`U.S. Patent No. 8,209,634 B2
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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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`FACEBOOK, INC., INSTAGRAM, LLC, and WHATSAPP INC.,
`Petitioners
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`v.
`
`BLACKBERRY LIMITED,
`Patent Owner
`
`
`
`Case IPR2019-00925
`U.S. Patent No. 8,209,634 B2
`Issue Date: June 26, 2012
`
`Title: PREVIEWING A NEW EVENT ON A SMALL SCREEN DEVICE
`
`PETITION FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
`OF U.S. PATENT NO. 8,209,634 B2
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`Table of Contents
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`Page
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`V.
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`
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`Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1
`I. Mandatory Notices under §42.8(A)(1) ........................................................... 1
`A.
`Real Party-In-Interest under §42.8.(b)(1) ............................................. 1
`B.
`Related Matters under §42.8(b)(2) ....................................................... 1
`C.
`Lead and Back-Up Counsel under §42.8(b)(3) .................................... 2
`D.
`Service Information .............................................................................. 3
`Fee Payment .................................................................................................... 4
`II.
`III. Requirements under §§ 42.104 and 42.108 and Considerations under
`§§ 325(d) and 314(a) ...................................................................................... 4
`A. Grounds for Standing ........................................................................... 4
`B.
`Identification of Challenge and Statement of Precise Relief
`Requested ............................................................................................. 4
`Considerations Under § 325(d) and § 314(a) ....................................... 5
`C.
`IV. Overview of the ’634 Patent ........................................................................... 6
`A.
`Level of Ordinary Skill in the Art ........................................................ 6
`B.
`Specification Overview ........................................................................ 6
`C.
`The Challenged Claims ........................................................................ 9
`Claim Construction ......................................................................................... 9
`A.
`“wireless communication device” ........................................................ 9
`B.
`“messaging correspondent” ................................................................ 11
`C.
`“a numeric character representing a count of the plurality of
`different message correspondents for which one or more of the
`electronic messages have been received and remain unread”............ 12
`VI. The Challenged Claims are Unpatentable .................................................... 13
`A. Overview of the Grounds of Unpatentability ..................................... 13
`B.
`Summary and Date Qualification of the Prior Art ............................. 14
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`Prior Art for Ground 1 ............................................................. 14
`-i-
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`Table of Contents
`(continued)
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`Page
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`(b)
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`(c)
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`(a) Ording [Ex. 1103] .......................................................... 14
`(b) Abiko [Ex. 1109] ........................................................... 17
`(c) Crumlish [Ex. 1110] ...................................................... 21
`(d) Dvorak [Ex. 1111] ......................................................... 23
`Additional Prior Art for Ground 2 ........................................... 24
`(a) McPherson [Ex. 1112] ................................................... 24
`Additional Prior Art for Grounds 3-4 ...................................... 25
`(a)
`Strom [Ex. 1115] ........................................................... 26
`C. Ground 1: Obviousness of Claims 1, 4-5, 7, 10-11, 13 and 16-
`17 Over Ording in view of Abiko, Crumlish, and Dvorak ................ 27
`
`Claim 1 ..................................................................................... 27
`(a)
`“A method of providing notifications of unread
`messages on a wireless communication device,
`comprising:” (Preamble) ................................................ 27
`“displaying at least one icon relating to electronic
`messaging on a graphical user interface of the
`wireless communication device;” (1[a]) ........................ 33
`“receiving a plurality of electronic messages on the
`wireless communication device, the plurality of
`electronic messages including messages from a
`plurality of different messaging correspondents;
`and” (1[b]) ..................................................................... 35
`“in response to receiving at least one of the
`plurality of electronic messages, visually
`modifying at least one displayed icon relating to
`electronic messaging to include a numeric
`character representing a count of the plurality of
`different messaging correspondents for which one
`or more of the electronic messages have been
`received and remain unread.” (1[c]) .............................. 37
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`(d)
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`Table of Contents
`(continued)
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`Page
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`E.
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`Claim 4: “The method of claim 1, the at least one icon
`relating to electronic messaging being selectable to
`invoke an electronic messaging application.”.......................... 49
`Claim 5: “The method of claim 1, comprising displaying
`on the graphical user interface an identifier of the
`correspondent from whom at least one of the plurality of
`messages was received.” .......................................................... 50
`Claim 7 ..................................................................................... 53
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`Claims 10-11 ............................................................................ 54
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`Claim 13 ................................................................................... 55
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`Claims 16-17 ............................................................................ 56
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`D. Ground 2: Obviousness of Claims 6, 12 and 18 Over Ording in
`view of Abiko, Crumlish, and Dvorak, in further view of
`McPherson .......................................................................................... 56
`Grounds 3-4: Further Combination with Strom if “Wireless
`Communication Device” Requires a Small Screen Display .............. 61
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`How Small is a “Small-Screen” Device? ................................. 62
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`Strom Discloses a “Small-Screen” Wireless Device ............... 65
`VII. Conclusion .................................................................................................... 72
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of
`U.S. Patent No. 8,209,634 B2
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`List of Exhibits
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`Exhibit
`Description of Document
`No.
`1101 U.S. Patent No. 8,209,634 B2 to Gerhard D. Klassen et al. (filed Feb.
`24, 2004, issued June 26, 2012) (“’634” or “’634 patent”)
`1102 Declaration of Sandeep Chatterjee, Ph.D. (“Chatterjee”)
`1103 U.S. Patent No. 7,434,177 B1 to Bas Ording et al. (filed Dec. 20,
`1999, issued Oct. 7, 2008) (“Ording”)
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`Reserved
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`1104 –
`1107
`1108 Excerpts from Microsoft Computer Dictionary (5th ed. 2002)
`1109 U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2002/0142758 A1 to Hajime Abiko
`et al. (filed Jan. 7, 2002, published Oct. 3, 2002) (“Abiko”)
`1110 Excerpts from Christian Crumlish, The ABCs of the Internet (1996)
`(“Crumlish”)
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`1111
`
`John C. Dvorak, Scarier than Spam, PC Magazine, Jan. 19, 1999
`(“Dvorak”)
`1112 Excerpts from Frank McPherson, How to Do Everything with Your
`Pocket PC (2d ed. 2002) (“McPherson”)
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`1113
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`Prosecution history for U.S. Patent Application No. 10/784,781, which
`issued as the ’634 patent
`1114 Nokia 9210i Communicator, web page from <www.nokia.com>, cited
`by the Examiner during prosecution of the ’634 patent and included
`among non-patent literature (NPL) in the ’634 file history
`1115 David Strom, Three New Wireless E-Mail Devices, Computerworld,
`Nov. 8, 1999 (“Strom”)
`1116 Affidavit of Christopher Butler
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of
`U.S. Patent No. 8,209,634 B2
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`List of Exhibits
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`Exhibit
`No.
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`Description of Document
`https://web.archive.org/web/20010806175758/http://www.blackberry.
`net/solutions/enterprise/handhelds/specifications.shtml
`1117 Excerpts from Random House Webster’s College Dictionary (2000)
`1118
`Stephen Manes, A Pocketful of Windows, Forbes, Oct. 29, 2001
`1119 Certificates of Service from BlackBerry Limited v. Facebook, Inc. et
`al., No. 2:18-cv-01844-GW-KS (C.D. Cal.), ECF Nos. 20-23, showing
`that service on Petitioners was effected on April 6, 2018
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`1120
`
`First Amended Complaint for Patent Infringement from BlackBerry
`Limited v. Facebook, Inc. et al., No. 2:18-cv-01844-GW-KS (C.D.
`Cal.), ECF No. 15, filed on April 4, 2018
`1121 Declaration of Sylvia Hall-Ellis, Ph.D. (“Hall-Ellis”)
`1122
`Joint Statement Regarding Disputed Claim Terms, BlackBerry Limited
`v. Facebook, Inc. et al., No. 2:18-cv-01844-GW-KS (C.D. Cal.), ECF
`No. 135, filed on March 26, 2019
`1123 Tentative Ruling on Claim Construction in BlackBerry Limited v.
`Facebook, Inc. et al., No. 2:18-cv-01844-GW (C.D. Cal.), ECF No.
`152, filed April 1, 2019
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`‐ii‐
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of
`U.S. Patent No. 8,209,634 B2
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`
`INTRODUCTION
`The ’634 patent attempts to lay claim over the well-known user interface
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`feature of placing a numeric character (or “badge”) over an icon
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`relating to the number of new (or unread) electronic messages.
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`This technique was known well before the ’634 patent was filed, as
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`demonstrated below. The only material difference here is that the numeric character
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`claimed in the ’634 patent identifies the number of distinct senders who have sent
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`unread messages, rather than the number of unread messages. But this feature was
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`also known in the prior art and obvious based on the prior art cited herein, none of
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`which was considered during prosecution. The Board should therefore institute IPR
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`and find the challenged claims obvious under §103.
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`I. MANDATORY NOTICES UNDER §42.8(A)(1)
`A. Real Party-In-Interest under §42.8.(b)(1)
`Facebook, Inc. and subsidiaries, Instagram, LLC and WhatsApp Inc., are the
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`real parties-in-interest to this IPR petition. For ease of reference, this Petition will
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`refer to Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp collectively as “Petitioner” (singular).
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`B. Related Matters under §42.8(b)(2)
`The ’634 patent is the subject of pending litigation involving Petitioner:
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`BlackBerry Ltd. v. Facebook, Inc. et al., Case No. 2:18-cv-01844-GW-KS (C.D.
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`Cal.). The ’634 patent is also the subject of BlackBerry Ltd. v. Snap Inc., Case No.
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of
`U.S. Patent No. 8,209,634 B2
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`2:18-cv-02693-GW-KS (C.D. Cal.) (filed April 3, 2018). No trial date has been set.
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`Petitioner was first served in the pending litigation on April 6, 2018. (Ex.
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`1119.)1 The First Amended Complaint in that action alleges that Facebook,
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`Instagram and WhatsApp infringe the ’634 patent. (Ex. 1120, ¶¶144-157.)
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`As of the filing of this Petition, the district court has not issued any final claim
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`construction rulings. On April 1, 2019, the district court issued its written Tentative
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`Ruling on Claim Construction with respect to disputed terms of the ’634 patent,
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`which are also addressed in Part V below. (Ex. 1123 at pp.19-25.) The district
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`court did not indicate when it would issue its final order on claim construction. The
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`Petitioner is accordingly filing the present Petition at this time, but will update these
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`Mandatory Disclosures to provide a copy of the district court’s final claim
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`construction order when it issues.
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`C. Lead and Back-Up Counsel under §42.8(b)(3)
`Petitioner provides the following designation of counsel.
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`LEAD COUNSEL
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`BACK-UP COUNSEL
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`Heidi L. Keefe (Reg. No. 40,673)
`hkeefe@cooley.com
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`1 The initial Complaint in that action was filed on March 6, 2018, and a First
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`Andrew C. Mace (Reg. No. 63,342)
`amace@cooley.com
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`Amended Complaint on April 4, 2018. Service on Petitioner first took place on April
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`6, 2018, after the filing of the First Amended Complaint. (Ex. 1119.)
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of
`U.S. Patent No. 8,209,634 B2
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`LEAD COUNSEL
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`BACK-UP COUNSEL
`
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`COOLEY LLP
`ATTN: Patent Group
`1299 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 700
`Washington, DC 20004
`Tel: (650) 843-5001
`Fax: (650) 849-7400
`
`
`
`COOLEY LLP
`ATTN: Patent Group
`1299 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 700
`Washington D.C. 20004
`Tel: (650) 843-5287
`Fax: (650) 849-7400
`Mark R. Weinstein (Admission pro hac
`vice to be requested)
`mweinstein@cooley.com
`
`COOLEY LLP
`ATTN: Patent Group
`1299 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
`Suite 700
`Washington D.C. 20004
`Tel: (650) 843-5007
`Fax: (650) 849-7400
`Yuan Liang (Admission pro hac vice to
`be requested)
`yliang@cooley.com
`
`COOLEY LLP
`ATTN: Patent Group
`1299 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
`Suite 700
`Washington D.C. 20004
`Tel: (202) 728-7132
`Fax: (202) 842-7899
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`
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`D.
`Service Information
`This Petition is being served by Federal Express to the attorney of record for
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`the ’634 patent, BlackBerry Limited - Direct Practice - (US Team), ATTN: PATENT
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of
`U.S. Patent No. 8,209,634 B2
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`TEAM, 2200 University Avenue, E. Waterloo ON N2K 0A7 Petitioner consents to
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`electronic service at the addresses provided above for lead and back-up counsel.
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`II.
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`FEE PAYMENT
`Petitioner requests review of twelve claims, with a $30,500 payment.
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`III. REQUIREMENTS UNDER §§ 42.104 AND 42.108 AND CONSIDERATIONS UNDER
`§§ 325(D) AND 314(A)
`A. Grounds for Standing
`Petitioner certifies that the ’634 patent is available for IPR and that Petitioner
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`is not barred or otherwise estopped.
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`B.
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`Identification of Challenge and Statement of Precise Relief
`Requested
`Petitioner requests institution of IPR based on:
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`Ground
`1
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`Claims
`1, 4-5, 7, 10-
`11, 13, 16-17
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`Basis for Challenge under §103(a)
`Ording (Ex. 1103), Abiko (Ex. 1109), Crumlish (Ex.
`1110) and Dvorak (Ex. 1111)
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`2
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`3
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`4
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`6, 12, 18
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`Ording, Abiko, Crumlish, Dvorak, and McPherson
`(Ex. 1112)
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`1, 4-5, 7, 10-
`11, 13, 16-17
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`Ording, Abiko, Crumlish, Dvorak, and Strom (Ex.
`1115)
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`6, 12, 18
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`Ording, Abiko, Crumlish, Dvorak, McPherson, and
`Strom
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`Submitted with this Petition is the Declaration of Sandeep Chatterjee, Ph.D.
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`(Ex. 1102) (“Chatterjee”), a qualified technical expert. (Chatterjee, ¶¶1-8, Ex. A.)
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,209,634 B2
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`C. Considerations Under § 325(d) and § 314(a)
`This Petition does not present a situation in which “the same or substantially
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`the same prior art or arguments previously were presented to the Office.” 35 U.S.C.
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`§ 325(d). None of the prior art references cited in Grounds 1-4 above was cited
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`during prosecution of the ’634 patent.
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`Petitioner is also unaware of any basis under § 314(a) for the Board to decline
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`to consider this Petition. Petitioner did file IPR2019-00924 against the ’634 patent
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`on the same day as the present Petition. Because the two petitions were effectively
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`filed simultaneously, this Petition does not implicate concerns about successive
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`petitions under the General Plastic factors. Petitioner filed separate IPR petitions
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`so the asserted grounds of patentability could be presented in a more thorough
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`manner, thus reducing the burden on the Board in evaluating them. Petitioner
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`determined that condensing those grounds into a single IPR petition within the word
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`limits, while possible, would have resulted in a reduction in the thoroughness of
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`analysis.
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`The present Petition is not cumulative or redundant of IPR2019-00924. Both
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`petitions cite Ording (Ex. 1103), McPherson (Ex. 1112), and Strom (Ex. 1115), but
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`the petitions do not overlap with respect to the central feature – the claimed numeric
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`character “representing a count of the plurality of different message correspondents
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`for which one or more of the electronic messages have been received and remain
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of
`U.S. Patent No. 8,209,634 B2
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`unread” – which was the sole reason given by the Examiner in allowing the
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`independent claims. (Ex. 1113 at 0826.) With respect to this feature, the two
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`petitions rely on entirely different prior art references. Because the two petitions are
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`not duplicative or redundant with respect to this key feature, Petitioner respectfully
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`requests that the Board fully consider both petitions.
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`IV. OVERVIEW OF THE ’634 PATENT
`A. Level of Ordinary Skill in the Art
`A person of ordinary skill in the art as of December 2003 (the date of the
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`earliest patent application for the ’634 patent) would have possessed at least a
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`bachelor’s degree in software engineering, computer science, computer engineering,
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`or electrical engineering with at least two years of experience in software application
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`development, including development of graphical applications on wireless devices,
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`such as development of associated user interface features and functionality (or
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`equivalent degree or experience). (Chatterjee, ¶¶12-15.)
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`B.
`Specification Overview
`The ’634 patent, entitled “Previewing a New Event on a Small Screen
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`Device,” states that it “relates generally to wireless communication devices, and
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`more particularly to graphical user interfaces for controlling such devices.” (’634,
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`1:12-14.) The patent acknowledges commercially available messaging systems,
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`such as AOL Instant Messenger and Microsoft Network (MSN), including their use
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`on wireless devices. (’634, 1:53-58.) The ’634 patent asserts the operation or use
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`of these systems could be improved. (’634, 1:60-67.)
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`The specification describes a mobile station (also referred to as a “wireless
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`communication device”) that provides a graphical user interface having “a main
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`screen and a plurality of sub-screens navigable from the main screen.” (’634, 7:28-
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`31.) Figure 3 provides an example of a main screen:
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`(’634, Fig. 3 (red box added).) The patent states that main screen 300 may display
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`icons for various software applications, such as icons 304, 306, and 308 for
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`respective IM applications IM 1, IM 2, and IM 3 (see red box). (’634, 7:36-44.)
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`The ’634 patent states that “an icon (e.g. 304) may be visually modified in
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`response to a new event from the application associated with the icon to provide an
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`immediate notification of the event via a change in main screen 300.” (’634, 7:59-
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`63.) For example, Figure 4 below depicts “an illustration of the main screen 300
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`after a new IM event, for example, a new message, has arrived into one of the IM
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`applications, namely IM 2, associated with icon 306.” (’634, 8:1-4.)
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`(’634, 8:4-8, Fig. 4 (red box and yellow highlighting added).) Main screen 300 in
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`Figure 4 includes a “visual modification 400 comprising a bubble, alluding to new
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`received text, and a numeric indicator ‘1’ representing a count of new events, which
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`in this case are unread messages.” (’634, 8:4-8.) The ’634 patent further states that
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`“a visual modification 400 different from a bubble may be used and the count may
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`represent other information, such as the number of correspondents or ‘buddies’ from
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`which one or more messages have been received but remain unread.” (’634, 8:8-13
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of
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`(underlining added)2.)
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`C. The Challenged Claims
`This Petition addresses claims 1, 4-7, 10-13, and 16-18 of the ’634 patent.
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`Independent claim 1 and dependent claims 4-6 are representative. The remaining
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`claims are substantially similar to claims 1 and 4-6.
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`V. CLAIM CONSTRUCTION
`A.
`“wireless communication device”
`In the pending litigation, Patent Owner argued that “wireless communication
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`device” refers to a “small-screen wireless mobile device.” (Ex. 1122, at p.5:20-
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`23.) Petitioner disagrees. On April 1, 2019, the district court issued a tentative claim
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`construction ruling on this issue, finding that the intrinsic record did not support the
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`Patent Owner’s position. (Ex. 1123, pp.19-21.)3 Petitioner respectfully requests that
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`the Board, to the extent it deems a construction necessary, decline to construe this
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`term as suggested by Patent Owner. But in the event the Board adopts Patent
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`2 Unless noted otherwise, all emphasis has been added by Petitioner.
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`3 As noted in Part I, the district court’s final ruling on claim construction was not
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`available as of the filing of this Petition. Petitioner will provide the Board a copy of
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`that ruling when it becomes available.
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of
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`Owner’s narrow proposal, the analysis in Part VI accounts for it and demonstrates
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`why the claims would still be obvious over the prior art.
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`The term “wireless communication device” simply refers to a device that can
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`communicate without wires. (Chatterjee, ¶31.) Nothing in its plain meaning
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`imposes a restriction on form factor or screen size. (Id., ¶¶28, 31.)
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`The specification further confirms that “wireless communication device” is
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`not limited to a small screen device. It explains that the “mobile station” on which
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`the alleged invention is carried out can include any wireless computing device
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`without regard to screen size – including “a computer or other device connected to
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`a wireless modem,” “a laptop computer,” among others. (’634, 4:55-5:9; Chatterjee,
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`¶¶30-31; Ex. 1123, p.20.)
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`The prosecution history further confirms that a “wireless communication
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`device” is not restricted to a small screen device. On January 28, 2008, the
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`applicants amended claim 21 to recite (with amendments shown in underlining): “A
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`method for providing notifications of new events on a wireless communication
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`device having a small display…” (Ex. 1113 at 0152.) The preamble of claim 1,
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`for example, was amended as follows:
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of
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`(Id. (yellow highlighting added).) The applicants stressed the “small display”
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`
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`limitation in overcoming prior art. (Ex. 1113 at 0157.)
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`But later in the prosecution on July 28, 2010, the applicants canceled all their
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`previous claims (including claim 21 above), and proposed a series of new claims that
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`would ultimately become the issued claims. (Ex. 1113 at 0418.) None of the newly-
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`proposed claims – or any of the issued claims – recited a wireless communication
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`device “having a small display,” or similar limitation. (Id.) Moreover, as the
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`district court observed, applicants’ subsequent arguments did not effect a disclaimer
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`with respect to the claimed wireless communication device. (Ex. 1123, at p.21;
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`Chatterjee, ¶35.) The prosecution history thus does not support limiting a “wireless
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`communication device” to a small-screen device. (Chatterjee, ¶¶32-36.)
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`B.
` “messaging correspondent”
`In the pending litigation, Petitioner and Patent Owner have proposed different
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`constructions for this term; Petitioner has proposed that “messaging correspondent”
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review of
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`refers to a “distinct sender associated with an electronic messaging account,” while
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`Patent Owner proposed a “distinct sender of an electronic message to the user of the
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`wireless communication device.” (Ex. 1122, at p.5:24-27.) On April 1, 2019, the
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`district court tentatively concluded that the term refers to a “distinct sender of an
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`electronic message.” (Ex. 1123, pp.22-24.)
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`Petitioner identifies the dispute relating to “messaging correspondent” for
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`completeness, but with respect to the specific prior art addressed here, the
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`differences in the constructions are not material. The same disclosures in the prior
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`art upon which this Petition relies disclose the claimed messaging correspondents
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`under any of the articulated constructions (or any other reasonable construction of
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`“messaging correspondent”). (Chatterjee, ¶38.)
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`C.
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`“a numeric character representing a count of the plurality of
`different message correspondents for which one or more of the
`electronic messages have been received and remain unread”
`In the pending litigation, Patent Owner proposed that this phrase be given its
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`plain and ordinary meaning. Petitioner has argued that it means “a number that
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`enables the user to track the number of correspondents from whom the user has
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`received unread messages.” The district court tentatively construed this phrase as
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`“a numeric character representing the number of different messaging correspondents
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`for one or more of the plurality of electronic messages that have been received and
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`remain unread.” (Ex. 1123, pp.24-26.)
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`As with “messaging correspondent,” Petitioner has notified the Board of this
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`issue in the interest of completeness, but respectfully submits that the Board need
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`not construe this phrase at this time. The construction of this phrase has relevance
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`to other issues in the pending litigation but will not affect how the specific prior art
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`references here apply to the challenged claims.
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`VI. THE CHALLENGED CLAIMS ARE UNPATENTABLE
`A. Overview of the Grounds of Unpatentability
`The ’634 patent attempts to lay claim over the well-known user interface
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`technique of placing a numeric character over the icon for a messaging application
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`to provide information about new (or unread) messages. The sole reason the
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`Examiner gave for allowing the claims over the prior art was the fact that the claimed
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`“numeric character” identifies the number of messaging correspondents (i.e. distinct
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`senders) who have sent unread messages. (Ex. 1113 at 0826.) But counting the
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`number of distinct senders was also known and disclosed by Abiko (Ex. 1109).
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`All four grounds rely on Ording (Ex. 1103), which discloses the familiar user
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`interface technique of displaying an icon for a messaging application with a numeric
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`character reflecting a number of unread messages. Because Ording does not disclose
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`a numeric character representing the number of distinct senders who sent unread
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`messages, Ground 1 cites Abiko (Ex. 1109) which discloses this feature and renders
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`it obvious in view of Crumlish (Ex. 1110) and Dvorak (Ex. 1111). Ground 1
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`establishes that it would have been obvious to adapt the numeric character in Ording
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`to display, instead of or in addition to the number of unread messages, the number
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`of distinct senders who sent unread messages.
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`Ground 2 addresses three dependent claims that further require a “preview”
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`of content associated with an electronic message, for which it cites McPherson (Ex.
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`1112). Grounds 3-4 mirror Grounds 1-2 but add Strom (Ex. 1115) to account for
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`Patent Owner’s narrow construction of “wireless communication device,” which the
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`district court has tentatively rejected as explained in Part V.
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`B.
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`Summary and Date Qualification of the Prior Art
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`Prior Art for Ground 1
`(a) Ording [Ex. 1103]
`Ording, entitled “User Interface for Providing Consolidation and Access,”
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`discloses a user interface tool for displaying a collection of tiles about frequently
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`used items. (Ording, Ex. 1103, Abstract.) Ording qualifies as prior art under §102(e)
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`because it issued from a patent application filed on December 20, 1999.
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`Anyone who has used an Apple Macintosh computer might recognize Ording
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`(which names Steve Jobs as a co-inventor) as describing the icon dock that has
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`prominently adorned the bottom of Macintosh computer screens for almost two
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`decades. Ording refers to its user interface tool as “userbar” 600 and, and Figure 6
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`provides an example shown on the bottom of the screen:
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`(Ording, Fig. 6.) Ording explains that the userbar 600 may contain frequently used
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`or favorite items, such as an application program. (Ording, 7:32-37.) Ording
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`explains that a tile in the userbar 600 can contain an icon corresponding to an
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`application frequently used by the user:
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`Applications can be presented on the userbar 600 by, for example, one
`of two methods. First, the application’s icon can be added to the
`userbar 600 as a permanent fixture, e.g., for most frequently launched
`applications. Alternatively, the application may not be a permanent
`fixture of the userbar 600, but may be added thereto because it is
`currently running.
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`(Ording, 7:47-52.) In fact, Ording specifically suggests permanently adding “e-mail
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`applications” to the userbar 600. (Ording, 8:64-67.)
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`Ording further explains that the application icons in the userbar 600 can
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`present numeric characters based on events occurring in the associated program.
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`With respect to an e-mail application, Ording explains:
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`Applications can also supply additional tile images to be substituted for,
`or composited on, the running application’s tile in the userbar 600. For
`example, an e-mail application’s tile can present the number of new
`messages, superimposed over the application’s icon.
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`(Ording, 9:19-23.) Ording confirms that such a number can be visually updated to
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`reflect the current number of new messages in a user’s in-box:
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`An application can update its status on the userbar 600, resulting in a
`change in the appearance or behavior of its representative tile. For
`example, a tile representing an e-mail application that is resident on the
`userbar 600 can be overlaid with a number representing the number of
`new messages in a user’s inbox. This number can be updated and
`changed to reflect changes in the status of the in-box, e.g, increasing as
`new messages are received in the inbox or decreasing after the user
`reviews his or her messages.
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`(Ording, 13:12-21.)
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`This Petition relies on Ording for the user interface aspects of the challenged
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`claims relating to the claimed “icon relating to electronic messaging,” i.e.,
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`“displaying at least one icon relating to electronic messaging on a graphical user
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`interface,” “visually modifying at least one displayed icon relating to electronic
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`messaging,” etc., as discussed further below. Ording does not expressly disclose
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`that the icon includes a number representing a count of the plurality of different
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`messaging correspondents who sent new messages – the number in Ording instead
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`represents the number of new messages. But this additional feature is rendered
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`obvious by Ording in combination with other prior art discussed below.
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`(b) Abiko [Ex. 1109]
`Abiko, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0142758 A1, entitled
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`“Message Communication Device,” discloses techniques for organizing electronic
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`messages for display on a communication device such as a mobile telephone.
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`(Abiko, Abstract.) Abiko qualifies as prior art under §102(b) because it published
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`on October 3, 2002, more than one year before the ’634 patent priority date.
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`Abiko discloses a technique for organizing and presenting incoming messages
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`on a mobile phone based on the senders of those messages. Abiko explains that “[i]n
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`the conventional mobile telephone, all received mail messages are stored in a folder
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`created beforehand (the received message folder).” (Id.) “With the conventional
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`mobile telephone, however, a user who wishes, for example, to create a list of all
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`received mail messages from a particular sender must search through numerous
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`messages one by one by means of a manual input operation.” (Id., ¶0005.) Abiko
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`addresses this issue by grouping and presenting received e-mail messages based on
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`their respective senders. (Id., ¶¶0006-0008, Figs 4, 7 & 10.)
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`Abiko explains that in order to organize received messages by s