throbber
IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`____________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`____________
`
`JUNIPER NETWORKS, INC.
`
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`ORCKIT CORPORATION
`
`Patent Owner.
`
`____________
`
`Case IPR2024-00037
`
`U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`____________
`
`
`
`PETITION FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW OF
`U.S. PATENT NO. 10,652,111
`
`
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`I.
`
`INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
`
`II.
`
`STANDING AND IDENTIFICATION OF CHALLENGE UNDER
`§§42.104(A)-(B) .............................................................................................. 1
`
`A. Grounds for Standing (§42.104(a)) ....................................................... 1
`
`B.
`
`Identification of Challenge and Relief Requested (§42.104(b)) ........... 1
`
`III.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE ’111 PATENT ............................................................. 3
`
`A. Overview of the ’111 Patent .................................................................. 3
`
`B.
`
`Priority Date .......................................................................................... 5
`
`C.
`
`Level of Ordinary Skill in the Art ......................................................... 5
`
`D.
`
`Claim Construction................................................................................ 5
`
`IV. NO BASIS EXISTS FOR DISCRETIONARY DENIAL .............................. 8
`
`A. Discretionary Denial Under Fintiv Isn’t Appropriate ........................... 8
`
`B.
`
`Discretionary Denial Under General Plastic Isn’t Appropriate ........... 9
`
`V. GROUND 1: CLAIMS 1-9, 12-24, AND 27-31 ARE UNPATENTABLE
`OVER LIN IN VIEW OF SWENSON. ........................................................10
`
`A.
`
`Lin ........................................................................................................10
`
`B.
`
`Swenson ...............................................................................................12
`
`C.
`
`Claim 1 ................................................................................................14
`
`D.
`
`Claim 2 ................................................................................................33
`
`E.
`
`F.
`
`Claim 3 ................................................................................................35
`
`Claim 4 ................................................................................................37
`
`
`
`i
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`G.
`
`Claim 5 ................................................................................................38
`
`H.
`
`Claim 6 ................................................................................................40
`
`I.
`
`J.
`
`Claim 7 ................................................................................................41
`
`Claim 8 ................................................................................................42
`
`K.
`
`Claim 9 ................................................................................................43
`
`L.
`
`Claim 12 ..............................................................................................44
`
`M. Claim 13 ..............................................................................................45
`
`N.
`
`Claim 14 ..............................................................................................45
`
`O.
`
`Claim 15 ..............................................................................................45
`
`P.
`
`Claim 16 ..............................................................................................46
`
`Q.
`
`Claim 17 ..............................................................................................47
`
`R.
`
`Claim 18 ..............................................................................................48
`
`S.
`
`T.
`
`Claim 19 ..............................................................................................48
`
`Claim 20 ..............................................................................................49
`
`U.
`
`Claim 21 ..............................................................................................50
`
`V.
`
`Claim 22 ..............................................................................................51
`
`W. Claim 23 ..............................................................................................52
`
`X.
`
`Claim 24 ..............................................................................................52
`
`Y.
`
`Claim 27 ..............................................................................................53
`
`Z.
`
`Claim 28 ..............................................................................................53
`
`AA. Claim 29 ..............................................................................................54
`
`
`
`ii
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`BB. Claim 30 ..............................................................................................54
`
`CC. Claim 31 ..............................................................................................55
`
`VI. GROUND 2: CLAIMS 1, 5-9, 12-24, AND 27-30 ARE UNPATENTABLE
`OVER SHIEH IN VIEW OF SWENSON ....................................................55
`
`A.
`
`Shieh ....................................................................................................55
`
`B.
`
`Claim 1 ................................................................................................57
`
`C.
`
`Claims 5-9 ...........................................................................................69
`
`D.
`
`Claim 12 ..............................................................................................69
`
`E.
`
`F.
`
`Claim 13 ..............................................................................................70
`
`Claim 14 ..............................................................................................70
`
`G.
`
`Claim 15 ..............................................................................................71
`
`H.
`
`Claim 16 ..............................................................................................71
`
`I.
`
`J.
`
`Claim 17 ..............................................................................................72
`
`Claim 18 ..............................................................................................72
`
`K.
`
`Claim 19 ..............................................................................................73
`
`L.
`
`Claim 20 ..............................................................................................73
`
`M. Claim 21 ..............................................................................................74
`
`N.
`
`Claim 22 ..............................................................................................74
`
`O.
`
`Claim 23 ..............................................................................................75
`
`P.
`
`Claim 24 ..............................................................................................76
`
`Q.
`
`Claim 27 ..............................................................................................76
`
`R.
`
`Claim 28 ..............................................................................................77
`
`
`
`iii
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`S.
`
`T.
`
`Claim 29 ..............................................................................................77
`
`Claim 30 ..............................................................................................77
`
`VII. OBJECTIVE INDICIA OF NON-OBVIOUSNESS .....................................78
`
`VIII. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................78
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`iv
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`EXHIBIT LIST
`
`Exhibit
`
`Description
`
`1001 U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`1002
`
`Prosecution History of the ’111 Patent
`
`1003 Curriculum Vitae of Samrat Bhattacharjee
`
`1004 Declaration of Dr. Samrat Bhattacharjee
`
`1005 U.S. Patent No. 9,264,400 (“Lin”)
`
`1006 U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0291088 (“Shieh”)
`
`1007 U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0322242 (“Swenson)
`
`1008 RFC 2460, Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification
`
`1009 Nunes, A., et al., A Survey of Software-Defined Networking: Past,
`Present, and Future of Programmable Networks
`
`1010 Complaint in Orckit Corp. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., No. 2:22-cv-00276
`(E.D. Tex.)
`
`1011 Amended Scheduling Order in Orckit Corp. v. Cisco Systems, Inc.,
`No. 2:22-cv-00276 (E.D. Tex.)
`
`1012
`
`Interim Procedure for Discretionary Denials in AIA Post-Grant
`Proceedings with Parallel District Court Litigation, Vidal, K., United
`States Patent and Trademark Office, June 21, 2022
`
`1013
`
`Federal Case Management Statistics for the Eastern District of Texas,
`as of June 30, 2022
`
`
`
`v
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`CLAIM LISTING
`
`1.1
`
`1.2
`
`1.3
`
`1.4
`1.5
`
`Claims 1-9, 12-24, and 27-31
`1.0 A method for use with a packet network including a network node for
`transporting packets between first and second entities under control of a
`controller that is external to the network node, the method comprising:
`sending, by the controller to the network node over the packet network,
`an instruction and a packet-applicable criterion;
`receiving, by the network node from the controller, the instruction and
`the criterion;
`receiving, by the network node from the first entity over the packet
`network, a packet addressed to the second entity;
`checking, by the network node, if the packet satisfies the criterion;
`responsive to the packet not satisfying the criterion, sending, by the
`network node over the packet network, the packet to the second entity;
`and
`responsive to the packet satisfying the criterion, sending the packet, by
`the network node over the packet network, to an entity that is included
`in the instruction and is other than the second entity.
`The method according to claim 1, wherein the instruction is 'probe',
`'mirror', or 'terminate' instruction, and upon receiving by the network
`node the 'terminate' instruction, the method further comprising blocking,
`by the network node, the packet from being sent to the second entity and
`to the controller.
`The method according to claim 1, wherein the instruction is a 'probe', a
`'mirror', or a 'terminate' instruction, and upon receiving by the network
`node the 'mirror' instruction and responsive to the packet satisfying the
`criterion, the method further comprising sending the packet, by the
`network node, to the second entity and to the controller.
`The method according to claim 1, wherein the instruction is 'probe',
`'mirror', or 'terminate' instruction, and upon receiving by the network
`node the 'probe' instruction and responsive to the packet satisfying the
`criterion, the method further comprising: sending the packet, by the
`network node, to the controller; responsive to receiving the packet,
`analyzing the packet, by the controller; sending the packet, by the
`controller, to the network node; and responsive to receiving the packet,
`sending the packet, by the network node, to the second entity.
`
`1.6
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`
`
`vi
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`The method according to claim 1, further comprising responsive to the
`packet satisfying the criterion and to the instruction, sending the packet
`or a portion thereof, by the network node, to the controller.
`The method according to claim 5, further comprising storing the
`received packet or a portion thereof, by the controller, in a memory.
`The method according to claim 5, further comprising responsive to the
`packet satisfying the criterion and to the instruction, sending a portion
`of the packet, by the network node, to the controller.
`The method according to claim 7, wherein the portion of the packet
`consists of multiple consecutive bytes, and wherein the instruction
`comprises identification of the consecutive bytes in the packet.
`The method according to claim 5, further comprising responsive to
`receiving the packet, analyzing the packet, by the controller.
`The method according to claim 9, wherein the analyzing comprises
`applying security or data analytic application.
`The method according to claim 9, wherein the analyzing comprises
`applying security application that comprises firewall or intrusion
`detection functionality.
`The method according to claim 9, wherein the analyzing comprises
`performing Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) or using a DPI engine on the
`packet.
`The method according to claim 9, wherein the packet comprises distinct
`header and payload fields, and wherein the analyzing comprises
`checking part of, or whole of, the payload field.
`The method according to claim 1, wherein the packet comprises distinct
`header and payload fields, the header comprises one or more flag bits,
`and wherein the packet-applicable criterion is that one or more of the
`flag bits is set.
`The method according to claim 16, wherein the packet is an
`Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) packet, and wherein the one or
`more flag bits comprises comprise a SYN flag bit, an ACK flag bit, a
`FIN flag bit, a RST flag bit, or any combination thereof.
`The method according to claim 1, wherein the packet comprises distinct
`header and payload fields, the header comprises at least the first and
`second entities addresses in the packet network, and wherein the packet-
`applicable criterion is that the first entity address, the second entity
`address, or both match a predetermined address or addresses.
`The method according to claim 18, wherein the addresses are Internet
`Protocol (IP) addresses.
`
`
`
`vii
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`The method according to claim 1, wherein the packet is an Transmission
`Control Protocol (TCP) packet that comprises source and destination
`TCP ports, a TCP sequence number, and a TCP sequence mask fields,
`and wherein the packetapplicable criterion is that the source TCP port,
`the destination TCP port, the TCP sequence number, the TCP sequence
`mask, or any combination thereof, matches a predetermined value or
`values.
`The method according to claim 1, wherein the packet network
`comprises a Wide Area Network (WAN), Local Area Network (LAN),
`the Internet, Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Internet Service
`Provider (ISP) backbone, datacenter network, or inter-datacenter
`network.
`The method according to claim 1, wherein the first entity is a server
`device and the second entity is a client device, or wherein the first entity
`is a client device and the second entity is a server device.
`The method according to claim 22, wherein the server device comprises
`a web server, and wherein the client device comprises a smartphone, a
`tablet computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, or a wearable
`computing device.
`The method according to claim 22, wherein the communication between
`the network node and the controller is based on, or uses, a standard
`protocol.
`The method according to claim 1, wherein the network node comprises
`a router, a switch, or a bridge.
`The method according to claim 1, wherein the packet network is an
`Internet Protocol (IP) network, and the packet is an IP packet.
`The method according to claim 28, wherein the packet network is an
`Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) network, and the packet is an
`TCP packet.
`30.0 The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the
`network node from the first entity over the packet network, one or more
`additional packets; checking, by the network node, if any one of the one
`or more additional packets satisfies the criterion;
`responsive to an additional packet not satisfying the criterion, sending,
`by the network node over the packet network, the additional packet to
`the second entity; and responsive to the additional packet satisfying the
`criterion, sending the additional packet, by the network node over the
`packet network, in response to the instruction.
`
`24
`
`27
`
`28
`
`29
`
`30.1
`
`
`
`viii
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`31
`
`The method according to claim 1, wherein the packet network is a
`Software Defined Network (SDN), the packet is routed as part of a data
`plane and the network node communication with the controller serves as
`a control plane.
`
`
`ix
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`MANDATORY NOTICES UNDER 37 C.F.R. § 42.8(a)(1)
`
`• § 42.8(b)(1): Juniper Networks, Inc. is the real party-in-interest.
`
`• § 42.8(b)(2): The ’111 Patent is at issue in the following cases that may affect,
`
`or be affected by, a decision in this proceeding:
`
`Orckit Corporation v. Cisco Systems, Inc., No. 2:22-cv-00276 (E.D. Tex.);
`
`Orckit Corporation v. Arista Networks, Inc., No. 1:23-cv-00821 (D. Del.);
`
`Orckit Corporation v. Juniper Networks, Inc., No. 1:23-cv-00822 (D. Del.); and
`
`Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Orckit Corporation, IPR2023-00554 (P.T.A.B).
`
`• §§ 42.8(b)(3), (4): A Power of Attorney accompanies this Petition. Juniper
`
`consents to email service at ipr@fischllp.com.
`
`Lead Counsel
`Kyle K. Tsui (Reg. No. 62,602)
`kyle.tsui@fischllp.com
`FISCH SIGLER LLP
`5301 Wisconsin Avenue NW
`Suite 400
`Washington, DC 20015
`Phone: 202.362.3527
`
`
`Back-up Counsel
`Andrew L. Ramos (Reg. No. 76,865)
`andrew.ramos@fischllp.com
`FISCH SIGLER LLP
`5301 Wisconsin Avenue NW
`Suite 400
`Washington, DC 20015
`Phone: 202.362.3522
`
`
`
`x
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`I.
`
`INTRODUCTION
`
`U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111 (“the ’111 Patent”) relates to deep packet
`
`inspection (“DPI”) in a software defined network (“SDN”). During prosecution,
`
`the Applicant relied heavily on claim limitations reciting “… sending, by the
`
`controller to the network node over the packet network, an instruction and a
`
`packet-applicable criterion” and “… receiving by the network node from the
`
`controller, the instruction and the criterion” to distinguish the prior art.1 But as
`
`shown below, and as Dr. Bhattacharjee’s Declaration (Ex. 1004) confirms, this
`
`wasn’t new and would’ve been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
`
`Included with this Petition is a timely Motion for Joinder. Juniper Networks,
`
`Inc. (“Juniper,” “Petitioner”) respectfully requests inter partes review (“IPR”) of
`
`claims 1-9, 12-24, and 27-31 of the ’111 Patent.
`
`II.
`
`STANDING AND IDENTIFICATION OF CHALLENGE UNDER §§42.104(A)-(B)
`
`A. Grounds for Standing (§42.104(a))
`
`Juniper certifies the ’111 Patent is available for IPR. Juniper isn’t barred or
`
`estopped from requesting IPR on the asserted grounds.
`
`B.
`
`Identification of Challenge and Relief Requested (§42.104(b))
`
`A Motion for Joinder accompanies this Petition, which, in the interest of
`
`judicial economy, relies on copies of the exhibits filed in IPR2023-00554. Relying
`
`
`1 Ex. 1002 at 322-330, 397-417, 492-501.
`
`
`
`1
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`on this identical evidence challenging the same claims with substantially identical
`
`grounds, Juniper asks the Board to find claims 1-9, 12-24, and 27-31 (“Challenged
`
`Claims”) unpatentable under §1032 based on the following patents and printed
`
`publications in view of the general knowledge of a person having ordinary skill in
`
`the art (“POSITA”) prior to the purported invention:
`
`Ground
`
`Proposed Challenges
`
`1
`
`2
`
`Lin3 and Swenson4 render obvious claims 1-9, 12-24, and 27-31.
`
`Shieh5 and Swenson render obvious claims 1, 5-9, 12-24, and 27-30.
`
`Lin was filed December 2, 2013 and issued February 16, 2016. Lin qualifies
`
`as prior art under at least 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(2). Swenson claims priority to a pair
`
`of provisional applications filed on June 1, 2012, and January 18, 2013,
`
`respectively. Swenson was filed as a non-provisional application on May 31, 2013
`
`and published on December 5, 2013. Thus, Swenson qualifies as prior art under at
`
`least 35 U.S.C. §§102(a)(1)-(2). And Shieh was filed as a provisional application
`
`on April 11, 2012 and as a nonprovisional application on April 10, 2013. Shieh
`
`
`2 35 U.S.C. §§102, 103 (AIA) applies to the ’111 Patent.
`
`3 U.S. Patent No. 9,264,400 (Ex. 1005) (“Lin”).
`
`4 U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0322242 (Ex. 1007) (“Swenson”).
`
`5 U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0291088 (Ex. 1006) (“Shieh”).
`
`
`
`
`
`2
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`published on October 31, 2013. Thus, Shieh qualifies as prior art under at least 35
`
`U.S.C. §§102(a)(1)-(2).
`
`III. SUMMARY OF THE ’111 PATENT
`
`A. Overview of the ’111 Patent
`
`The ’111 Patent discloses methods and systems relating to “deep packet
`
`inspection (DPI) in a software defined network (SDN).”6 The ’111 Patent discloses
`
`a “central controller of the SDN” that is used to “configure[e] a plurality of
`
`network nodes operable in the SDN” with instructions that tell the network nodes
`
`what to do with incoming packets.7 For example, the central controller may send a
`
`“probe” instruction to a network node such that, when the network node receives a
`
`packet that matches a “packet-applicable criterion,” the network node will “mirror”
`
`(i.e., send) some or all of the packet to a security component for inspection.8
`
`“[T]he central controller 111 [shown below in Figure 1 of the ’111 Patent] is
`
`configured to perform deep packet inspection on designated packets from
`
`designated flows or TCP sessions.”9 “To this end, the central controller 111 is
`
`further configured to instruct each of the network nodes 112 which of the packets
`
`
`6 ’111 Patent, Abstract; see id., 1:14-16, Bhattacharjee, ¶¶30-34.
`
`7 ’111 Patent, 2:27-30, 2:3-32; Bhattacharjee, ¶30.
`
`8 ’111 Patent, 2:3-44; Bhattacharjee, ¶30.
`
`9 ’111 Patent, 4:5-7; Bhattacharjee, ¶31.
`
`
`
`
`
`3
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`and/or sessions should be directed to the controller 111 for packet inspections.”10
`
`“The determination [of whether a packet requires inspection] is performed based
`
`on a set of instructions provided by the controller 111.”11 “A packet that requires
`
`inspection is either redirected to the controller 111 or mirrored and a copy thereof
`
`is sent to the controller 111.”12
`
`
`
`’111 Patent, Fig. 1.
`
`During prosecution, the Applicant relied heavily on claim limitations
`
`reciting “… sending, by the controller to the network node over the packet
`
`network, an instruction and a packet-applicable criterion” and “… receiving by the
`
`network node from the controller, the instruction and the criterion” to distinguish
`
`
`10 ’111 Patent, 4:8-11.
`
`11 Id., 4:14-15.
`
`12 Id., 4:15-18.
`
`
`
`
`
`4
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`the prior art, along with arguments that there was no motivation to combine the
`
`cited art.13
`
`B.
`
`Priority Date
`
`Solely for the purposes of this Petition, Petitioner assumes that the priority
`
`date for the ’111 Patent is April 22, 2014, the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent
`
`Application No. 61/982,358 to which the ’111 Patent claims priority.14
`
`C. Level of Ordinary Skill in the Art
`
`As of April 22, 2014, a POSITA would’ve had a bachelor’s degree in
`
`computer science, computer engineering, or an equivalent, and two years of
`
`professional experience, and a POSITA would’ve had a working knowledge of
`
`hardware and software for packet-switched networking.15 Lack of work experience
`
`can be remedied by additional education and vice versa.16
`
`D. Claim Construction
`
`In inter partes review, claim terms must be given their ordinary and
`
`customary meaning as understood by a POSITA at the time of the invention in
`
`
`13 EX1002 at 322-330, 397-417, 492-501; Bhattacharjee, ¶¶35-46.
`
`14 Bhattacharjee, ¶47.
`
`15 Id., ¶¶48-49.
`
`16 Id., ¶48.
`
`
`
`
`
`5
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`light of the specification and the prosecution history pertaining to the patent.17
`
`The claim term “controller” should be construed to mean “an entity
`
`configured to perform deep packet inspection on packets.”18 The ’111 Patent
`
`discloses “a method for deep packet inspection (DPI) in a software defined
`
`network (SDN), wherein the method is performed by a central controller of the
`
`SDN.”19 Further, the patent states that “the central controller 111 is configured to
`
`perform deep packet inspection on designated packets from designated flows or
`
`TCP sessions.”20
`
`Further, the ’111 Patent describes that “the central controller 111 includes a
`
`DPI flow detection module 311, a DPI engine 312, and a memory 313, and a
`
`processing unit 314,” as shown below in Figure 3.21 “The DPI engine 312 [is]
`
`configured to inspect a packet or a number of bytes to provide application metadata
`
`as required by an application executed by an application server 120.”22 A POSITA
`
`would’ve known from this description that the central controller was configured in
`
`
`17 See 37 C.F.R. §42.100(b); Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1312-13 (Fed.
`
`Cir. 2015) (en banc).
`
`18 ’111 Patent, 10:52-62; Bhattacharjee, ¶¶69-71.
`
`19 ’111 Patent, 2:27-30 (emphasis added); see id., 3:56-59.
`
`20 Id., 4:5-7 (emphasis added); see id., 2:49-51, 4:8-11, 9:67-10:1.
`
`21 ’111 Patent, 5:33-36.
`
`22 Id., 5:36-39; see id., 5:40-59.
`
`
`
`
`
`6
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`this manner to provide DPI on redirected packets, as all of the embodiments in the
`
`’111 Patent disclose that redirected packets are sent to the central controller for
`
`DPI.23
`
`’111 Patent, Fig. 3 (annotated); see id. Figs. 4-6.
`
`
`
`Further, the claim term “instruction” should be construed to mean “a
`
`command to determine if a packet requires inspection or not.”24 The ’111 Patent
`
`discloses that “each network node 112 is configured to determine if an incoming
`
`packet requires inspection or not.”25 The patent states that “the central controller
`
`
`23 See, e.g., Bhattacharjee, ¶71; ’111 Patent, 4:8-18, 4:49-50, 8:1-5.
`
`24 ’111 Patent, 10:56-62; Bhattacharjee, ¶72.
`
`25 ’111 Patent, 4:12-14.
`
`
`
`
`
`7
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`111 is further configured to instruct each of the network nodes 112 which of the
`
`packets and/or sessions should be directed to the controller 111 for packet
`
`inspections.” Moreover, the exemplary instructions provided in the ’111 Patent are
`
`various commands used to determine whether or not a packet requires inspection.26
`
`Terms not specifically construed have their plain and ordinary meaning as
`
`understood by a POSITA.27
`
`IV. NO BASIS EXISTS FOR DISCRETIONARY DENIAL
`
`Although institution is discretionary, the grounds for unpatentability
`
`presented in this Petition are neither cumulative or redundant to the prosecution of
`
`the ’111 Patent. The prior art here wasn’t previously considered and isn’t
`
`redundant to any combination of references previously considered. Nor do the
`
`Fintiv or General Plastic factors provide any basis for denial.
`
`A. Discretionary Denial Under Fintiv Isn’t Appropriate
`
`The six Fintiv factors considered for §314 denial favor institution.28 Factor 1
`
`is neutral. Patent Owner filed its complaint against Juniper asserting infringement
`
`of the ’111 Patent on July 31, 2023. Because the district court proceeding is in its
`
`
`26 Id.; see id., 8:23-32, 8:40-53, 9:26-28; Bhattacharjee, ¶72.
`
`27 Bhattacharjee, ¶73.
`
`28 See Apple Inc. v. Fintiv, Inc., IPR2020-00019, Paper 11 (PTAB Mar. 20, 2020)
`
`(precedential).
`
`
`
`8
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`early stages, no motion for stay has been filed. Due to the early stage of the district
`
`court proceeding, the parties have only minimally invested in the district court
`
`proceeding, no case schedule currently exists, and no overlap in prior art issues
`
`exist. Indeed, Juniper has yet to respond to the complaint. A final written decision
`
`will issue from this IPR well before the 27-month median time to trial in Delaware
`
`elapses. Factors 2-4 therefore weight in favor of institution. The parties are the
`
`same so factor 5 doesn’t provide a basis for denying institution. And this Petition
`
`seeks joinder of already instituted proceedings. The institution of the original
`
`proceeding, IPR2023-00554, confirms the compelling evidence of unpatentability
`
`included in this petition which relies on the same evidence. Thus, factor 6 also
`
`weighs in favor of institution. And Fintiv offers no basis for denying institution
`
`here.
`
`B. Discretionary Denial Under General Plastic Isn’t Appropriate
`
`Although the Board applies General Plastic to petitions seeking joinder, the
`
`factors don’t support denying institution here.29 This Petition is Petitioner’s first
`
`challenge to the ’111 Patent. And as its Motion for Joinder details, Petitioner
`
`agrees to assume a passive understudy role so that its participation won’t affect the
`
`
`29 Cf. Apple Inc. v. Uniloc 2017 LLC, IPR2020-00854, Paper 9 (P.T.A.B. Oct. 28,
`
`2020) (precedential) (applying General Plastic factors where Petitioner previously
`
`filed unsuccessful IPR petitions).
`
`
`
`
`
`9
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`schedule of IPR2023-00554 or impact the Board’s finite resources. In doing so,
`
`Petitioner “effectively neutraliz[es] the General Plastic [discretionary denial]
`
`factors.”30 General Plastics therefore offers no basis for discretionary denial.31
`
`V. GROUND 1: CLAIMS 1-9, 12-24, AND 27-31 ARE UNPATENTABLE OVER LIN
`IN VIEW OF SWENSON.
`
`The combination of Lin and Swenson, along with the knowledge of a
`
`POSITA, renders claims 1-9, 12-24 and 27-31 obvious.32
`
`A. Lin
`
`Lin “relates generally to computer security, and more particularly but not
`
`exclusively to software defined networking.”33 “In one embodiment, a software
`
`defined networking (SDN) computer network includes an SDN controller and an
`
`SDN switch.”34 “The SDN controller inserts flow rules in a flow table of the SDN
`
`
`30 Apple Inc. v. Uniloc 2017 LLC, IPR2018-00580, Paper 13 at 10-11 (P.T.A.B.
`
`Aug. 21, 2018).
`
`31 See General Plastic Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, IPR2016-
`
`01357, Paper 19 at 9-10 (P.T.A.B. Sept. 6, 2017) (precedential) (listing factors
`
`considered when petitioners have previously filed petitions).
`
`32 Bhattacharjee, ¶¶74-206.
`
`33 Lin, 1:7-9; see id., Abstract; Bhattacharjee, ¶¶50-56. Background discussion of
`
`software defined networking can be found in Paragraphs 21-29 of Dr.
`
`Bhattacharjee’s declaration and in EX1009.
`
`34 Lin, 1:58-60; Figures 6-8.
`
`
`
`
`
`10
`
`

`

`Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,111
`
`
`IPR2024-00037
`
`switch to create an SDN pipe between a sender component and a security
`
`component.”35 “The SDN pipe allows outgoing packets sent by the sender
`
`component to be received by the security component.”36 “The security component
`
`inspects the outgoing packets for compliance with security policies and allows the
`
`outgoing packets to be forwarded to their destination when the outgoing packets
`
`pass inspection.”37 Figure 6 of Lin, reproduced below, shows “a schematic diagram
`
`of an SDN computer network 600” in which “[t]he SDN controller 610 provides a
`
`logically centralized framework for controlling the behavior of the SDN computer
`
`network 600.”38 “The SDN controller 610 may include a flow policy database
`

This document is available on Docket Alarm but you must sign up to view it.


Or .

Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.

After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.

Accept $ Charge
throbber

Still Working On It

This document is taking longer than usual to download. This can happen if we need to contact the court directly to obtain the document and their servers are running slowly.

Give it another minute or two to complete, and then try the refresh button.

throbber

A few More Minutes ... Still Working

It can take up to 5 minutes for us to download a document if the court servers are running slowly.

Thank you for your continued patience.

This document could not be displayed.

We could not find this document within its docket. Please go back to the docket page and check the link. If that does not work, go back to the docket and refresh it to pull the newest information.

Your account does not support viewing this document.

You need a Paid Account to view this document. Click here to change your account type.

Your account does not support viewing this document.

Set your membership status to view this document.

With a Docket Alarm membership, you'll get a whole lot more, including:

  • Up-to-date information for this case.
  • Email alerts whenever there is an update.
  • Full text search for other cases.
  • Get email alerts whenever a new case matches your search.

Become a Member

One Moment Please

The filing “” is large (MB) and is being downloaded.

Please refresh this page in a few minutes to see if the filing has been downloaded. The filing will also be emailed to you when the download completes.

Your document is on its way!

If you do not receive the document in five minutes, contact support at support@docketalarm.com.

Sealed Document

We are unable to display this document, it may be under a court ordered seal.

If you have proper credentials to access the file, you may proceed directly to the court's system using your government issued username and password.


Access Government Site

We are redirecting you
to a mobile optimized page.





Document Unreadable or Corrupt

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket

We are unable to display this document.

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket