`Tel: 571-272-7822
`
`Paper 7
`Entered: December 8, 2017
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`UNIFIED PATENTS INC.,
`Petitioner,
`v.
`GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION INNOVATIONS, LLC,
`Patent Owner.
`
`Case IPR2017-02022
`Patent 7,917,285 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Before MITCHELL G. WEATHERLY, CARL M. DeFRANCO, and
`GEORGE R. HOSKINS, Administrative Patent Judges.
`WEATHERLY, Administrative Patent Judge.
`
`ORDER
`Denying Motion for Extension of Time
`37 C.F.R. §§ 42.5(a), 42.20(b), 42.107(b)
`
`I. BACKGROUND
`On December 1, 2017, Patent Owner filed a Request for Extension to
`File Preliminary Response to Petition. Paper 6 (“the Request” or “Req.”).
`Patent Owner seeks a thirty-day extension of the deadline for filing the
`Patent Owner Preliminary Response. Req. 1. The Patent Owner
`Preliminary Response is currently due no later than December 13, 2017,
`
`
`
`IPR2017-02022
`Patent 7,917,285 B2
`three months after the Board entered its Notice of Filing Date Accorded to
`Petition on September 13, 2017, Paper 3. 37 C.F.R. § 42.107(b). Patent
`Owner contends that “good cause exists for the extension” for two reasons.
`First, Patent Owner “did not receive notice of the Petition until September 5,
`2017.” Req. 1. Second, Patent Owner’s “managing member and . . .
`advising attorney have been traveling on numerous occasions during the
`allowed response period.” Id. Patent Owner indicates that it attempted to
`contact Petitioner’s counsel to determine whether Petitioner would oppose
`the requested extension, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Id. Patent Owner
`filed the Request without prior authorization from the Board.
`II. ANALYSIS
`Patent Owner’s Request is denied for at least three reasons. First,
`because the Request seeks relief in the form of an extension of a filing
`deadline, the Request is a motion. 37 C.F.R. § 42.20(a). A motion may not
`be filed without prior authorization from the Board. 37 C.F.R. § 42.20(b).
`Because Patent Owner failed to seek or obtain the required authorization for
`the Request, it is not properly before us.
`Second, even if the Request were properly before us, it wholly fails to
`demonstrate good cause for extending the time to file the Preliminary
`Response. Patent Owner received notice of the Petition eight days before
`the three-month period for preparing and filing a Preliminary Response
`began. Therefore, receiving “notice of the Petition” on September 5, 2017,
`provides no cause for an extension of time. Patent Owner has also failed to
`demonstrate how unspecified travel by an executive of Patent Owner and an
`unnamed “advising attorney” while Patent Owner is represented by other
`counsel in these preliminary proceedings would have had any effect on
`
`2
`
`
`
`IPR2017-02022
`Patent 7,917,285 B2
`Patent Owner’s ability to prepare and file a Preliminary Response within the
`permitted three-month time period.
`Third, Patent Owner delayed seeking the extension until only twelve
`days before the expiration of the three-month period for preparing and filing
`its Preliminary Response. Patent Owner also failed to specify any reason
`why Patent Owner has been unable to confer with Petitioner to determine
`whether Petitioner opposes the Request. Patent Owner’s delay in seeking
`the extension has effectively eliminated most, if not all, of Petitioner’s
`opportunity to be heard in connection with the Request. Under 37 C.F.R.
`§ 42.25(a)(1), the default time for filing an opposition to the Request would
`expire on January 2, 2018, weeks after the deadline for filing the Preliminary
`Response. Patent Owner’s delay in seeking the Request, its failure to obtain
`the Board’s authorization to file the Request, and its inability to consult
`Petitioner before filing the Request for unspecified reasons, all lead to our
`denial of the Request.
`We also note that Patent Owner has failed to designate at least one
`back up counsel as required under 37 C.F.R. § 42.10(a). Patent Owner must
`remedy this deficiency no later than December 13, 2017.
`III. ORDER
`For the reasons given, it is:
`ORDERED that Patent Owner’s Request for Extension to File
`Preliminary Response to Petition is denied; and
`FURTHER ORDERED that Patent Owner shall designate at least one
`backup counsel by filing an updated Mandatory Notice pursuant to 37 C.F.R.
`§ 42.8(b)(3) no later than December 13, 2017.
`
`3
`
`
`
`IPR2017-02022
`Patent 7,917,285 B2
`PETITIONER:
`Jason R. Mudd
`Eric A. Buresh
`ERISE IP, P.A.
`Jonathan Stroud
`Ashraf A. Fawzy
`UNIFIED PATENTS, INC.
`Jason.mudd@eriseip.com
`ptab@eriseip.com
`jonathan@unifiedpatents.com
`afawzy@unifiedpatents.com
`
`PATENT OWNER:
`Jay Johnson
`KIZZIA JOHNSON, PLLC
`jay@kjpllc.com
`
`4
`
`
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