`
`Entered: April 13, 2023
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`_______________________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`_______________________
`
`UNIFIED PATENTS, LLC
`Petitioner,
`
`- vs. -
`
`MEMORYWEB, LLC
`Patent Owner.
`______________________
`Case IPR2021-01413
`U.S. Patent 10,621,228
`______________________
`
`PETITIONER’S REQUEST FOR
`DIRECTOR REVIEW OF FINAL WRITTEN DECISION
`
`REDACTED VERSION
`
`UNIFIED PATENTS EXHIBIT 1045
`UNIFIED PATENTS, LLC v. MEMORY WEB, LLC
`IPR2021-01413
`Page 1 of 24
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`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
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`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`B.
`
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES .................................................................................... ii
`I.
`INITIAL PROCEDURAL MATTER ............................................................. 1
`II.
`SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT .............................................................. 1
`III. ARGUMENT ................................................................................................... 2
`A.
`The panel decided the RPI issue in the wrong proceeding,
`misallocated the burden and unfairly prejudiced later petitioners ........ 2
`Samsung and Apple are not RPIs .......................................................... 4
`1.
`Unified did not file this IPR at the behest of, or on behalf
`of, Apple or Samsung IPR .......................................................... 7
`Unified’s business model deters future NPEs from
`obtaining bad patents and asserting them (RPX factors a-
`d) ................................................................................................. 9
`Apple and Samsung did not desire, or benefit from,
`Unified’s IPR (RPX factors e-g) ............................................... 14
`IV. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 15
`
`2.
`
`3.
`
`i
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`REDACTED VERSION
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`UNIFIED PATENTS EXHIBIT 1045
`UNIFIED PATENTS, LLC v. MEMORY WEB, LLC
`IPR2021-01413
`Page 2 of 24
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`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
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`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
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`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`
`CASES
`SUPREME COURT
`
` Page(s)
`
`1.
`
`2.
`
`3.
`
`4.
`
`5.
`
`6.
`
`7.
`
`
`
`8.
`
`Taylor v. Sturgell,
`553 U.S. 880 (2008)..................................................................................... 3, 5
`
`CIRCUIT COURTS
`Applications in Internet Time, LLC v. RPX Corp. (“AIT”),
`897 F.3d 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2018) ..................................................... 6, 10, 11, 14
`
`Everport Terminal Services, Inc. v. NLRB,
`47 F.4th 782 (D.C. Cir. 2022) .......................................................................... 8
`
`Ironburg Inventions Ltd. v. Valve Corp.,
`-- F.4th ----, 2023 WL 2749199 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 3, 2023) ............................... 3
`
`Uniloc 2017 LLC v. Facebook Inc.,
`989 F.3d 1018 (Fed. Cir. 2021) ............................................................. 5, 7, 14
`
`Vicor Corp. v. SynQor, Inc.,
`869 F. 3d 1309 (Fed. Cir. 2017) ...................................................................... 2
`
`PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`PTAB — General
`RPX Corp. v. Applications in Internet Time, LLC,
`IPR2015-01750, Paper 128 (Oct. 2, 2020) (precedential)
`(“RPX”) ...................................................................................... 6-8, 10, 14, 15
`
`Samsung Elecs. Co., Ltd. v. Netlist, Inc.,
`IPR2022-00615, Paper 40 (Feb. 3, 2022) (precedential)
`(“Netlist”) ......................................................................................................... 4
`
`ii
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`UNIFIED PATENTS EXHIBIT 1045
`UNIFIED PATENTS, LLC v. MEMORY WEB, LLC
`IPR2021-01413
`Page 3 of 24
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`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
`9.
`SharkNinja Operating LLC v. iRobot Corp.,
`IPR2020-00734, Paper 11 (Oct. 6, 2020) (precedential)
`(“SharkNinja”) ............................................................................................. 1-4
`
`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
`
`
`
`10.
`
`11.
`
`
`
`Streck, Inc. v. Ravgen, Inc.,
`IPR2021-01577, Paper 20 (Apr. 22, 2022)
`“Streck” .......................................................................................................... 14
`
`Ventex Co., Ltd. v. Columbia Sportswear N. Am., Inc.,
`IPR2017-00651, Paper 148 (Jan. 24, 2019) (precedential)
`(“Ventex”) .................................................................................................... 5, 6
`
`PTAB — Unified Patents
`12. Unified Patents, LLC v. American Patents, LLC,
`IPR2019-00482, Paper 36 (DI, Aug. 6, 2019)
`Paper 104 (FWD, Jul. 13, 2020)
`Papers 115, 132 (public FWD) POP Request denied, Paper 121 (Oc.
`26, 2020) reh’g denied, Paper 122 (Dec. 4, 2022)
`aff’d, No. 2021-1635, (Fed. Cir. Mar. 10 2022) (RPI briefed)
`(“American”) .......................................................................................... 5, 9, 12
`
`
`
`13. Unified Patents, LLC v. Arigna Technology Ltd.,
`IPR2022-00285, Paper 10 (DI, Jun. 17, 2022)
`(“Arigna”) ........................................................................................................ 5
`
`
`
`14. Unified Patents, LLC v. American Vehicular Sciences LLC,
`IPR2016-00364, Paper 13 (DI, Jun. 27, 2016)
`(“AVS”) ............................................................................................................ 5
`
`
`
`15. Unified Patents Inc. v. Barkan Wireless IP Holdings, LP,
`IPR2018-01186, Paper 24 (DI, Dec. 7, 2018), Paper 27 (Public
`DI), Paper 56 (FWD, Dec. 4, 2019), Paper 57 (Public FWD)
`aff’d 838 Fed.Appx. 565 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 2, 2021) (RPI briefed)
`(“Barkan”) ....................................................................................... 5, 9, 14, 15
`
`
`
`16. Unified Patents Inc. v. Bradium Technologies LLC,
`IPR2018-00952, Paper 31 (DI, Dec. 20, 2018),
`Paper 60 (FWD, Dec. 19, 2019), Paper 68 (Public FWD)
`(“Bradium”) ..................................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`iii
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`REDACTED VERSION
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`UNIFIED PATENTS EXHIBIT 1045
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`IPR2021-01413
`Page 4 of 24
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`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
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`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
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`17. Unified Patents, LLC v. Carucel Investments,
`IPR2019-01079, Paper 9 (DI, Nov. 12, 2019)
`(“Carucel”) ...................................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`18. Unified Patents Inc. v. Cellular Communications Equipment, LLC,
`IPR2018-00091, Paper 33 (FWD, May 22, 2019),
`EX1039 (Public FWD)
`(“CCE”) ................................................................................................. 5, 8, 13
`
`
`
`19. Unified Patents Inc. v. Clouding IP, LLC,
`IPR2013-00586, Paper 9 (DI, Mar. 21, 2014)
`(“Clouding”) .................................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`20. Unified Patents Inc. v. Digital Stream IP,
`IPR2016-01749, Paper 22 (FWD, Mar. 9, 2018),
`(“Digital Stream”) ........................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`21. Unified Patents Inc. v. Dragon Intellectual Property, LLC,
`IPR2014-01252, Paper 37 (DI, Feb. 12, 2015),
`(“Dragon”) ....................................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`22. Unified Patents, LLC v. Engle Grange, LLC
`IPR2020-01334, Paper 37 (FWD, Jan. 19, 2022)
`aff’d, No. 2022-1524 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 4, 2023) (RPI not briefed)
`(“Engle Grange”) ......................................................................................... 2-3
`
`23. Unified Patents, LLC v. Fat Statz, LLC,
`IPR2020-01665, Paper 51 (Public FWD, Apr. 4, 2022)
`(“Fat Statz”) ............................................................................................. 2-3, 5
`
`
`
`24. Unified Patents Inc. v. Hall Data Sync Tech,
`IPR2015-00874, Paper 11 (DI, Sep. 17, 2015),
`(“Hall Data”) ................................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`25. Unified Patents Inc. v. iMTX Strategic, LLC,
`IPR2015-01061, Paper 9 (DI Oct. 15, 2015)
`(“iMTX”) .......................................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`iv
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`IPR2021-01413
`Page 5 of 24
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`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
`26. Unified Patents, LLC v. Intellectual Ventures II, LLC,
`IPR2022-00429, Paper 12 (DI, Aug. 11, 2022)
`(“IVII”) ....................................................................................................... 5, 13
`
`
`
`27. Unified Patents Inc. v. Mobility Workx, LLC,
`IPR2018-01150, Paper 9 (DI, Dec. 3, 2018)
`aff’d, No. 2020-1441 (Fed. Cir. Jul. 14, 2022) (RPI not briefed)
`(“Mobility Workx”) .......................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`28. Unified Patents Inc. v. MONKEYMedia, Inc.,
`IPR2018-00059, Paper 15 (DI, Apr. 16, 2018)
`(“MONKEYMedia”) ......................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`29. Unified Patents Inc. v. MV3Partners, LLC,
`IPR2019-00474, Paper 9 (DI, Jul. 16, 2019)
`(“MV3”) ........................................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`30. Unified Patents Inc. v. Nonend Inventions N.V.,
`IPR2016-00174, Paper 10 (DI, May 12, 2016),
`(“Nonend”) ....................................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`31. Unified Patents Inc. v. Plectrum LLC,
`IPR2017-01430, Paper 8 (DI, Nov. 14, 2017),
`Paper 30 (FWD, Nov. 13, 2018)
`(“Plectrum”) .................................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`32. Unified Patents, LLC v. Qurio Holdings, Inc,
`IPR2015-01940, Paper 7 (DI, Apr. 13, 2016)
`(“Qurio”) .......................................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`33. Unified Patents Inc. v. Realtime Adaptive Streaming, LLC,
`IPR2018-00883, Paper 29 (DI, Oct. 11, 2018),
`Paper 36 (Public DI)
`(“Realtime”) ..................................................................................... 5, 9, 12, 13
`
`
`
`34. Unified Patents Inc. v. Uniloc USA, Inc.,
`IPR2018-00199, Paper 33 (FWD, May 31, 2019),
`Paper 41 (Public FWD)
`(“Uniloc-00199”) ............................................................................................. 5
`
`
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`v
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`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
`35. Unified Patents, LLC v. Uniloc 2017 LLC,
`IPR2019-00453, Paper 38 (FWD, Jul. 22, 2020)
`(“Uniloc-00453”) ............................................................................................. 5
`
`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
`
`
`
`36. Unified Patents Inc. v. Uniloc 2017 LLC,
`IPR2017-02148, Paper 9 (DI, Apr. 17, 2018),
`Paper 74 (FWD, Apr. 11, 2019), Paper 82 (Public FWD),
`reh’g denied, Paper 91 (Jul. 17, 2019)
`(“Uniloc-02148”) ............................................................................. 5, 9, 12, 13
`
`
`
`37. Unified Patents Inc. v. Universal Secure Registry LLC,
`IPR2018-00067, Paper 54 (FWD, May 1, 2019),
`Paper 59 (Public FWD)
`(“USR”) ............................................................................................................ 5
`
`
`
`38. Unified Patents, LLC v. Velos Media, LLC,
`IPR2019-00707, Paper 55 (FWD, Sep. 3, 2020)
`(“Velos”) .......................................................................................................... 5
`
`
`
`RULES AND REGULATIONS
`Fed. R. Civ. P. 34 ....................................................................................................... 4
`37 C.F.R. § 42.20(c) ................................................................................................... 3
`37 C.F.R. § 42.51 ....................................................................................................... 4
`37 C.F.R. § 42.52 ....................................................................................................... 4
`37 C.F.R. § 90.3(b) .................................................................................................... 1
`
`vi
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`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
`I.
`INITIAL PROCEDURAL MATTER
`Unified seeks Director Review or POP Review in the alternative. The panel
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`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
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`addressed the RPI issue in a separate order (Paper 56, “Order”), and revisited RPI in
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`the final decision (Paper 58, “Decision,” 3-5). Unified therefore timely requested
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`rehearing and POP Review of the Order (Papers 62, 63), and now timely requests
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`Director Review of the RPI portion of the Decision to ensure that Unified may obtain
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`judicial review of the RPI determination (if needed). In view of the tangled posture,
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`Unified asks the Director (or POP) to make clear that the time for appeal is tolled
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`under 37 C.F.R. § 90.3(b).
`
`II.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT
`Director review is appropriate for two reasons. First, the panel erred by
`
`addressing in this proceeding whether Apple and Samsung were RPIs as “a
`
`necessary precursor” to determining whether they would be estopped in a
`
`subsequent proceeding. Order, 6. Doing so in this IPR, with no bar or estoppel at
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`issue and without Apple and Samsung’s participation, violated their due process
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`rights, contravened this Board’s precedential SharkNinja decision, and created a
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`procedural morass.
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`Second, the panel is incorrect on the merits. It created a Board split because
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`all previous panels have determined that Unified is the sole RPI based on essentially
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`the same evidence. This panel came to the opposite conclusion than previous panels
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`1
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`because it failed to properly apply binding precedent. This decision is also arbitrary
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`and capricious because it lacks a reasoned explanation for arriving at the opposite
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`result. Vicor Corp. v. SynQor, Inc., 869 F.3d 1309, 1322-23 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (Board
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`must provide “rational explanation” for “reaching inconsistent conclusions in
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`similar, related cases”). Unified filed this IPR to deter future assertions of this and
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`other invalid patents. Unified did so of its own accord; it did not seek to extricate
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`anyone from litigation. It had no pre-filing communications with Apple or Samsung
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`regarding the ’228 patent or those parties’ litigations, and there is no rational reason
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`to suspect (or evidence to support a conclusion) that those parties wanted Unified to
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`file its petition challenging the ’228 patent—especially since they each filed their
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`own, with divergent arguments and different claims.
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`Accordingly, the Director should reverse, or at least vacate, the portion of the
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`Decision referencing the Order and the Order itself. Apple, Samsung, and other
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`future petitioners should not be prejudiced by this improper, incorrect determination.
`
`III. ARGUMENT
`A.
`The panel decided the RPI issue in the wrong proceeding,
`misallocated the burden and unfairly prejudiced later petitioners
`The Decision erred in reaching the RPI issue because there was no allegation
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`that any party would be “barred or estopped from this proceeding.” SharkNinja, 18-
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`20 (emphasis added). While “‘patent owners should not be forced to defend against
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`later judicial or administrative attacks on the same or related ground,’” SharkNinja
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`2
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`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
`deferred the RPI issue because that “[wa]s not the case before [the Board].” Id.; Fat
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`Statz, Paper 51, 6-9; Engle Grange, Paper 37, 4-7. Even if SharkNinja applies only
`
`at the institution stage, the Director should extend it to also apply post-institution to
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`avoid the wasteful and harmful results exhibited here.
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`Here, the panel erred by issuing a non-binding advisory opinion that
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`prejudices non-parties to this proceeding. Specifically, it prejudices Apple and
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`Samsung because it prejudged the RPI issue without their participation. After
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`applying SharkNinja at institution, the panel reached the RPI issue post-institution
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`despite the lack of any allegation that any party would be estopped in this IPR.
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`Decision 4-5. The panel cast aside SharkNinja but did not give Apple or Samsung,
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`the parties it seeks to estop, any opportunity to participate. Even worse, this process
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`wrongfully shifted the burden of proof. Rather than properly litigating the RPI and
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`estoppel issues in the other IPRs, MemoryWeb litigated it where it would have no
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`effect. Now MemoryWeb seeks to bind Apple and Samsung with the decision in this
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`case, estopping Apple and Samsung in their later-filed IPRs (which are themselves
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`past oral argument). MemoryWeb (as the movant seeking to terminate) bears the
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`burden in each case of showing that Apple/Samsung is an RPI. 37 C.F.R. § 42.20(c)
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`(movant bears the burden); Taylor v. Sturgell, 553 U.S. 880, 906-907 (2008) (burden
`
`lies with party asserting “nonparty preclusion”); Ironburg Inventions Ltd. v. Valve
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`Corp., -- F.4th ----, 2023 WL 2749199 at *14 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 3, 2023) (citing cases).
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`3
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`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
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`MemoryWeb’s strategy of litigating RPI here, where no estoppel can take effect,
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`saddles Unified with the burden of proving a negative. SharkNinja should have
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`precluded such tactics, which created a procedural morass that is still unfolding. As
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`it discussed during its March 31, 2023 conference call with the parties to all three
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`IPRs, the panel is considering whether to circumvent the Board’s discovery rules by
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`issuing an unprecedented protective order granting non-parties Apple and Samsung
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`permission to “inspect” Unified’s protected Attorneys’ Eyes Only information. But
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`permitting “inspection” is document production (e.g., Fed. R. Civ. P. 34), and
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`Apple/Samsung have not moved for discovery from Unified. MemoryWeb should
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`have properly raised this issue where it matters—the Apple and Samsung IPRs—
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`and properly obtained discovery from Apple and Samsung (e.g., membership
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`agreements, communications) under 37 C.F.R. § 42.51; Netlist, 4-5 (Director Vidal
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`granting RPI discovery post-institution). And to the extent the parties needed
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`information solely in Unified’s possession, they could have sought it via 37 C.F.R.
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`§ 42.52. That MemoryWeb chose not to pursue the correct path is no reason to throw
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`the discovery rules out the window.
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`Samsung and Apple are not RPIs
`B.
`This panel got it wrong: Unified is the sole RPI of this proceeding. The Board
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`has issued over two dozen RPI decisions involving Unified and its members and—
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`until now—it has always arrived at the same correct result on effectively the same
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`4
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`facts: Unified is the sole RPI. See Table of Authorities (TOA), supra, Case Nos. 12-
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`21, 23-38. Nothing material has changed, and this panel would have arrived at the
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`correct result, too, had it followed binding precedent. It did not and as a result has
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`created a split in the Board not only in its conclusion but also in its flawed analysis
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`of the RPX factors.
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`The Order purportedly applied the RPX factors (Order, 20 n.7), but did so
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`incorrectly and without applying all of the facts of record. This panel failed to heed
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`the Federal Circuit’s instructions that the “heart of the inquiry focuse[s] on whether
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`a petition has been filed at a party’s behest,” and a “key consideration of the RPI
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`analysis is control.” Uniloc 2017 LLC v. Facebook Inc., 989 F.3d 1018, 1028 (Fed.
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`Cir. 2021) (cleaned up). There was no evidence of any overt or hidden control here.
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` The case-specific RPI analysis demands a “constrained approach to non-
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`party preclusion.” Taylor, 553 U.S. at 899 (emphasis added). The Board’s
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`precedential Ventex decision provides an example of the required constraint sorely
`
`lacking from the panel’s opinion. In particular, the Board “must be cautious not to
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`overextend the reasoning set forth in AIT,” as this panel did, “to any situation where
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`‘a party benefits generally from the filing of a Petition and also has a relationship
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`with the Petitioner.’” Ventex at 10 (quoting Unified case Realtime at 14-15); see also
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`Taylor, 553 U.S. at 901 (“identity of interests and some kind of relationship” is
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`insufficient).
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`5
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`The Board “must” also “ask who, from a practical and equitable standpoint,
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`will benefit from” the IPR-at-issue. RPX, 8 (quoting AIT, 897 F.3d at 1349). There
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`is no evidence that Apple and Samsung obtained any meaningful benefit from
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`Unified’s IPR, other than the same diffuse benefits provided by Unified’s deterrence
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`efforts that are also enjoyed by anyone that participates in the relevant technology
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`zone. The panel was also required to determine “whether [Unified] can be said to be
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`representing [Apple/Samsung’s] interest after examining its relationship with
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`[them].” Id. (quoting AIT, 897 F.3d at 1353 and citing Ventex at 8). Again, there is
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`no evidence that Unified represented anyone’s interests beyond a general interest in
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`deterring assertions of invalid patents.
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`At bottom, this panel—unlike all that came before it—concluded that other
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`parties are RPIs to Unified’s IPR without any different evidence that could justify
`
`its different result. To the contrary, the Board acknowledged the same key facts that
`
`that have always correctly supported a finding that Unified is the only RPI: Unified
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`did not communicate with Apple and Samsung about the ’228 patent or their
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`litigations before filing the IPR (Order, 22-24, 26-27); Apple/Samsung “may not,”
`
`and did not, “decide which patents Unified challenges” (Order, 30); Unified’s
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`business model is not, like RPX’s, to extricate clients from existing litigations—
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`Unified instead seeks to “deter [NPEs] who assert bad patents” and “to reduce NPE
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`activity” in technology zones. Order, 21. This panel arrived at the opposite
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`6
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`conclusion of the many panels that came before by failing to follow the law and
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`misinterpreting evidence in ways that no panel has done before.
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`1.
`
`Unified did not file this IPR at the behest of, or on behalf of,
`Apple or Samsung IPR
`The “heart of the [RPI] inquiry focuse[s] on whether a petition has been filed
`
`at a party’s behest.” Facebook, 989 F.3d at 1027-28 (internal quotations omitted).
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`And here, Unified did not file its IPR at anyone’s behest or on behalf of anyone. The
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`panel should have agreed with the panels that came before it. The panel
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`acknowledged that Unified had no pre-filing discussions regarding the ’228 patent
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`or MemoryWeb’s litigation with Apple or Samsung (Order, 22-24), there were no
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`meetings or any opportunity for direction or control over this IPR (Order, 26-27),
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`and no Unified members, including Apple and Samsung, “decide which patents
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`Unified challenges.” Order, 30, 22-24, 26-27.
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`In stark contrast, RPX regularly and frequently communicated with Salesforce
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`regarding the challenged patents, failed CBMs, and “effectively act[ed] as if
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`Salesforce had requested” RPX to file its three IPRs to “extricate” Salesforce from
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`its litigation with AIT. RPX, 26, 33-34
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`Searching for some evidence of control to support its RPI conclusion, the
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`panel cherry-picked an inapplicable
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` in
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` decade-old
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`providing for an
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` and from that
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` alone, sua sponte
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`concluded that there is an
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`UNIFIED PATENTS EXHIBIT 1045
`UNIFIED PATENTS, LLC v. MEMORY WEB, LLC
`IPR2021-01413
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`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
` and its members in the form of an
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`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
` Order, 24-
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`26. But it is undisputed that this
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` never existed. EX1023, ¶19 n.1.
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` and, as a previous Board panel noted, the
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` was
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` CCE, Paper 33, 14-15. Even worse, the panel found
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`that this
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` tended to show that Apple/Samsung are RPIs without any
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`evidence of the non-existent
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`control of Unified’s IPR. This contradicts
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`RPX, where the Board found that the existence of an actual common board member
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`was a neutral fact because there was no evidence of control by the board member.
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`RPX, 28-29.
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`The panel wrongly concluded that the lack of communications—Unified’s
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`attempt to carefully follow the law—indicated that Unified engaged in “a willful
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`blindness strategy[.]” Order, 28 (quoting RPX, 17-20). “The Board neither
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`acknowledged nor explained this apparent Catch-22, which is a telltale sign of
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`arbitrary and capricious agency action.” Everport Terminal Services, Inc. v. NLRB,
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`47 F.4th 782, 794 (D.C. Cir. 2022). Indeed, the Board did not even find that RPX
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`was willfully blind, despite the egregious facts of that case. RPX, 34-35. Rather, the
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`Board found that RPX was merely complying with the wrong law, namely VirnetX’s
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`“unduly restrictive” test for RPI. Id. In contrast, Unified meets and exceeds the
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`correct legal requirements to avoid even the appearance of an RPX-like situation.
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`UNIFIED PATENTS EXHIBIT 1045
`UNIFIED PATENTS, LLC v. MEMORY WEB, LLC
`IPR2021-01413
`Page 15 of 24
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`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
`Unified, inter alia, forbids pre-filing communications with its members about any
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`of its plans or their desires regarding filing challenges. Reply, 25-27, 33. Indeed, the
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`only communications regarding this IPR were post-filing transmissions of public
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`information sent to all members and the public, including an email that was received
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`even by MemoryWeb, and the same public information was posted on Unified’s
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`website and broadcast via social media. Compare EX1026/2014 (email received by
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`all subscribers, including MemoryWeb) and EX1027 with EX1028 and 1029 (email
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`sent to large members); Reply, 30 (citing EX2036, 55:2-56:5, explaining why
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`separate mailing lists exist); EX1021 (public blog post); EX1023 ¶17.
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`In sum, this panel should have—like many panels before it—found that
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`Unified’s lack of any pre-filing communications, the lack of any overt or covert
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`control, and innocuous post-filing communications all indicated that Unified is the
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`only RPI of this IPR. E.g., American, Paper 115, 47-49; Barkan, Paper 57, 10-12, IV
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`II, Paper 12, 7-11; Uniloc-02148, Paper 82, 20-23; Realtime, Paper 37, 14-17. Not
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`doing so has created a panel split regarding how to apply at least RPX factors c, d,
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`h, and i as well as willful blindness.
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`2.
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`Unified’s business model deters future NPEs from obtaining
`bad patents and asserting them (RPX factors a-d)
`The panel acknowledged that “[t]he evidence [] shows that Unified seeks to
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`‘deter [NPEs] who assert bad patents (aka Patent Trolls)’” and “‘benefits’ [] its
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`member companies by ‘working to reduce NPE activity through monitoring … and
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`UNIFIED PATENTS EXHIBIT 1045
`UNIFIED PATENTS, LLC v. MEMORY WEB, LLC
`IPR2021-01413
`Page 16 of 24
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`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
`USPTO challenges.’” Order, 21 (quoting EX2017 at 1). Mr. Jakel further explained
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`in unrebutted testimony exactly how Unified decides to take deterrence action.
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`Unified
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`38:19-39:19. Next, Unified
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`Unified
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` EX2036,
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` Id., 39:20-40:7. Ultimately,
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` Id., 40:7-41:16. Finally, such action can
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`take many forms solely at Unified’s discretion, including publishing prior art, reissue
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`protests, ex parte reexaminations, and inter partes reviews. Reply, 28-29 (citing
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`EX1024, 4.2, EX1025, 3.2.).
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` Unified stands in stark contrast to RPX, which decided to file IPRs based on
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`factors that “benefit specific clients,” e.g., “the number of patents asserted in the
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`campaign” and “the number of RPX clients…in suit.” AIT, 897 F.3d at 1352 (italics
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`in original). In contrast, Unified’s factors focus on the zones and the patents
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`themselves.
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`Further, RPX advertised that it helps its clients “quickly and cost-effectively
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`extricate themselves from [NPE] lawsuits …, acquire a license to the litigated patent
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`and selectively clear our clients from the suit.” RPX, 14 (internal quotations omitted,
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`original emphases). The Board therefore concluded that RPX “exists in part to file
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`UNIFIED PATENTS EXHIBIT 1045
`UNIFIED PATENTS, LLC v. MEMORY WEB, LLC
`IPR2021-01413
`Page 17 of 24
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`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
`IPR petitions” to extricate its clients from existing lawsuits, and this “is indicative
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`of an RPI relationship” with Salesforce. Id., 26.
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`In contrast, Unified advertises deterrence, not extrication from existing
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`litigation. Seeking to draw a parallel to RPX, the panel pointed to a decade-old
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`version of Unified’s website stating that there is “complete alignment between
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`Unified Patents and its member companies.” Order, 21 (citing EX2016); see AIT,
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`897 F.3d at 1357 (RPX advertised that “its interests are 100% aligned with those of
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`its clients”). But even Unified’s old website shows that Unified and its members are
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`“aligned” in a completely different manner—they seek future deterrence in
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`technology zones, as Mr. Jakel explained above, not extrication from an existing
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`suit. EX2016 (“deterring NPEs from encroaching on a [zone] in the first place” to
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`provide “greater freedom to operate”). Unified further explained in its current
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`website that, “Unified exists to break the cycle of [invalid] patent assertion.”
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`EX2018, 2-3; see also EX2019, 1 (“Unified is a deterrence entity that seeks to deter
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`the assertion of poor quality patents in certain technology zones.”).
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`The panel also misleadingly cites Mr. Jakel’s testimony as showing that
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`Unified chose to challenge the ’228 patent “precisely because” it was asserted
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`against Samsung and Apple in particular. Order, 28, 31 (citing EX2036, 62:19-
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`63:10, 99:16-101:14). Not so. Mr. Jakel merely testified that
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`UNIFIED PATENTS EXHIBIT 1045
`UNIFIED PATENTS, LLC v. MEMORY WEB, LLC
`IPR2021-01413
`Page 18 of 24
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`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
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`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
` EX2036, 62:19-63:10. As already explained,
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`Unified
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` Id. 39:10-
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`15. Samsung was the tripwire in this case only because MemoryWeb sued them first.
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`The panel assigned significant importance to
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`, e.g., Order 23-24), and they demonstrate the same thing—
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`. EX2033, 18-38.
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`. EX2033, 18-38.
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`it would be odd if they did not show up at all. EX2036, 117:20-118:1
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`. The panel arbitrarily brushed off this evidence with a conclusory
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`statement that it does not “detract from [its] finding” that Unified challenges patents
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`because they are asserted against its members in particular. Order, 31. No evidence
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`supports the panel’s unreasoned conclusion. And yet again, previous panels have
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`uniformly and correctly concluded that a sued party merely receives the same diffuse
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`deterrence benefit enjoyed by others in its zone—there are no “specific benefits …
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`in return for its membership payments.” Realtime, Paper 36, 18; American Patents,
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`Paper 115, 48-49; Uniloc-02148, Paper 82, 21-22.
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`UNIFIED PATENTS EXHIBIT 1045
`UNIFIED PATENTS, LLC v. MEMORY WEB, LLC
`IPR2021-01413
`Page 19 of 24
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`Pet’r Req. for Dir. Review
`IPR2021-01413 (U.S. 10,621,228)
`The panel also stated that “it is not credible to suggest that Apple and Samsung
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`do not expect Unified to file petitions for IPRs against patents they are accused of
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`infringing” in exchange for their membership dues. Order, 30 (citing nothing but
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`dues amount at EX2036, 75:7-10, 89:16-20). The panel’s analysis is legally flawed
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`and ignores the record. The issue is whether Apple/Samsung expected Unified to file
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`an IPR challenging the ’228 patent, like