Case 1:22-cv-00677-RGA Document 13 Filed 08/03/22 Page 1 of 37 PageID #: 440
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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
`
`C.A. No. 22-677-RGA
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`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`)))))))))
`
`EQUIL IP HOLDINGS LLC,
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`v.
`
`AKAMAI TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,
`
`Defendant.
`
`FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(1)(B), Plaintiff Equil IP Holdings LLC
`
`(“Equil IP”) files this First Amended Complaint for Patent Infringement against Akamai
`
`Technologies, Inc. (“Akamai”). This First Amended Complaint supersedes the initial complaint
`
`filed on May 24, 2022 (D.I. 1). Equil IP states the following:
`
`NATURE OF THIS ACTION
`
`1.
`
`This is a civil action for the infringement of the following United States patents
`
`(the “Asserted Patents”) as described herein:
`
` U.S. Patent No. 8,495,242 (“Automated media delivery system”), issued on July 23,
`
`2013 (the “’242 Patent”);
`
` U.S. Patent No. 9,158,745 (“Optimization of media content using generated
`
`intermediate media content”), issued on October 13, 2015 (the “’745 Patent”); and
`
` U.S. Patent No. 6,792,575 (“Automated processing and delivery of media to web
`
`servers”), issued on September 14, 2004 (the “’575 Patent”).
`
`2.
`
`The Asserted Patents are members of a family that also includes U.S. Patent
`
`No. 6,964,009 (“Automated media delivery system”), issued on November 8, 2005 (the “’009
`
`Patent”), and U.S. Patent No. 8,381,110 (“Automated media delivery system”), issued on
`
`Akamai Ex. 1016
`Akamai Techs. v. Equil IP Holdings
`IPR2023-00332
`Page 00001
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`Case 1:22-cv-00677-RGA Document 13 Filed 08/03/22 Page 2 of 37 PageID #: 441
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`February 19, 2013 (the “’110 Patent”) (collectively with the Asserted Patents, the “Equilibrium
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`Patents”).
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`3.
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`The Equilibrium Patents disclose revolutionary innovations regarding how rich-
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`media content such as images and videos can be optimized and rapidly delivered to Internet-
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`connected devices such as phones and computers.
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`PARTIES
`
`4.
`
`Plaintiff Equil IP is a limited liability company duly organized and existing under
`
`the laws of Delaware having its principal place of business at 500 Tamal Plaza, Suite 528, Corte
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`Madera, CA 94925. Equil IP is the owner by assignment of the Equilibrium Patents.
`
`5.
`
`With respect to the Equilibrium Patents, Equil IP is the successor-in-interest to
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`Automated Media Processing Solutions, Inc. d/b/a Equilibrium (“Equilibrium”), a corporation
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`duly organized and existing under the laws of Delaware having its principal place of business at
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`500 Tamal Plaza, Suite 528, Corte Madera, CA 94925.
`
`6.
`
`Equilibrium is an industry pioneer and leader in developing patented automated
`
`media processing solutions to help its customers manage, modify, and efficiently deploy media-
`
`rich content such as images, video, and sound optimized for delivery over the Internet and
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`customized for use on Internet-connected end-user devices such as desktop and laptop computers
`
`and mobile phones.
`
`7.
`
`On information and belief, Akamai is a corporation organized and existing under
`
`the laws of the State of Delaware, with its corporate headquarters and a principal place of
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`business at 145 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142.
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`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
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`8.
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`This is an action for patent infringement arising under the Patent Act, 35 U.S.C.
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`§ 1 et seq. Accordingly, this Court has subject-matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and
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`1338(a).
`
`9.
`
`This Court has personal jurisdiction over Akamai, as Delaware is Akamai’s state
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`of incorporation, and Akamai therefore resides in Delaware. Akamai has also derived revenue
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`from its infringing acts within this District.
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`10.
`
`Venue is proper in this District under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b) and 1400(b), as
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`Delaware is Akamai’s state of incorporation, and Akamai therefore resides in Delaware.
`
`THE EQUILIBRIUM PATENTS AND “MEDIARICH SERVER”
`
`11.
`
`The technology at issue in this suit traces its roots to the early 1990s when
`
`Equilibrium, founded by Sean Barger,1 acquired and further developed a software product called
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`“DeBabelizer.” Sold starting in the early 1990s to industry power-users and consumers alike,
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`DeBabelizer enabled users to automatically edit (“batch process”) collections of graphic images,
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`animation, and video across over fifty different file types. It was powerful software, the full
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`version of which sold for hundreds of dollars. The name “DeBabelizer” referred to the program’s
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`ability to import and normalize any format, then systematically edit a wide variety of otherwise
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`incompatible media file types and then export them to any format automatically. After selling
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`over 1 million copies of DeBabelizer Lite and DeBabelizer Pro for Macintosh, Windows OS’s
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`and Silicon Graphics, Equilibrium believed a logical expansion of the franchise was to develop a
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`way to deliver high-speed, dynamic content through a system tied directly into web servers. The
`
`1 Equilibrium was originally formed to develop computer games.
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`team set out to build a next-generation technology which solved the automatic rendition
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`management problem to enable Web 2.0 for scaling any size website while providing unique
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`device support without having to pre-process content for all viewing scenarios. They called the
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`project “Freeride.”
`
`12. With the growth of the web in the late 1990s, Equilibrium foresaw the Freeride
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`project developing a new kind of Internet-based service that web developers could use to
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`simplify the process of optimizing and maintaining rich media content automatically on
`
`websites. Equilibrium envisioned a system that would enable next-generation ecommerce and
`
`other applications.
`
`13.
`
`On October 21, 1999, in order to protect this system, Equilibrium filed the first in
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`a series of U.S. patent applications that would ultimately issue as the Equilibrium Patents. All
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`the Equilibrium Patents are members of the same family and share substantially similar
`
`disclosures.
`
`14.
`
`That first application (Application No. 09/425,326) issued as the ’575 Patent on
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`September 14, 2004. A copy of the ’575 Patent is attached as Exhibit A.
`
`15.
`
`On August 16, 2000, Equilibrium filed Provisional Application No. 60/226,043,
`
`and on August 14, 2001, it filed Continuation-in-Part Application No. 09/929,904, which issued
`
`as the ’009 Patent on November 8, 2005. A copy of the ’009 Patent is attached as Exhibit B.
`
`16.
`
`On September 26, 2008, Equilibrium filed Divisional Application No.
`
`12/238,842, which issued as the ’110 Patent on February 19, 2013. A copy of the ’110 Patent is
`
`attached as Exhibit C.
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`17.
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`On February 26, 2010, Equilibrium filed Divisional Application No. 12/713,637,
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`which issued as the ’242 Patent on July 23, 2013. A copy of the ’242 Patent is attached as
`
`Exhibit D.
`
`18.
`
`On July 15, 2008, Equilibrium filed Divisional Application No. 12/173,747,
`
`which issued as U.S. Patent No. 8,656,046 on February 18, 2014. A copy of the ’046 Patent is
`
`attached as Exhibit E.
`
`19.
`
`On January 28, 2013, Equilibrium filed Continuation Application No. 13/752,110,
`
`which issued as the ’745 Patent on October 13, 2015. A copy of the ’745 Patent is attached as
`
`Exhibit F.
`
`20.
`
`On December 17, 2021, Equilibrium assigned the Equilibrium Patents to Equil IP
`
`Holdings LLC.
`
`21.
`
`The Equilibrium Patents individually and collectively disclose substantial
`
`improvements to then-existing systems of Internet media delivery. Existing systems did not
`
`enable on-the-fly rich media generation and caching of rich media that was optimized for each
`
`user. In the novel methods described in the Equilibrium Patents, each user’s request contains
`
`information identifying the requested media and further indicating incremental optimizations that
`
`are performed prior to delivery to the user. The incrementally optimized media is cached for
`
`future delivery if another user request is received containing information requesting the same
`
`media and indicating the same incremental optimizations.
`
`22.
`
`The technology disclosed in the Equilibrium Patents is widely used today to
`
`power the intelligent edge networks that content providers rely on to deliver media-rich Internet
`
`web pages and videos quickly and with very high quality. Without the innovations of the
`
`Equilibrium Patents, media-rich Internet content would be much slower to deliver and of lower
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`quality and/or would require expensive investments in computing and network infrastructure.
`
`The Equilibrium Patents therefore disclose substantial improvements to computer and network
`
`technology. Those improvements were not well-understood, routine, or conventional in the
`
`“Web 1.0” computing and network environment that existed at the time they were filed.
`
`23.
`
`The Equilibrium Patents have been widely cited, including by Akamai.
`
`According to Google Patents, the ’575 Patent has been cited more than 200 times by other U.S.
`
`patents and patent applications. Among those citations to the Equilibrium Patents are more than
`
`twenty patents and patent applications — from multiple patent families directed to numerous
`
`aspects of a content delivery network — that are identified as assigned to Akamai. (See, e.g.,
`
`U.S. Patent Nos. 7,653,706 (“Dynamic image delivery system”); 7,725,602 (“Domain name
`
`resolution using a distributed DNS network”); 7,912,978 (“Method for determining metrics of a
`
`content delivery and global traffic management network”); 7,996,533 (“HTML delivery from
`
`edge-of-network servers in a content delivery network (CDN)”); 8,805,965 (“Methods and
`
`apparatus for image delivery”); 9,418,353 (“Methods and systems for delivering content to
`
`differentiated client devices”); 9,419,852 (“Systems and methods for identifying and
`
`characterizing client devices”); 9,509,804 (“Scalable content delivery network request handling
`
`mechanism to support a request processing layer”); 9,544,183 (“Methods and apparatus for
`
`providing content delivery instructions to a content server”); 9,654,579 (“Scalable content
`
`delivery network request handling mechanism”); 9,742,858 (“Assessment of content delivery
`
`services using performance measurements from within an end user client application”); and
`
`9,817,916 (“Methods and apparatus for accelerating content authored for multiple devices”).) In
`
`several cases, the ’575 Patent was the basis for a rejection by an examiner. (See, e.g., U.S.
`
`Application Nos. 11/009,273; 11/768,935; and 12/693,413.)
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`24.
`
`The technology disclosed and claimed in the Equilibrium Patents was released by
`
`Equilibrium in 2000 as the “MediaRich Server.” Since that time, Equilibrium has continuously
`
`offered MediaRich Server services in the business-to-business market. Recent clients include
`
`Walmart, the Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., The Metropolitan Museum of
`
`Art, the U.S. Department of Energy, and E. T. Browne Drug Co. These companies use services
`
`powered by Equilibrium technology to automatically process, manage, and serve rich media
`
`content to websites and mobile devices.
`
`25.
`
`The current version of one of the Equilibrium services that practice inventions
`
`disclosed in the Equilibrium Patents is MediaRich 6. (See, e.g., Ex. G (“MediaRich 6
`
`Brochure”).)
`
`26.
`
`One aspect of the MediaRich Server — and the Equilibrium Patents that claim the
`
`technology that powers it — is the ability to optimize rich media on-the-fly and cache what
`
`Equilibrium calls media “renditions” in real time in response to Internet user requests. (See id.
`
`at 3.) As illustrated in the graphic below, users of a wide variety of devices (from web browsers
`
`on desktop computers to apps on mobile devices) send requests for media content to websites
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`and other network-hosted sources. Equilibrium’s service sits between those two parts of the
`
`network:
`
`27. MediaRich solves technical problems associated with delivering rich media
`
`content over the Internet that arise from the fact that each type of user device has different
`
`parameters that can be used to optimize media for viewing. Parameters like image size and
`
`resolution, compression type, compression level, frame rate, and many others can be used to
`
`optimize Internet media to make the most of each user’s type of device, specific application,
`
`quality, and quality of Internet service available at the moment, and other attributes. The
`
`MediaRich Server detects or is sent optimization parameters and optimizes the requested media
`
`on the fly before sending it on to the user.
`
`28.
`
`Once an optimized rendition is created, moreover, it is cached in the MediaRich
`
`Server. The next time any user is determined to have a need or request for the same media, the
`
`server checks the cache to see if a previously optimized rendition already exists. If it does, the
`
`pre-existing rendition is further optimized, if necessary, and sent. If not, a rendition can be made
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`from the original media, sent, and cached to be used as intermediate or final media for the next
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`request. Over time, the library of renditions in the cache builds up, further improving the
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`responsiveness of the system and thus improving user experience.
`
`THE AKAMAI “INTELLIGENT EDGE” NETWORK
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`29. Mr. Barger has been an evangelist for the Equilibrium technology for many years.
`
`Equilibrium has partnered with industry-leading Internet companies to enhance their services
`
`with Equilibrium technology. Among them is Akamai, a leading Internet platform provider.
`
`Unfortunately, Akamai has elected over the years to become an “efficient infringer” by
`
`recreating Equilibrium’s patented service rather than continuing to partner with Equilibrium or
`
`licensing Equilibrium’s technology.
`
`30.
`
`On information and belief, Akamai was founded in the late 1990s to help solve
`
`the growing problem of Internet latency by offering Content Delivery Network (CDN) services.
`
`A CDN is a network of computers located at geographically dispersed data centers. The CDN
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`network computers replicate and store website information so that it is available at physical
`
`locations closer to users who might access the website. On information and belief, at the time of
`
`its founding, Akamai’s network replicated website data and distributed it throughout the network
`
`to pre-position it closer to users, rather than generate optimized content on the fly.
`
`31.
`
`In February 2000, Equilibrium reached out to Akamai to explore options for
`
`integrating Equilibrium’s MediaRich technology with Akamai’s CDN service. Equilibrium
`
`explained:
`
`Equilibrium’s next generation product building on our 10 years of automated
`media processing experience, patent pending, is something that is a natural
`extension to the Akamai network . . . . It is aimed at content and media servers,
`integrates with existing server/database environments and dynamically generates
`media and content to the webserver cache on-the-fly. The system handles images,
`animation, digital video and sound currently, and has been architected to handle
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`any media type . . . . It . . . handles media cache management for web servers and
`creation/delivery of media to handheld/wireless devices automatically so that the
`web designer doesn’t have to integrate with proxy server systems or create
`multiple sites.
`
`32.
`
`Akamai’s then Chief Operating Officer (and future Chief Executive Officer) Paul
`
`Segan responded, directing his staff to reach out to Equilibrium “to learn more about Equilibrium
`
`and to assess how Akamai might become involved with [Equilibrium].”
`
`33. Mr. Barger and others from Equilibrium met with three Akamai Director-level
`
`executives and its principal engineer four days later. Contemporaneous memoranda indicate that
`
`Akamai “saw a clear synergy between Equilibrium’s media serving technology and Akamai’s
`
`data distribution system and expressed interest in further exploring possibilities for integration of
`
`the two technologies.”
`
`34.
`
`Akamai’s Principal Engineer James Kistler expressed skepticism about whether
`
`original media could be brought to the edge of the network for dynamic image generation.
`
`Akamai’s Director of Business Development Ravi Sundararajan suggested that the Equilibrium
`
`technology could be a good fit for a new initiative Akamai was then architecting called
`
`“EdgeAdvantage.” In this new system, Akamai suggested that Equilibrium’s media server could
`
`connect directly to Akamai’s caching servers closer to the edge of the network. Mr. Barger
`
`agreed that this would be a good approach.
`
`35.
`
`The parties also agreed to include Equilibrium in Akamai’s “Technology Partner
`
`Program.” The Akamai website described the “Technology Partner Program” as follows:
`
`Akamai Technology Partners work with Akamai to utilize Internet edge
`technology to create feature-enhanced products that enable customers to quickly
`and easily leverage Akamai's e-business infrastructure services and provide joint,
`industry-leading solutions for distributed content and application delivery.
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`Other partners included IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle. Equilibrium’s inclusion in this program
`
`made it easy for Akamai’s customers to use Equilibrium MediaRich services through the Akamai
`
`Content Delivery Network.
`
`36.
`
`Equilibrium’s inclusion in the Akamai “Technology Partner Program” was
`
`documented on the Akamai website, including, for example, in these December 9, 2004, Internet
`
`Archive captures:
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`Akamai stated that Equilibrium was a “recognized leader in automated imaging solutions.”
`
`Akamai further stated: “Equilibrium’s MediaRich is server-based software that automates image
`
`production and enables dynamic delivery of images anywhere. MediaRich brings true state-of-
`
`the-art automation tools to the Enterprise, allowing companies to create more engaging customer
`
`experiences while reducing production time and costs.”
`
`37.
`
`However, Akamai resisted Equilibrium’s offers to establish a more extensive
`
`partnership or more complete integration of Equilibrium’s technology into Akamai’s edge
`
`network.
`
`38.
`
`Over the years, from time-to-time, Equilibrium and Akamai would discuss
`
`whether an integrated product offering would be appropriate. For example, when John Bishop
`
`joined Akamai from Cisco in 2014 to become Akamai’s Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Barger
`
`met with him at an industry conference in Las Vegas. The pair later exchanged messages.
`
`Mr. Barger proposed that they should discuss opportunities for further integration of the two
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`companies’ products. Mr. Bishop told Mr. Barger that he was just settling in and wanted to get
`
`the “lay of the land” before continuing discussions. The discussions never resumed, however.
`
`39.
`
`A little over two years later, Akamai announced it had developed a “new image
`
`management service” that it called “Image Manager.” Just like Equilibrium’s MediaRich
`
`service, Akamai’s Image Manager promised to “engage online audiences with attractive images
`
`that are automatically optimized for both maximum visual quality and performance while
`
`reducing the cost and effort to transform and deliver web-ready images.” Image Manager
`
`promised “[f]aster sites and apps on any device, anywhere by reducing bytes delivered to web
`
`and mobile users.”
`
`40.
`
`Image Manager was one of Akamai’s “key offerings.” In its 2016 Annual Report,
`
`in a section entitled “Web and Mobile Performance Solutions,” Akamai stated:
`
`The ultimate goal of our web and mobile performance business is to make
`dynamic websites and applications have instant response times, no matter where
`the user is, what device or browser they are using, or how they are connected to
`the Internet. This is accomplished through a variety of advanced technologies
`embedded into our platform, which can be thought of as a virtual Internet
`overlaying the real Internet.
`
`The report then identified several “key offerings” of its “virtual Internet,” including: “Image
`
`Manager – To help our customers cope with the multitude of devices used by their consumers
`
`and varying connection quality, Image Manager automatically optimizes online images for the
`
`best combination of size, quality, and file format suited for each image and device and offloads
`
`the artistic transformation of derivative assets to the cloud.”
`
`41.
`
`Just like MediaRich, Akamai’s Image Manager (today called “Image and Video
`
`Manager” or “IVM”) stores “one high-quality, pristine file” in a media repository as a “Non-
`
`Optimized” Asset. Data from the asset is transmitted to “Edge Nodes” of an “Edge Cach[e].”
`
`The cached data is transmitted for “Image and Video Optimization” that automatically adjusts
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`factors such as quality, compression, and dimension resizing, based on information received
`
`about the “user context, including browser, device types, and the quality level of the end user’s
`
`current network connection.” The optimized media is cached at the Edge Node and served as an
`
`“Optimized Asset” to end users.
`
`42.
`
`According to Akamai:
`
`[IVM] means developers no longer need to worry about setting image-level
`quality. By automatically optimizing images for maximum perceived quality with
`minimum image weight, the algorithm lets developers relax knowing that images
`will be delivered at a specified quality that’s optimal for end users.
`
`43.
`
`As a result, Akamai boasts that rich media content is “[o]ptimized for every
`
`visitor” and “simplified for developers.”
`
`44.
`
`IVM is just one example of an infringing Akamai service that replicates the
`
`features of Equilibrium’s MediaRich Server service. Other features of services that grew out of
`
`Akamai’s “EdgeAdvantage” to be part of Akamai’s “Intelligent Edge Platform” employ image
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`and video optimization methodologies infringing one or more of the method claims of the
`
`Equilibrium Patents. For the avoidance of doubt, Equil IP asserts that Akamai infringes only
`
`method claims of the Equilibrium Patents.
`
`EQUILIBRIUM’S PATENTED INVENTIONS
`
`45.
`
`In this First Amended Complaint for Patent Infringement, Equil IP asserts three
`
`related patents. Generally speaking, the ’745 and ’242 Patents claim methods by which rich
`
`media content is optimized and delivered to users in response to user requests. The ’575 Patent,
`
`which was the first in the family to issue, relates to the process by which the rich media
`
`optimization system interacts with the HTML or other browser language code in which a website
`
`containing rich media is written and which the user’s browser decodes when viewing the
`
`website.
`
`46.
`
`The ’745 Patent is titled “Optimization of Media Content Using Generated
`
`Intermediate Media Content” and it issued on October 13, 2015. It claims priority to an
`
`application filed on October 21, 1999.
`
`47.
`
`The ’745 Patent claims an “automated graphics delivery system.” (Ex. F (’745
`
`Patent) at 5:1-5.) The disclosed invention improves on prior art web media delivery systems by
`
`providing media “[a]sset management, automatic image manipulation, automatic image
`
`conversion, automatic image upload, and automatic disk management.” (Id. at 8:8-13.) The
`
`automatic image optimization, delivery, and caching is done on demand and in real time in
`
`response to user requests. “Web media is generated only if requested by a client browser.” (Id.
`
`at 5:35.) This results in a “dynamic Web site wherein images are generated on demand from
`
`original assets, wherein only the original assets need to be updated.” (Id. at 5:11-14.)
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`48.
`
`Because images are optimized on demand in response to specific user requests,
`
`the media can be optimized to fit the specific needs of the individual user. For example, the
`
`system can optimize media throughput based on “current Web server traffic.” (Id. at 5:15-17.)
`
`Similarly, the system can factor “client connection speed” to determine “optimum quality and
`
`file size.” (Id. at 5:19-20.)
`
`49.
`
`In the Equilibrium System, once media has been optimized in response to a user
`
`request, it is stored in a cache. A “media creation subsystem” is employed to create the
`
`optimized image and then “store the results in the media cache database.” (Id. at 8:57-60.) Since
`
`this optimized media is automatically cached, “identical requests can be handled without
`
`regeneration of images.” (Id. at 5:24-25.)
`
`MARKING
`
`50.
`
`Equilibrium was not required to mark under 35 U.S.C. § 287 because its
`
`MediaRich service is a software system implementing patented methods that lacks a tangible
`
`item to mark.
`
`51.
`
`Additionally, claim 1 of the ’745 Patent, claim 9 of the ’242 Patent, and claim 1
`
`of the ’575 Patent are method claims which do not give rise to an obligation to mark under 35
`
`U.S.C. § 287.
`
`THE ACCUSED PRODUCTS
`
`52.
`
`On information and belief, Akamai offers a variety of Internet content delivery
`
`services that it packages and repackages under a variety of trade names. Many of these are
`
`offered as part of what it calls the “Akamai Intelligent Edge.” On information and belief,
`
`Akamai pervasively uses Equilibrium’s patented inventions in its Intelligent Edge and related
`
`services. A few specific examples are set forth below.
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`IPR2023-00332 Page 00016
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`

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`Case 1:22-cv-00677-RGA Document 13 Filed 08/03/22 Page 17 of 37 PageID #: 456
`
`Image and Video Manager
`
`53.
`
`Akamai’s Image and Video Manager feature of its Intelligent Edge is one
`
`example of how Akamai’s services infringe. IVM practices all the limitations of one or more of
`
`the Equilibrium Patent method claims, including at least exemplary independent claim 1 of the
`
`’745 Patent.
`
`54.
`
`Claim 1 of the ’745 Patent recites:
`
`[Preamble] A method in a host computer for developing transformation
`processing operations to optimize media content playback to a plurality of
`playback devices connected with the host computer in a network, the method
`comprising:
`
`[1a.] receiving a first request from a first playback device for media content;
`
`[1b.] wherein the first request contains information, the information indicating a
`first original media content, first content generation operations, and first
`transformation operations;
`
`[1c.] determining whether a previously-generated first intermediate media content
`is available for reuse, the previously-generated first intermediate media content
`having been created using the first original media content and the first set of
`content generation operations; and
`
`[1d.] responsive to determining that a previously-generated first intermediate
`media content is available, creating a first optimized media content for the first
`playback device by performing the first set of transformation operations on the
`previously-generated first intermediate media content; and
`
`[1e.] responsive to determining that a previously-generated first intermediate
`media content is not available, creating a first optimized media content for the
`first playback device by creating a first intermediate content using the first
`original media content and the first set of content generation operations, and
`performing the first set of transformation operations on the first intermediate
`media content; and
`
`[1f.] sending the first optimized media content to the first playback device.
`
`(Ex. F at 23:9-39.)
`
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`IPR2023-00332 Page 00017
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`

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`Case 1:22-cv-00677-RGA Document 13 Filed 08/03/22 Page 18 of 37 PageID #: 457
`
`55.
`
`Akamai’s Image and Video Manager employs “a method in a host computer for
`
`developing transformation processing operations to optimize media content playback to a
`
`plurality of playback devices connected with the host computer in a network.” (Id. at 23:9-12.)
`
`It employs a method in Akamai host edge network computers that develops transformation
`
`processing operations to optimize media content playback to a plurality of playback devices,
`
`such as computers and mobile phones, which are connected to the Akamai edge network via the
`
`Internet. Thus, the preamble, if limiting, is satisfied.
`
`56.
`
`According to Akamai, “Image & Video Manager is a software as a service (SaaS)
`
`solution that automatically optimizes and enhances images and videos for every user on the fly.
`
`It provides each user the ideal combination of quality, format, and size that is best suited for that
`
`user’s browser, device, and network connection at the very moment they access a website or
`
`mobile app.” (Ex. H (“Reference Architecture”) at Overview.)
`
`57.
`
`Akamai publishes the following “Reference Architecture” to describe the methods
`
`employed in IVM:
`
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`IPR2023-00332 Page 00018
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`

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`Case 1:22-cv-00677-RGA Document 13 Filed 08/03/22 Page 19 of 37 PageID #: 458
`
`(Id.)
`
`58.
`
`According to Akamai, IVM “comes out of the box ready to help developers
`
`optimize images, videos, and animated GIFs to deliver great web experiences.” (Ex. I (Akamai
`
`Image and Video Manager Free Developer Trial Brochure) at 1.)
`
`59.
`
`IVM employs a step of “receiving a first request from a first playback device for
`
`media content.” (Ex. F at 23:13-14.) Step 3 of the Akamai IVM workflow depicted in the
`
`Reference Architecture above is: “The Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform receives a user request
`
`and obtains detailed information about the user context, including the browser, device types, and
`
`the quality level of the end user’s current networking connection.” (Ex. H, Step 3.) According
`
`to Akamai, “all [I]mage [M]anager transformations whether they are image optimizations[,]
`
`image transformations or . . . video transformations . . . all happen at the time of the request . . .
`
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`IPR2023-00332 Page 00019
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`Case 1:22-cv-00677-RGA Document 13 Filed 08/03/22 Page 20 of 37 PageID #: 459
`
`so if we don’t have the variant video asset inside of cache then that very first request for that
`
`video asset would mean that we have to go and that’s when we will kick off that very first
`
`encoding that occurs.” (Ex. J (“Webinar - Image Manager 4.0”) at 1.)
`
`60.
`
`IVM employs a step “wherein the first request contains information, the
`
`information indicating a first original media content, first content generation operations, and first
`
`transformation operations.” (Ex. F at 23:15-18.) The Akamai IVM workflow depicted in the
`
`Reference Architecture above demonstrates that in the IVM system, the workflow is directed to
`
`accessing and optimizing a “one high-quality, pristine file” referred to as an “Original Media
`
`File.” (Ex. H, Step 1.) The first request that IVM receives has information containing, for
`
`example, “browser, device types, and the quality level of the end user’s current networking
`
`connection.” (Id., Step 3.) IVM uses this information as indications from which it determines
`
`which “image transformations” and “image optimizations” to perform on which original media
`
`content. (Ex. J at 4.) The