`
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`
`
`
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`___________________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`___________________
`
`
`META PLATFORMS, INC.,
`Petitioner
`
`v.
`
`SITNET, LLC,
`Patent Owner
`
`___________________
`
`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
`___________________
`
`DECLARATION OF DR. JEREMY COOPERSTOCK IN SUPPORT OF
`PETITION FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW OF U.S. PATENT NO. 8,332,454
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Mail Stop “PATENT BOARD”
`Patent Trial and Appeal Board
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
`
`
`
`Meta EX1003
`IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
`
`

`

`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`I.
`
`INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1
`
`II. MY BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS ......................................... 2
`
`III.
`
`SUMMARY OF OPINIONS .......................................................................... 5
`
`IV. LIST OF DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED ...................................................... 6
`
`V.
`
`LEGAL UNDERSTANDING ........................................................................ 7
`
`A. My Understanding of Claim Construction............................................ 7
`
`B. My Understanding of Obviousness....................................................... 8
`
`C.
`
`A Person of Ordinary Skill in the Art ................................................. 10
`
`VI. OVERVIEW OF THE ’454 PATENT .......................................................... 11
`
`VII. OVERVIEW OF THE TECHNOLOGY ...................................................... 15
`
`A.
`
`B.
`
`Social Networks .................................................................................. 16
`
`Sharing Information Related to Situations or Events ......................... 17
`
`VIII. PROSECUTION HISTORY ......................................................................... 19
`
`IX. PERSON OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART ........................................ 19
`
`X.
`
`CLAIM CONSTRUCTION .......................................................................... 20
`
`XI. OVERVIEW OF THE PRIOR ART ............................................................. 20
`
`A. Amidon ............................................................................................... 20
`
`B. Wong ................................................................................................... 24
`
`C.
`
`Gogic ................................................................................................... 26
`
`XII. GROUND 1: AMIDON RENDERS OBVIOUS CLAIMS 1-7, 10-17, 19,
`AND 20 ......................................................................................................... 27
`
`A.
`
`Independent Claim 1 ........................................................................... 27
`
`1.
`
`2.
`
`3.
`
`[1.P]: A method of creating a projection of a situational network,
`the method comprising ............................................................. 27
`
`[1.1]: (a) creating, by an event node server, an event node in a
`multi-dimensional personal information network, the event node
`corresponding to a situation...................................................... 29
`
`[1.2]: (b) forming a projection of nodes of the situational network
`using geographic
`locations of a plurality of devices
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`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
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`corresponding to nodes in the multi-dimensional personal
`information network ................................................................. 38
`
`4.
`
`5.
`
`6.
`
`[1.3]: (c) transmitting an invitation to establish a link with the
`event node server to the devices corresponding to each node in
`the projection formed in step (b) .............................................. 40
`
`[1.4]: (d) receiving a response from at least one of the devices
`from step (c) accepting the invitation to establish a link with the
`event node server ...................................................................... 41
`
`[1.5]: (e) establishing a link with each device accepting the
`invitation ................................................................................... 42
`
`Claim 2 ................................................................................................ 45
`
`Claim 3 ................................................................................................ 46
`
`Claim 4 ................................................................................................ 47
`
`Claim 5 ................................................................................................ 49
`
`Claim 6 ................................................................................................ 50
`
`Claim 7 ................................................................................................ 51
`
`Independent Claim 10 ......................................................................... 52
`
`1.
`
`2.
`
`3.
`
`4.
`
`5.
`
`[10.P] A method of creating a projection of a situational network,
`the method comprising ............................................................. 52
`
`[10.1] (a) receiving, by a first device corresponding to a node in
`a multi-dimensional personal information network, an invitation
`to establish a link with an event node server in response to the
`first device being included in a projection of nodes of the multi-
`dimensional personal information network .............................. 53
`
`[10.2] (b) transmitting a response accepting the invitation to
`establish a link with the event node server; .............................. 53
`
`[10.3] (c) establishing a link with the event node server; and .. 53
`
`[10.4] (d) receiving information about the situation from the
`event node server. ..................................................................... 54
`
`Claim 11 .............................................................................................. 54
`
`Claim 12 .............................................................................................. 55
`
`Claim 13 .............................................................................................. 55
`
`Claim 14 .............................................................................................. 56
`
`- ii -
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`B.
`
`C.
`
`D.
`
`E.
`
`F.
`
`G.
`
`H.
`
`I.
`
`J.
`
`K.
`
`L.
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`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
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`M. Claim 15 .............................................................................................. 57
`
`N.
`
`O.
`
`P.
`
`Q.
`
`Claim 16 .............................................................................................. 58
`
`Claim 17 .............................................................................................. 59
`
`Claim 19 .............................................................................................. 59
`
`Independent Claim 20 ......................................................................... 60
`
`XIII. GROUND 2: THE COMBINATION OF WONG AND GOGIC RENDERS
`OBVIOUS CLAIMS 1-4, 6, 8-18, AND 20. ................................................ 61
`
`A. A POSA would have found it obvious to combine Wong and Gogic.62
`
`B.
`
`Independent Claim 1 ........................................................................... 65
`
`1.
`
`2.
`
`3.
`
`4.
`
`5.
`
`6.
`
`[1.P]: A method of creating a projection of a situational network,
`the method comprising ............................................................. 65
`
`[1.1]: (a) creating, by an event node server, an event node in a
`multi-dimensional personal information network, the event node
`corresponding to a situation...................................................... 67
`
`[1.2]: (b) forming a projection of nodes of the situational network
`using geographic
`locations of a plurality of devices
`corresponding to nodes in the multi-dimensional personal
`information network ................................................................. 70
`
`[1.3]: (c) transmitting an invitation to establish a link with the
`event node server to the devices corresponding to each node in
`the projection formed in step (b) .............................................. 72
`
`[1.4]: (d) receiving a response from at least one of the devices
`from step (c) accepting the invitation to establish a link with the
`event node server ...................................................................... 74
`
`[1.5]: (e) establishing a link with each device accepting the
`invitation ................................................................................... 74
`
`C.
`
`D.
`
`E.
`
`F.
`
`G.
`
`H.
`
`Claim 2 ................................................................................................ 75
`
`Claim 3 ................................................................................................ 76
`
`Claim 4 ................................................................................................ 78
`
`Claim 6 ................................................................................................ 78
`
`Claim 8 ................................................................................................ 80
`
`Claim 9 ................................................................................................ 81
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`

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`I.
`
`Independent Claim 10 ......................................................................... 81
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`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
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`1.
`
`2.
`
`3.
`
`4.
`
`5.
`
`[10.P] A method of creating a projection of a situational network,
`the method comprising ............................................................. 81
`
`[10.1] (a) receiving, by a first device corresponding to a node in
`a multi-dimensional personal information network, an invitation
`to establish a link with an event node server in response to the
`first device being included in a projection of nodes of the multi-
`dimensional personal information network .............................. 81
`
`[10.2] (b) transmitting a response accepting the invitation to
`establish a link with the event node server; .............................. 82
`
`[10.3] (c) establishing a link with the event node server; and .. 82
`
`[10.4] (d) receiving information about the situation from the
`event node server ...................................................................... 82
`
`J.
`
`K.
`
`L.
`
`Claim 11 .............................................................................................. 82
`
`Claim 12 .............................................................................................. 83
`
`Claim 13 .............................................................................................. 83
`
`M. Claim 14 .............................................................................................. 84
`
`N.
`
`O.
`
`P.
`
`Q.
`
`R.
`
`Claim 15 .............................................................................................. 85
`
`Claim 16 .............................................................................................. 86
`
`Claim 17 .............................................................................................. 86
`
`Claim 18 .............................................................................................. 87
`
`Independent Claim 20 ......................................................................... 88
`
`XIV. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 89
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`
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`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
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`
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`I, Jeremy Cooperstock, hereby declare as follows.
`
`I.
`
`INTRODUCTION
`
`1.
`
`I have been retained as an expert witness on behalf of Petitioner Meta
`
`Platforms, Inc. (“Petitioner”) for the above-captioned inter partes review (IPR). I
`
`am being compensated for my time in connection with this IPR at my standard
`
`consulting rate.
`
`2.
`
`I understand that this declaration accompanies a petition for IPR
`
`involving U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454 (“the ’454 patent”) (EX1001), which resulted
`
`from U.S. Patent Application No. 13/274,712 (“the ’712 application”), filed on
`
`October 17, 2011. I understand that the ’454 patent alleges a priority date of
`
`February 2, 2007. I refer to this date throughout this declaration.
`
`3.
`
`In preparing this declaration, I have reviewed the ’454 patent and each
`
`of the documents cited herein, in light of general knowledge in the art before
`
`February 2, 2007. In formulating my opinions, I have relied upon my experience,
`
`education, and knowledge in the relevant art. In formulating my opinions, I have
`
`also considered the viewpoint of a person of ordinary skill in the art (“POSA”)
`
`(i.e., a person of ordinary skill in the field of telecommunications and computer
`
`networking) prior to February 2, 2007.
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`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
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`II. MY BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS
`
`4.
`
`I am a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer
`
`Engineering at McGill University. My Curriculum Vitae is attached as Exhibit
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`1004.
`
`5.
`
`I received my B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (with Honors) from the
`
`University of British Columbia in 1990, my M.Sc. in Computer Science from the
`
`University of Toronto in 1992, and my Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer
`
`Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1996.
`
`6.
`
`I have been employed at McGill University since November 2017,
`
`where I am currently a Full Professor in the Department of Electrical and
`
`Computer Engineering. In this capacity, I conduct and supervise research activities,
`
`and teach courses at the upper undergraduate and graduate level on human-
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`computer interaction, artificial intelligence, embedded systems, and haptic
`
`interaction design.
`
`7.
`
`I am a member of the Centre for Intelligent Machines, a founding
`
`member of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and
`
`Technology, a member of the International Laboratory on Learning System, a
`
`member of the McGill Institute for Aerospace Engineering, and an associate
`
`member of Biomedical Engineering at McGill University. I presently direct a
`
`group of approximately 50 researchers at the Shared Reality Lab at McGill, which
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`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
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`focuses on computer mediation to facilitate high-fidelity human communication
`
`and the synthesis of perceptually engaging, multimodal, immersive environments.
`
`Among other projects, I led the development of the Intelligent Classroom, a high-
`
`fidelity orchestra rehearsal simulator, a simulation environment that renders
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`graphic, audio, and vibrotactile effects in response to footsteps, and a mobile game
`
`treatment for amblyopia.
`
`8.
`
`I have been developing and working with network media distribution
`
`technologies since 1990, and I led the world’s first demonstrations of high-fidelity
`
`multichannel audio streaming over the Internet in 1999 and 2000, followed by
`
`multiple simultaneous streams of uncompressed high-definition video in 2005. My
`
`work on the Ultra-Videoconferencing system was recognized by an award for Most
`
`Innovative Use of New Technology from ACM/IEEE Supercomputing and a
`
`Distinction Award from the Audio Engineering Society. The research I supervised
`
`on the Autour project earned the Hochhausen Research Award from the Canadian
`
`National Institute for the Blind and an Impact Award from the Canadian Internet
`
`Registry Association, and my Real-Time Emergency Response project won the
`
`Gold Prize (brainstorm round) of the Mozilla Ignite Challenge. I am also a
`
`recipient of several “best paper” awards from scholarly societies for my research.
`
`9.
`
`I have carried out significant research involving network
`
`communication protocols, including wireless communication employing IEEE
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`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
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`802.11 (WiFi) and IEEE 802.15 (Bluetooth). My experience in these areas includes
`
`development of the Adaptive File Distribution Protocol (AFDP, 1995), analysis of
`
`the tradeoffs between bandwidth, power demands, and latency for audio streaming
`
`over WiFi, Bluetooth, and ultra-wideband protocols (2007), and assessment of the
`
`performance and scalability of wireless audio streaming for applications requiring
`
`latency-optimized multimedia streaming (2008).
`
`10.
`
`I have led all aspects of development and experimentation in the
`
`Autour project (2009-2016), which employs a combination of wireless
`
`communication protocols, and manages authentication for communication between
`
`clients and server, in addition to third-party information services. I have supervised
`
`a variety of projects that require sharing of WiFi network access credentials across
`
`multiple devices. I led a research project (MIMIC), which communicates sensor
`
`data between two coupled smartwatches using Bluetooth for local communication
`
`between the smartwatches and their peered smartphones, and the public Internet
`
`between the smartphones. I also led a project that uses both Bluetooth and WiFi
`
`communication between smartphones, a GPU-based physics engine, and a
`
`microelectronics architecture that renders vibrotactile effects on mobile footwear.
`
`11.
`
`I have worked with IBM at the Haifa Research Center, Israel, and the
`
`Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, the Sony Computer
`
`Science Laboratory in Tokyo, Japan, and was a visiting professor at Bang &
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`Case IPR2024-00529
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`Olufsen, Denmark, where I conducted research on telepresence technologies as
`
`part of the World Opera Project. I led the theme of Enabling Technologies for a
`
`Networks of Centres of Excellence on Graphics, Animation, and New Media
`
`(GRAND) and I am an associate editor of the Frontiers Journal in Virtual Reality,
`
`and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Transactions on
`
`Haptics, and previously, the Journal of the AES.
`
`III. SUMMARY OF OPINIONS
`
`12.
`
`In forming my opinions about the ’454 patent, I have considered the
`
`following grounds of unpatentability. Based on my review of the prior art
`
`references that form the basis of these grounds, it is my opinion that claims 1-20 of
`
`the ’454 patent would have been obvious to a POSA prior to February 2, 2007.
`
`Ground Basis
`
`Claims
`
`References
`
`1
`
`2
`
`§103
`
`§103
`
`1-7, 10-17, 19, and 20
`
`Amidon
`
`1-4, 6, 8-18, and 20
`
`Wong and Gogic
`
`13.
`
`I have been asked to consider how a POSA would have understood
`
`the challenged claims in light of the disclosures of the ’454 patent. I have also been
`
`asked to consider how a POSA would have understood the prior art references
`
`Amidon, Wong, and Gogic.
`
`14. Further, I have been asked to consider and provide my technical
`
`review, analysis, insights, and opinions regarding whether a POSA would have
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`understood that the combinations of the prior art references listed in the table
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`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
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`above render obvious claims 1-20 of the ’454 patent.
`
`IV. LIST OF DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED
`
`15.
`
`In formulating my opinions, I have relied upon my training,
`
`knowledge, and experience that are relevant to the ’454 patent. I have also
`
`reviewed and am familiar with the following documents and materials in addition
`
`to any other documents cited in this declaration:
`
`Exhibit No.
`
`Description
`
`1001
`
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454 to Cona et al. (“’454 patent”).
`
`1002
`
`Prosecution History of U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454 (“Prosecution
`History”).
`
`1004
`
`Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Jeremy Cooperstock
`
`1005
`
`U.S. Patent No. 8,346,864 B1 to Amidon et al. (“Amidon”)
`
`1006
`
`U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0103784 A1 to
`Wong et al. (“Wong”)
`
`1007
`
`U.S. Patent No. 8,103,300 B2 to Gogic (“Gogic”)
`
`1008
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,801,971 B1 to Amidon et al. (“Amidon-971”)
`
`1009
`
`Palen et al., Online Forums Supporting Grassroots Participation
`in Emergency Preparedness and Response, Communications of
`the ACM, Vol. 50, No. 3 (March 2007)
`
`1010
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,016,307 B2 to Vasudev et al. (“Vasudev”)
`
`1011
`
`U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0230053 A1 to
`Eldering (“Eldering”)
`
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`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
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`Exhibit No.
`
`Description
`
`1012
`
`1013
`
`Harghirian et al., Increasing Advertising Value of Mobile
`Marketing – An Empirical Study of Antecedents, Proceedings of
`the 48th Hawaii Int’l Conf. on System Sciences, IEEE (2005).
`
`Boyd & Ellison, Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and
`Scholarship, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication,
`13 (2008) pp. 210-230.
`
`1014
`
`U.S. Patent No. 8,024,330 to Franco et al. (“Franco”)
`
`1015
`
`1016
`
`November 26, 2006 Wikipedia page “Social network” (from
`web.archive.org) (accessed January 24, 2024)
`
`Barry Wellman, Network Analysis: Some Basic Principles,
`Sociological Theory, Vol. 1 (1983) pp. 155-200 (“Wellman”)
`
`16. To the best of my knowledge, the above-mentioned documents and
`
`materials are true and accurate copies of what they purport to be. An expert in the
`
`field would reasonably rely on them to formulate opinions such as those set forth
`
`in this declaration.
`
`V. LEGAL UNDERSTANDING
`
`17.
`
`I have also relied upon various legal principles (as explained to me by
`
`Meta’s counsel) in formulating my opinions. My understanding of these principles
`
`is summarized below.
`
`A. My Understanding of Claim Construction
`
`18.
`
`I understand that during an inter partes review proceeding, claims are
`
`to be construed in light of the specification as would be read by a person of
`
`ordinary skill in the relevant art at the time the application was filed. I understand
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`Case IPR2024-00529
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`that claim terms are given their ordinary and customary meaning as would be
`
`understood by a person of ordinary skill in the relevant art in the context of the
`
`entire disclosure. A claim term, however, will not receive its ordinary meaning if
`
`the patentee acted as his own lexicographer and clearly set forth a definition of the
`
`claim term in the specification. In this case, the claim term will receive the
`
`definition set forth in the patent.
`
`B. My Understanding of Obviousness
`
`19.
`
`I understand that a patent claim is invalid if the claimed invention
`
`would have been obvious to a POSA at the time the application was filed. This
`
`means that even if all of the requirements of the claim cannot be found in a single
`
`prior art reference that would anticipate the claim, the claim can still be invalid.
`
`20. To obtain a patent, a claimed invention must have, as of the priority
`
`date, been nonobvious in view of the prior art in the field. I understand that an
`
`invention is obvious when the differences between the subject matter sought to be
`
`patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have
`
`been obvious to a POSA at the time the invention was made.
`
`21.
`
`I understand that to prove that prior art or a combination of prior art
`
`renders a patent obvious, it is necessary to:
`
`(1) identify the particular references that, singly or in combination, render
`
`the patent obvious;
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`(2) specifically identify which elements of the patent claim appear in each of
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`Case IPR2024-00529
`U.S. Patent No. 8,332,454
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`the asserted references; and
`
`(3) explain how the prior art references could have been combined in order
`
`to create the inventions claimed in the asserted claim.
`
`22.
`
`I also understand that prior art references can be combined under
`
`several different circumstances. For example, it is my understanding that one such
`
`circumstance is when a proposed combination of prior art references results in a
`
`system that represents a predictable variation, which is achieved using prior art
`
`elements according to their established functions.
`
`23.
`
`I also understand that when considering the obviousness of a patent
`
`claim, one should consider whether a teaching, suggestion, or motivation to
`
`combine the references exists so as to avoid impermissibly applying hindsight
`
`when considering the prior art. I understand this test should not be rigidly applied,
`
`but that the test can be important to avoid such hindsight.
`
`24.
`
`I understand that certain objective indicia can be important evidence
`
`as to whether a patent is obvious or nonobvious. Such indicia include:
`
`(1) commercial success of products covered by the patent claims; (2) a long-felt
`
`need for the invention; (3) failed attempts by others to make the invention;
`
`(4) copying of the invention by others in the field; (5) unexpected results achieved
`
`by the invention as compared to the closest prior art; (6) praise of the invention by
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`Case IPR2024-00529
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`the infringer or others in the field; (7) the taking of licenses under the patent by
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`others; (8) expressions of surprise by experts and those skilled in the art at the
`
`making of the invention; and (9) the patentee proceeded contrary to the accepted
`
`wisdom of the prior art.
`
`25. At this point, I am not aware of any secondary indicia of non-
`
`obviousness. But, I reserve the right to review and opine on any evidence of
`
`objective indicia of nonobvious that may be presented during this proceeding.
`
`26.
`
`I also understand that “obviousness” is a legal conclusion based on the
`
`underlying factual issues of the scope and content of the prior art, the differences
`
`between the claimed invention and the prior art, the level of ordinary skill in the
`
`prior art, and any objective indicia of non-obviousness.
`
`27. For that reason, I am not rendering a legal opinion on the ultimate
`
`legal question of obviousness. Rather, my testimony addresses the underlying facts
`
`and factual analysis that would support a legal conclusion of obviousness or non-
`
`obviousness, and when I use the term obvious, I am referring to the perspective of
`
`one of ordinary skill at the time of invention.
`
`C. A Person of Ordinary Skill in the Art
`
`28.
`
`I understand that a person of ordinary skill in the relevant art
`
`(“POSA”) is presumed to be aware of all pertinent art, thinks along conventional
`
`wisdom in the art, and is a person of ordinary creativity—not an automaton.
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`Case IPR2024-00529
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`29.
`
`I have been asked to consider the level of ordinary skill in the field
`
`that someone would have had at the time the claimed invention was made. In
`
`deciding the level of ordinary skill, I considered the following:
`
`• the levels of education and experience of persons working in the
`
`field;
`
`• the types of problems encountered in the field; and
`
`• the sophistication of the technology.
`
`30. My opinion below explains how a POSA would have understood the
`
`technology described in the references I have identified herein around the February
`
`2, 2007 timeframe, which I have been advised is the earliest possible effective
`
`filing date for the ’454 patent. However, my opinions herein would not be affected
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`if the ’454 patent is found to only be entitled to a later effective filing date.
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`31. Regardless of whether I use “I” or a “POSA” during my technical
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`analysis below, all of my statements and opinions are always to be understood to
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`be based on how a POSA would have understood or read a document at the time of
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`the alleged invention.
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`VI. OVERVIEW OF THE ’454 PATENT
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`32. The ’454 patent is directed to a “method of creating a projection of a
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`situational network.” EX1001, Abstract. A “situational network allows the
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`participants … to interact and exchange information over connections to or through
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`a computer network … regarding the event or situation.” EX1001, 3:64-67. The
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`’454 patent describes a “situation” as broadly including social events, emergency
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`events, weather phenomena, natural disasters, etc. E.g., EX1001, 4:48-57, 30:62-
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`63. A “situation” also includes “weather related activities, such as skiing or
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`surfing.” EX1001, 4:48-57. A “projection,” also referred to as “a ‘projected’
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`view,” is described as “a subset of the nodes” of a social network, and can be
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`determined based on a wide variety of criteria, including the geographic location of
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`the user device as recited in the ’454 patent claims. EX1001, 16:26-27, 21:65-
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`22:50. In short, the ’454 patent relates simply to methods and systems that allow a
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`set of participants in a social network to exchange information about an event or
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`situation.
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`33. Figure 30, reproduced below, shows an example of a geographic
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`projection 3050 of nodes of a situational network 3000. EX1001, 22:21-22.
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`EX1001, FIG. 30.
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`
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`34. Network 3000 includes the ten nodes labeled (a) through (j). EX1001,
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`22:22-23. In this example, the situation 3005 is a severe rain storm posing a flood
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`threat to persons located on one side of a river (boundary 3052). EX1001, 22:25-
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`28. Geographic projection 3050 includes a subset of the nodes, i.e., nodes (a), (b),
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`(c), (e), (f), and (i), which are included based on their location with respect to
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`boundary 3052, i.e., those users threated by flood waters. EX1001, 22:22-30.
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`35. The ’454 patent makes clear that the implementation of its methods is
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`architecture agnostic. See EX1001, 6:28-29 (“A variety of different architectures
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`may be used to connect the devices of participants in the situational network.”).
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`Regardless of the architecture used, the same generic process is used to form the
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`situational network. EX1001, 7:15-20. This process is shown in Figure 41,
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`reproduced below.
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`EX1001, FIG. 41.
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`
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`36. The ’454 patent also says that the situational network is implemented
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`using known and conventional technologies. For example, users are connected via
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`the situational network using known devices, such as cell phones, PDAs, personal
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`computers, network servers, or “other devices generally known to those skilled in
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`the art that enable connection to, from and through the computer network.”
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`EX1001, 4:25-30. Further, participants in the situational network are associated
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`with “nodes,” which are simply the users’ point of connection to the network, and
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`which “may be implemented using a wide variety of available hardware and
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`technologies generally known in the art, such as software on a personal computer
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`or a handheld PDA.” EX1001, 14:59-15:9, 15:17-21. As the ’454 patent also
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`explains, a POSA would have understood that the nodes of the network “may be
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`interconnected and may communicate with each other using a wide variety of
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`available hardware and technologies generally known in the art, such as TCP/IP
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`over an Ethernet or a wireless network.” EX1001, 15:21-25.
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`VII. OVERVIEW OF THE TECHNOLOGY
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`37. As I explained above, the ’454 patent describes forming a “situational
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`network” as a subset of a social network, otherwise referred to in the ’454 patent
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`claims as a “multi-dimensional personal information network.” EX1001, Abstract.
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`The claims of the ’454 patent broadly recite general concepts, such as “creating …
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`an event node in a multi-dimensional personal information network,” “forming a
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`projection of nodes of the situational network using geographic locations of a
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`plurality of devices corresponding to nodes in the multi-dimensional personal
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`information network,” and then inviting the devices corresponding to each node in
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`the projection to link to the event node and linking to devices that accept the
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`invitation. See, e.g., EX1001, claim 1. Dependent claims are directed to
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`communicating and receiving information about the situation to and from the
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`linked devices. These concepts were well known before the ’454 patent’s earliest
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`possible priority date. For instance, social networks were well known at the time,
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`as were systems for sharing information related to situations or events.
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`A.
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`Social Networks
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`38. The earliest social network sites were launched in the late 1990s, with
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`such sites growing in popularity through the 2007 priority date of the ’454 patent.
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`EX1013, 212. In November 2006, the Wikipedia page for “Social network”
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`described a “social network” as a “social structure made of nodes which are
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`generally individuals or organizations.” EX1015, 1. The Wikipedia page confirms
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`the popularity of Internet based social networks in this time frame. EX1015, 3-4.
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`39. Further, a