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`Filed: November 17, 2023
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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`__________________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`__________________
`
`META PLATFORMS, INC.
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`ANGEL TECHNOLOGIES GROUP LLC,
`Patent Owner.
`__________________
`Case No. IPR2023-00059
`U.S. Patent No. 10,417,275
`__________________
`
`DECLARATION OF DR. BENJAMIN B. BEDERSON
` IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER’S REPLY
`
`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group
`LLC IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Cover
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`
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`I.
`
`II.
`
`INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 1
`
`GROUND 1: SHAPE IN VIEW OF EINTRACHT AND
`FOTOFILE RENDERS OBVIOUS CLAIMS 1-12 ......................... 3
`
`A.
`
`B.
`
`C.
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`D.
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`A POSA Would Have Been Motivated to Combine Sharpe with
`Eintracht and FotoFile ........................................................................... 3
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`Sharpe in View of Eintracht and FotoFile Teaches the “Unique
`User Identifier” (Claim 1[d]) ................................................................. 4
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`Sharpe in View of Eintracht and FotoFile Teaches
`“Coordinates” (Claims 1[e], 7, 8) ......................................................... 6
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`Sharpe in View of Eintracht and FotoFile Teaches the Claimed
`Email Notification (Claims 3 & 4) ...................................................... 11
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`III.
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`CONCLUSION .................................................................................. 13
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page i of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`I, Dr. Benjamin B. Bederson, do hereby declare as follows:
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`I.
`
`INTRODUCTION
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`1.
`
`I am making this declaration at the request of Meta Platforms, Inc.
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`(“Petitioner”) in IPR2023-00059, the Inter Partes Review of claims 1-12 of U.S.
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`Patent No. 10,417,275 (“the ’275 patent”). I am also making separate declarations
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`at the request of Petitioner in IPR2023-00057, the Inter Partes Review of claims 1-8
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`of U.S. Patent No. 8,954,432 (“the ’432 patent”); IPR2023-00058, the Inter Partes
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`Review of claims 1-26 of U.S. Patent No. 9,959,291 (“the ’291 patent”); and
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`IPR2023-00060 and the Inter Partes Review of claims 1-30 of U.S. Patent No.
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`10,628,480 (“the ’480 patent”).
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`2.
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`I am being compensated for my work in this matter at my standard
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`hourly rate. I am also being reimbursed for reasonable and customary expenses
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`associated with my work and testimony. My compensation is not contingent on the
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`outcome of this matter or the specifics of my testimony.
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`3.
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`I previously submitted a declaration in this proceeding as Exhibit 1003,
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`which I will refer to as my original declaration (“Bederson Decl.”). My original
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`declaration set forth my background, credentials, and curriculum vitae.
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`4.
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`I submit this declaration in reply to arguments advanced by Patent
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`Owner Angel Technologies Group LLC (“Patent Owner”) in its Patent Owner
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`Response (“POR”) and in the Declaration of Dr. Eli Saber in Support of Patent
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 1 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`Owner Response (“Saber Decl.”), submitted in this proceeding as Paper 25 and
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`Exhibit 2021, respectively.
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`5.
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`In addition to the materials I reviewed in preparing my original
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`declaration and the materials cited in this supplemental declaration, I have also
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`reviewed the following in preparing this supplemental declaration:
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`a. Paper 24, Patent Owner Response in IPR2023-00057,
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`b. Paper 24, Patent Owner Response in IPR2023-00058,
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`c. Paper 25, Patent Owner Response in IPR2023-00059,
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`d. Paper 24, Patent Owner Response in IPR2023-00060,
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`e. Ex. 2021, Declaration of Dr. Eli Saber in IPR2023-00057,
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`f. Ex. 2021, Declaration of Dr. Eli Saber in IPR2023-00058,
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`g. Ex. 2021, Declaration of Dr. Eli Saber in IPR2023-00059,
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`h. Ex. 2022, Declaration of Dr. Eli Saber in IPR2023-00060,
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`i. Ex. 2019, Transcript of July 20, 2023 Deposition of Dr. Benjamin B.
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`Bederson in IPR2023-00057, -00058, and -00059,
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`j. Ex. 2021, Transcript of July 21, 2023 Deposition of Dr. Benjamin B.
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`Bederson in IPR2023-00060,
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`k. Ex. 1040, Transcript of October 20, 2023 Deposition of Dr. Eli Saber,
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`and
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`l. Ex. 1041, Transcript of October 23, 2023 Deposition of Dr. Eli Saber.
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 2 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`II. GROUND 1: SHAPE IN VIEW OF EINTRACHT AND FOTOFILE
`RENDERS OBVIOUS CLAIMS 1-12
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`6.
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`In my original declaration, I explained why claims 1-12 of the ’275
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`patent would have been obvious over Sharpe in view of Eintracht and FotoFile. I
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`understand from counsel that Patent Owner and Dr. Saber disagreed with some of
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`my conclusions. Counsel has asked me to address some of those disagreements, and
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`I do so in the following paragraphs.
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`A. A POSA Would Have Been Motivated to Combine Sharpe with
`Eintracht and FotoFile
`As I previously explained, a POSA would have been motivated to
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`7.
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`combine the teachings of Sharpe and Eintracht with a strong expectation of success.
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`Bederson Decl. ¶¶ 128-31, 135-36. A POSA would have been further motivated to
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`combine the teachings of Sharpe and Eintracht with the teachings of FotoFile. Id. at
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`¶¶ 132-34, 137-38. Patent Owner and Dr. Saber only dispute the combination of
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`Sharpe and Eintracht. They assert that Sharpe and Eintracht are “fundamentally
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`different systems with different goals.” E.g., Saber Decl. ¶¶ 78-81. For example,
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`Dr. Saber opines that “Eintracht does not relate to archival and retrieving of digital
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`media items, Sharpe does not relate to collaborative document annotation.” Id. ¶ 80.
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`I disagree.
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`8.
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`A POSA would have recognized that Sharpe and Eintracht disclose
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`overlapping systems and goals. Eintracht’s collaborative system operates on “a
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 3 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`variety of document types,” including digital media items—indeed, the primary
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`
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`example in the specification is the annotation of an image. See, e.g., Ex. 1006 at
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`6:55-7:23, Figs. 1A, 1B, 1C, 2. Sharpe similarly contemplates collaborative work
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`with documents and images, including the application of its system in a business
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`context—with archival and retrieval of “digital media items” relating to a meeting,
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`such as e-mails, letters, and presentations. See, e.g., Ex. 1005 at 3:45-56. Thus,
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`Sharpe and Eintracht overlap because they both expressly contemplate collaborative
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`work involving the annotation of digital media items.
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`9.
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`And, as I explained in my declaration, both Sharpe and Eintracht are
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`also structurally similar, web-based, multi-user collaborative systems implemented
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`on a server and accessible via the Internet. Bederson Decl. ¶¶ 135-36. Patent Owner
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`and Dr. Saber do not acknowledge, much less dispute, my analysis regarding the
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`structural similarity of Sharpe and Eintracht.
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`B.
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`Sharpe in View of Eintracht and FotoFile Teaches the “Unique
`User Identifier” (Claim 1[d])
`10. As I explained in my original declaration, a POSA would have
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`understood that Sharpe’s username would be a primary key suitable to distinctly
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`specify a relationship between a particular user and a particular image in Sharpe’s
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`database system. See, e.g., Bederson Decl. ¶¶ 120-21, 173-74, 191-94. While a
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`POSA would have understood that there are other available design options, a
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`username would have been an obvious design choice in view of Sharpe’s disclosure
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 4 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`and a POSA’s knowledge that usernames are often used as primary keys in database
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`
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`schemas. See id.
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`11. Patent Owner and Dr. Saber misunderstand my analysis when they
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`conclude that my opinion is that “Sharpe’s system must use the user name … as a
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`unique identifier or ‘primary key.’” E.g., Saber Decl. ¶ 85.1 That is not my opinion.
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`Rather, my opinion is that a POSA would have understood that a username is one
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`such unique identifier and the most obvious design choice for the Sharpe system
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`given that each user already required a username to log on to the system. See, e.g.,
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`Bederson Decl. ¶¶ 120-21, 173-74, 191-94.
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`12.
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`Indeed, Patent Owner and Dr. Saber appear to agree with my opinion
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`that a POSA would have recognized that Sharpe’s username is one option to
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`implement a primary key in Sharpe’s system. For example, Dr. Saber does not
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`appear to dispute that the username can be a primary key, and instead argues that the
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`username “does not need to be” the primary key, and that “another possible way” to
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`implement Sharpe’s system is to assign an internal unique identifier to a user. Saber
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`Decl. ¶¶ 85-87.
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`13. To the extent that Patent Owner and Dr. Saber dispute that a username
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`can be used as a primary key in Sharpe’s system, it was known in the art to utilize
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`1 All emphasis added unless otherwise indicated.
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 5 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`usernames as primary keys in database schemas. For example, a 1996 paper2
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`
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`describes a language and system for constructing web-based views of the contents
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`of a database. Ex. 1042 at 2. In describing the relationships in the database, the
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`paper explains that they “usually possess a primary key which is composed of one
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`or more attributes the values of which uniquely identify each tuple of the relation.”
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`Id. at 4. The paper then provides the username as an example of a suitable primary
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`key, explaining that “the attribute username is a primary key … since all users must
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`have a different user name.” Id. This paper provides further confirmation that the
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`username would have been an immediate and obvious user unique identifier to a
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`POSA reviewing Sharpe’s disclosure.
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`C.
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`Sharpe in View of Eintracht and FotoFile Teaches “Coordinates”
`(Claims 1[e], 7, 8)
`14. As I explained in my original declaration, Sharpe in view of Eintracht
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`discloses the claimed “coordinates” of claims 1[e], 7, and 8. Bederson Decl. ¶¶ 195-
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`202, 230-38. Indeed, Eintracht expressly discloses an annotation located at specific
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`(X, Y) coordinates, and the Applicant acknowledged that fact during prosecution of
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`the ’432 patent. Id. ¶¶ 199-200.
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`2 Gilles Falquet, et al., Generating Hypertext Views on Databases, ACTES DU
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`XIVÈME CONGRÈS INFORSID 269, 269-84 (1996) (Ex. 1042).
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 6 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`15. Patent Owner and Dr. Saber nevertheless dispute that Sharpe in view of
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`
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`Eintracht discloses the claimed “coordinates.” E.g., Saber Decl. ¶¶ 89-95, 106-07.
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`For example, Dr. Saber admits that Sharpe “discloses people depicted in images,”
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`yet opines that a POSA would not have made the combination because “Eintracht
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`does not disclose people depicted in images.” Id. ¶ 93-94. Dr. Saber explains that
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`“Petitioner has proposed a primary reference (Sharpe) that discloses people, and a
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`secondary reference (Eintracht) that discloses coordinates in an entirely different
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`context.” Id. ¶ 94.
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`16.
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`I disagree with Patent Owner and Dr. Saber’s analysis. They
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`improperly view the teachings of Sharpe and Eintracht in isolation. When properly
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`viewed in context of the combined teachings of Sharpe and Eintracht, it would have
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`been obvious to a POSA to annotate an image with name of the pictured individual
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`at a particular location, as recited in claims 1[e], 7, and 8. Sharpe discloses the
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`annotation of images to identify users within those images, and “Eintracht discloses
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`that the user identifies a specific X, Y coordinate location in an image for an
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`associated annotation.” E.g., Bederson Decl. ¶ 199.
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`17. Patent Owner and Dr. Saber also argue that Eintracht’s annotations
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`would “potentially obscure” a user within an image because the annotations are
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`placed over the image. E.g., Saber Decl. ¶ 93. Once again, they take an overly
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`limited view of the prior art’s teachings and the knowledge and skill of a POSA. As
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 7 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`with Sharpe, the annotations presented in Eintracht’s figures are simplified
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`
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`illustrations that do not account for every aspect of the user interface. See, e.g.,
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`Ex. 1006 at 4:56-62, 6:55-65, 19:38-41 (figures are examples for illustrative
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`purposes). Furthermore, it was well within the skill of a POSA to implement
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`Eintracht’s annotations without obscuring the users depicted in the image.
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`18.
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`“Tool tips” were a common user interface element at the time of the
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`purported invention of the ’275 patent. A tool tip is a text box that appears when the
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`user hovers the cursor over another element in the user interface, and disappears
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`when the user moves the cursor away. See Ex. 1044 at 168, 343.3 For example, the
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`tool tip “Small Icons” appears when the user hovers the cursor over the
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`corresponding toolbar button:
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`
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`3 MICROSOFT PROFESSIONAL REFERENCE, THE WINDOWS INTERFACE GUIDELINES
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`FOR SOFTWARE DESIGN (1995) (Ex. 1044).
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`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 8 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`Id. at 343. A POSA would have recognized that Eintracht’s annotations could have
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`
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`been implemented as tool tips so that they annotations only appear when the user
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`hovers a cursor over the tagged individual.
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`19. Alternatively, or in combination, a POSA could have implemented
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`Eintracht’s annotations using transparency. Transparent windows and menus were
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`known in the art at the time of the purported invention of the ’275 patent. For
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`example, a 1996 paper4 provides “a systematic evaluation of transparent user
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`interfaces.” Ex. 1045 at 391. The paper demonstrates how transparent and semi-
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`transparent text menus can be placed over images, using as an example an image of
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`a vehicle strikingly similar to Eintracht’s figures:
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`4 Beverly L. Harrison & Kim J. Vicente, An Experimental Evaluation of Transparent
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`Menu Usage, CHI ’96: PROCEEDINGS OF THE SIGCHI CONFERENCE ON HUMAN
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`FACTORS IN COMPUTING SYSTEMS, April 2000, at 391-398 (Ex. 1045).
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 9 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`Id. (excerpt from Fig. 1).
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`20. Patent Owner and Dr. Saber also appear to suggest that Eintracht does
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`not disclose claims 1[e], 7, and 8 because Eintracht’s annotations are “placed over
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`the image” and are “not a part of the image itself.” E.g., Saber Decl. ¶ 92. To the
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`extent that Patent Owner and Dr. Saber argue this, they are wrong. The claims do
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`not require the annotations to be part of the image itself. In particular, claim 1[e]
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`recites “a set of coordinates corresponding to a location of the named user within the
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`image.” Ex. 1001 at 17:18-20. This describes pictured users “within” said image
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`data, not that the coordinates are “within” the image data. Claims 7 and 8 similarly
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`recite coordinates that indicate or correspond to “the location of the named user
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`within the image.” Id. at 18:6-21. This also describes the pictured users that are
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`“within the image,” not that the coordinates are stored within the image data. In any
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 10 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`event, even if that were a requirement, the collective teachings of Sharpe and
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`
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`Eintracht would still render these claims obvious. Sharpe expressly states that its
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`“index information may be stored together with the digital media item for example
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`as a ‘header.’” Ex. 1005 at 3:64-65.
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`21. Finally, Patent Owner and Dr. Saber contend that a POSA would need
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`specific details about the storage of coordinates and how to determine the location
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`of the user within the image. E.g., Saber Decl. ¶ 95. Once again, these are minor
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`implementation details well within the skill of a POSA, who would have at least two
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`years of experience with networked and Web-based media applications. E.g.,
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`Bederson Decl. ¶¶ 39, 135-38. In any event, Eintracht discloses how the location of
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`the annotation is determined. Id. ¶ 199 (citing Ex. 1006 at 15:10-16). Eintracht also
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`explains that the coordinates of an annotation are stored in its notes database and
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`communicated using a data structure that includes a “note anchor field.” See, e.g.,
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`Ex. 1006 at 10:56-63, 17:28-29, 18:52-53, Fig. 11 (item 216), Fig. 13 (item 268).
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`As I previously explained, the Sharpe and Eintracht systems are structurally similar,
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`so a POSA would have expected to successfully combine their teachings. Bederson
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`Decl. ¶¶ 135-36.
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`D.
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`Sharpe in View of Eintracht and FotoFile Teaches the Claimed
`Email Notification (Claims 3 & 4)
`22. As I explained in my original declaration, Sharpe in view of Eintracht
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`and FotoFile discloses the claimed email notification of dependent claims 3 and 4.
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`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 11 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`Bederson Decl. ¶¶ 224-27. Patent Owner and Dr. Saber acknowledge that Eintracht
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`discloses email notifications, but assert that Eintracht’s “notifications are related
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`simply to a note event, not to the notification of an association.” E.g., Saber Decl. ¶
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`104. Thus, Eintracht does not “disclose sending an email with information about
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`the association.” Id. (emphasis original).
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`23.
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`I disagree with Patent Owner and Dr. Saber’s analysis. Once again,
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`they improperly view the teachings of Sharpe and Eintracht in isolation. When
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`properly viewed in context of the combined teachings of Sharpe, Eintracht, and
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`FotoFile, it would have been obvious to a POSA that the email notification would
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`include information about the annotation as recited in claims 3 and 4. As I explained,
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`a POSA would have recognized that the association of user with a photo is an event
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`that would trigger an email alert in the combined system. E.g., Bederson Decl.
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`¶ 226. A POSA would have further recognized “that Eintracht’s email notification
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`can include portions of the annotation, including the identified user, and additional
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`information about the associated image.” Id. The most obvious “additional
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`information” to include in the email notification would be information about the
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`image annotation that triggered the notification in the first place. Patent Owner and
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`Dr. Saber fail to appreciate that the POSA is capable of ordinary creativity, and
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`ordinary creativity is all that is required to reach the limitation of claims 3 and 4 in
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`view of the combined teachings of Sharpe, Eintracht, and FotoFile.
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 12 of 13
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`IPR2023-00059 (USP 10,417,275)
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` Decl. ISO Petitioner’s Reply
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`III. CONCLUSION
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`I hereby declare that all statements made herein of my own knowledge are
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`true and that all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true,
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`and further that these statements were made with the knowledge that willful false
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`statements and the like so made are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both,
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`under Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code.
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`Executed this 17th day of November 2023 in Windsor, Massachusetts.
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`___________________________
`Dr. Benjamin B. Bederson
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`Meta Platforms, Inc.
`Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Angel Technologies Group LLC
`IPR2023-00059
`Exhibit 1039 - Page 13 of 13
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