`571-272-7822
`
` Paper 31
`Date: November 29, 2021
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`APPLE INC., SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., and
`SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS AMERICA, INC.,
`Petitioner,1
`v.
`FIRSTFACE CO., LTD.,
`Patent Owner.
`
`IPR2019-00612 (Patent 8,831,557 B2)
`IPR2019-00613 and IPR2019-01011 (Patent 9,633,373 B2)
`IPR2019-00614 and IPR2019-01012 (Patent 9,779,419 B2)2
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Before MELISSA A. HAAPALA, Vice Chief Administrative Patent Judge,
`and JUSTIN T. ARBES and RUSSELL E. CASS, Administrative Patent
`Judges.
`ARBES, Administrative Patent Judge.
`ORDER
`Granting Petitioner’s Motions to Expunge
`37 C.F.R. § 42.56
`
`
`1 Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., and Samsung Electronics
`America, Inc. are the petitioners in Case IPR2019-00612. Apple Inc. is the
`petitioner in Cases IPR2019-00613, IPR2016-00614, IPR2019-01011, and
`IPR2019-01012. We refer herein to the petitioner in each respective
`proceeding as “Petitioner.”
`2 Case IPR2019-01011 was consolidated with Case IPR2019-00613 and
`Case IPR2019-01012 was consolidated with Case IPR2019-00614. This
`Order addresses issues pertaining to all of the listed cases. Therefore, we
`exercise our discretion to issue a single Order to be filed in each case. The
`parties are not authorized to use this style heading.
`
`
`
`
`
`IPR2019-00612 (Patent 8,831,557 B2)
`IPR2019-00613 and IPR2019-01011 (Patent 9,633,373 B2)
`IPR2019-00614 and IPR2019-01012 (Patent 9,779,419 B2)
`
`
`In each of the instant proceedings, we granted Petitioner’s motion to
`seal certain exhibits and entered Petitioner’s proposed protective order, and
`did not refer to any sealed material in the Final Written Decision. See
`IPR2019-00612, Papers 10, 26; IPR2019-00613, Papers 9, 27;
`IPR2019-00614, Papers 9, 27; IPR2019-01011, Papers 8, 10;
`IPR2019-01012, Papers 8, 10. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal
`Circuit subsequently affirmed the Final Written Decisions and issued the
`mandate in each appeal. See Firstface Co., Ltd. v. Apple Inc., 859 F. App’x
`579 (Fed. Cir. 2021); Apple Inc. v. Firstface Co., Ltd., Nos. 2021-1001,
`2021-1002, 2021 WL 4156323 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 13, 2021).
`Petitioner filed a motion to expunge the sealed material. See
`IPR2019-00612, Paper 29 (“Mot.”); IPR2019-00613, Paper 30 (also
`referring in the case caption to consolidated Case IPR2019-01011);
`IPR2019-00614, Paper 30 (also referring in the case caption to consolidated
`Case IPR2019-01012). Petitioner states that Patent Owner does not oppose
`the motions. Mot. 4.
`“[A]fter final judgment in a trial, a party may file a motion to expunge
`confidential information from the record.” 37 C.F.R. § 42.56. “The rule
`balances the needs of the parties to submit confidential information with the
`public interest in maintaining a complete and understandable file history for
`public notice purposes” and “encourages parties to redact sensitive
`information, where possible, rather than seeking to seal entire documents.”
`Patent Trial and Appeal Board Consolidated Trial Practice Guide
`(Nov. 2019), 22, available at https://www.uspto.gov/
`TrialPracticeGuideConsolidated.
`
`2
`
`
`
`IPR2019-00612 (Patent 8,831,557 B2)
`IPR2019-00613 and IPR2019-01011 (Patent 9,633,373 B2)
`IPR2019-00614 and IPR2019-01012 (Patent 9,779,419 B2)
`
`
`We are persuaded that expunging the sealed material is appropriate
`under the circumstances. We previously found that the redacted portions of
`the exhibits constituted confidential information and were narrowly tailored
`to only confidential information. E.g., IPR2019-00612, Paper 10, 5.
`Further, we did not cite or rely on any redacted material in the documents in
`rendering our Final Written Decisions. Accordingly, the record of the
`proceedings and Final Written Decisions remain understandable in the
`absence of the redacted material.
`In consideration of the foregoing, it is hereby:
`ORDERED that Petitioner’s motions to expunge are granted, and the
`unredacted versions of the following exhibits (filed as “Board Only”) are
`expunged from the record of each respective proceeding:
`IPR2019-00612: Exhibits 1104 and 1131;
`IPR2019-00613: Exhibits 1004 and 1031;
`IPR2019-00614: Exhibits 1004 and 1031;
`IPR2019-01011: Exhibits 1004 and 1031; and
`IPR2019-01012: Exhibits 1004 and 1031.
`
`
`3
`
`
`
`IPR2019-00612 (Patent 8,831,557 B2)
`IPR2019-00613 and IPR2019-01011 (Patent 9,633,373 B2)
`IPR2019-00614 and IPR2019-01012 (Patent 9,779,419 B2)
`
`FOR PETITIONER:
`
`Gabrielle E. Higgins
`Scott A. McKeown
`Christopher M. Bonny
`Victor Cheung
`ROPES & GRAY LLP
`gabrielle.higgins@ropesgray.com
`scott.mckeown@ropesgray.com
`christopher.bonny@ropesgray.com
`victor.cheung@ropesgray.com
`
`
`FOR PATENT OWNER:
`
`Thomas C. Cecil
`Barry J. Bumgardner
`Matthew C. Juren
`NELSON BUMGARDNER ALBRITTON P.C.
`tom@nelbum.com
`barry@nelbum.com
`matthew@nelbum.com
`
`
`
`
`4
`
`
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