet of Things,” that
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`may be impacted by the ’234 patent. Companies in a technology sector subscribe
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`to UNIFIED’s technology-specific deterrence. UNIFIED performs many NPE-
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`deterrent activities, such as analyzing the technology sector and monitoring patent
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`activity (including patent ownership, assignment data, patent sales, prosecution,
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`demand
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`letters,
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`threats,
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`litigation, other challenges, and company data).
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`UNIFIED’s monitoring activities help UNIFIED to identify patents, perform prior
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`art research, analyze patentability, and in some cases file reexamination requests,
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`PGR petitions, or IPR petitions against patents.
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`2
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`Page 3 of 9
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`Unified Patents Exhibit 1013
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`Voluntary Interrogatories, IPR2017-01531
`U.S. Patent 7,650,234
`UNIFIED states that it has sole and absolute discretion over its decision to
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`contest patents through the USPTO’s post-grant proceedings. Based on its own
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`analyses UNIFIED determines which patents are worth searching for prior art,
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`performing patentability analyses, categorizing, monitoring, or taking action, such
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`as filing a PGR, IPR, a reissue protest, a foreign patent office opposition, or an ex
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`parte reexamination. Those analyses include considering a variety of publicly
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`available information such as, inter alia, assignment records, patent quality,
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`publicly available sales, mergers, and acquisitions, secondary market analyses,
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`newspaper reports, press releases, demand letters, licensing inquiries, litigation
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`filings, and PTAB filings. UNIFIED’s decisions to file an IPR or an ex parte
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`reexamination are made independently, without the input, assistance, or approval
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`of its MEMBERS. Should UNIFIED decide to challenge a patent, UNIFIED
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`independently controls every aspect and every stage of such a challenge, including
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`controlling which patent and claims to challenge, which prior art to apply, and the
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`grounds raised in the challenge, when to bring any challenge, and by what
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`mechanism.
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`MEMBERS receive no notice of UNIFIED’s patent challenges. After filing
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`a post-grant proceeding, UNIFIED retains sole and absolute discretion and control
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`over all strategy decisions, including any decision to continue or terminate
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`UNIFIED’s participation, or any settlement agreement with the patent owner.
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`3
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`Page 4 of 9
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`Unified Patents Exhibit 1013
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`Voluntary Interrogatories, IPR2017-01531
`U.S. Patent 7,650,234
`Members exercise no direction, provide no prior art, and do not control any aspect
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`of any particular proceeding, and are not privy to or made aware of any settlement
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`negotiations. UNIFIED is also solely responsible for paying for the preparation,
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`filing, and prosecution of any post-grant proceeding, including any expenses
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`associated with the proceeding. UNIFIED is solely responsible for any
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`negotiations or agreements made related to settlements. UNIFIED does not make
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`or accept monetary settlement offers.
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`In THE INSTANT IPR, UNIFIED exercised its sole discretion and control
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`in deciding to file this PETITION against the ’234 patent, including paying for all
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`fees and expenses. UNIFIED shall exercise sole and absolute control and
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`discretion of the continued prosecution of this proceeding (including any decision
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`to terminate UNIFIED’s participation, seek and negotiate a settlement, or appeal)
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`and shall bear all subsequent costs related to this proceeding.
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`INTERROGATORY NO. 2:
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`Identify any individuals acting for or on behalf of any entity other than
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`UNIFIED’S counsel and expert that participated or assisted in any way with the
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`financing, preparation, editing, prior review, approval, or filing of the PETITION.
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`4
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`Unified Patents Exhibit 1013
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`Voluntary Interrogatories, IPR2017-01531
`U.S. Patent 7,650,234
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`RESPONSE NO. 2:
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`UNIFIED states that no such individuals exist. UNIFIED further states that
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`no individuals other than UNIFIED employees and its counsel had any prior
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`knowledge of the filing of THE INSTANT IPR.
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`As stated in response to Interrogatory No. 1, in the instant proceeding,
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`UNIFIED exercised its sole discretion and control in deciding to file this petition
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`against the ’234 patent, including paying for all fees and expenses. UNIFIED
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`shall continue to exercise sole and absolute control and discretion of the continued
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`prosecution of this proceeding (including any decision to terminate UNIFIED’s
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`participation) and shall bear all subsequent costs related to this proceeding and any
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`subsequent appeals.
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`UNIFIED further states that its MEMBERS do not get to participate in any
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`way in UNIFIED’s deterrent activities. UNIFIED does not receive input from its
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`members, nor does it give them an opportunity to participate in or an opportunity
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`to even know that UNIFIED is contemplating filing an IPR before the IPR is filed.
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`Anyone may submit to UNIFIED non-confidential materials, such as demand
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`letters, licensing communications, or other non-privileged examples of assertion
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`behavior, and UNIFIED may consider such information along with all other
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`publicly available information. In the instant proceeding, none of UNIFIED’s
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`MEMBERS had any prior knowledge of, or involvement in, the preparation and
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`5
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`Page 6 of 9
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`Unified Patents Exhibit 1013
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`Voluntary Interrogatories, IPR2017-01531
`U.S. Patent 7,650,234
`filing of the INSTANT IPR. UNIFIED does not notify its members when seeking
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`or discussing settlement. UNIFIED’s MEMBERS do not get to participate in any
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`subsequent appeals.
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`INTERROGATORY NO. 3:
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`Identify payments by any entity to UNIFIED relating to the financing of the
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`INSTANT IPR.
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`RESPONSE NO. 3:
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`UNIFIED states that no such payments exist.
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`UNIFIED states that its MEMBERS pay a yearly subscription fee related to
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`specific technology zones. UNIFIED performs many NPE-deterrent activities,
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`including data analytics, prior art searching, validity and patentability analyses,
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`and post-grant review requests. UNIFIED’s MEMBERS do not pay any fees
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`designated for IPRs, let alone for IPRs against specific patents. It is UNIFIED and
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`UNIFIED alone that determines how to spend its money. UNIFIED independently
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`selects which patents to target based on the perceived deterrent value to a
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`technology zone. Based on its own analysis, UNIFIED determines which patents
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`are worth pursuing in terms of filing an IPR or performing some other activity.
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`UNIFIED’s decisions to file an IPR are made independently, without the input,
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`assistance, or approval of its MEMBERS. UNIFIED states that there are no
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`6
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`Page 7 of 9
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`Unified Patents Exhibit 1013
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`Voluntary Interrogatories, IPR2017-01531
`U.S. Patent 7,650,234
`explicit or implicit agreements with its MEMBERS about UNIFIED’s performing
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`any particular deterrent strategy, including the INSTANT IPR.
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`Unified Patents Inc.
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`By: _/s/ Ashraf Fawzy__________
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`7
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`Page 8 of 9
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`Unified Patents Exhibit 1013
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`Voluntary Interrogatories, IPR2017-0153 1
`US. Patent 7,650,234
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`VERIFICATION
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`1, Kevin Jakel, state that I am CEO of Unified Patents Inc., and that I am
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`authorized to make this verification for and on its behalf.
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`I certify that I have read
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`the foregoing Interrogatory responses, and that the responses are true and accurate
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`to the best of my own knowledge, information and belief. Further, I make this
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`verification with the knowledge that willful false statements and the like so made
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`are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under Section 1001 of Title 18 of
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`the United States Code and that such willful false statements may jeopardize the
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`results of these proceedings.
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`I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
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`me
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`Printed Name: Kevin Jakel
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`Title: Chief Executive Officer
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`Page 9 of 9
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`Unified Patents Exhibit 1013
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`Page 9 of 9
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`Unified Patents Exhibit 1013
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