Case 2:23-cv-00059-JRG Document 74 Filed 07/09/24 Page 1 of 33 PageID #: 1574
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`MARSHALL DIVISION
`
`TOUCHSTREAM TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
`LTD.,
`
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`
`v.
`
`CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC.,
`et al.,
`
`
` §
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`Defendants.
`______________________________________________________________________________
`
`TOUCHSTREAM TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
`LTD.,
`
`
`NO. 2:23-CV-00059-JRG
`(Lead Case)
`
`NO. 2:23-CV-00062-JRG
`(Member Case)
`
`Plaintiff,
`
` §
`§
`§
`§
`§
`
`§
`v.
`§
`
`COMCAST CABLE COMMUNICATIONS, §
`LLC d/b/a XFINITY, et al.,
`§
`
`§
`§
`
`Defendants.
`
`
`
`CLAIM CONSTRUCTION ORDER
`
`
`
`Before the Court is Touchstream Technologies, Inc.’s Opening Claim Construction Brief
`
`filed by Plaintiff Touchstream Technologies, Inc. (“Plaintiff” or “Touchstream”). (Dkt. No. 36.)
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`Also before the Court is Defendants’ Responsive Claim Construction Brief filed by Charter
`
`Communications, Inc., et al. and Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, d/b/a Xfinity, et al.
`
`(collectively, “Defendants” and with Plaintiff, the “Parties”). (Dkt. No. 40.) Also before the Court
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`Charter Ex. 1183
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`Case 2:23-cv-00059-JRG Document 74 Filed 07/09/24 Page 2 of 33 PageID #: 1575
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`is Touchstream Technologies, Inc.’s Reply in Support of Its Opening Claim Construction Brief.
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`(Dkt. No. 42.) The Court held a hearing on May 30, 2024. Having considered the Parties’ briefing
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`along with arguments of counsel, the Court resolves the disputes as ordered herein.
`
`I.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`Plaintiff alleges infringement of three patents: U.S. Patent No. 8,356,251 (“the ’251
`
`Patent”); U.S. Patent No. 11,048,751 (“the ’751 Patent”); and U.S. Patent No. 11,086,934 (“the
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`’934 Patent”) (collectively, the “Patents-in-Suit”). The Patents-in-Suit all derive from the same
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`patent family and are about casting and controlling content from a personal device, like a
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`smartphone or tablet, to a second display unit, such as a TV or a computer monitor.
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`
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`The Patents-in-Suit all claim priority to the same provisional application and share the same
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`specification. Accordingly, as the parties did in their briefing, citations in this Order will be to the
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`specification of the ’251 Patent.
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`
`
`The ’251 Patent and the ’751 Patent share the same title and abstract. The title is “Play
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`control of content on a display device” and the Abstract states:
`
`A system for presenting and controlling content on a display device includes a
`network, a server system coupled to the network and comprising one or more
`servers, a display device coupled to the network and having a display, and a
`personal computing device operable to transmit a first message according to a
`specified format over the network to the server system. The server system stores an
`association between the personal computing device and the display device. The first
`message identifies user-selected content and a media player to play the content. The
`server system is operable, in response to receiving the first message from the
`personal computing device, to provide to the display device a second message
`identifying the user-selected content and the media player to play the content. In
`response to receiving the second message, the display device is operable to obtain
`a first media player needed to play the content, to load the media player and to
`present the content on the display.
`
`
`
`The ’934 Patent also bears the title “Play control of content on a display device,” however,
`
`the Abstract differs as follows:
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`A system for controlling playback of various types of content includes a first
`computing device that provides a unique identifier to a second computing device to
`establish an association there between. By virtue of the established association, the
`second computing device can send one or more messages to the first computing
`device, the one or more messages referencing a piece of content associated with a
`first media playing element of a plurality of media playing elements, and one or
`more commands corresponding to the first media playing element. The first
`computing device can select the first media playing element based on the received
`one or more messages, and control how the first media playing element plays the
`referenced piece of content utilizing the one or more commands.
`
`II.
`
`LEGAL STANDARDS
`
`“[T]he claims of a patent define the invention to which the patentee is entitled the right to
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`exclude.” Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1312 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc) (quoting
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`Innova/Pure-Water, Inc. v. Safari Water Filtration Sys., Inc., 381 F.3d 1111, 1115 (Fed. Cir. 2004)).
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`“[T]he court has the power and obligation to construe as a matter of law the meaning of language
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`used in the patent claim.” Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d 967, 979 (Fed. Cir.
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`1995) (en banc); aff’g, 517 U.S. 370, 390 (1996).
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`To ascertain the meaning of claims, courts look to three primary sources: the claims, the
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`specification, and the prosecution history. Id. at 979. The specification must contain a written
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`description of the invention that enables one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the
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`invention. Id. A patent’s claims must be read in view of the specification, of which they are a part.
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`Id. For claim construction purposes, the description may act as a sort of dictionary, which explains
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`the invention and may define terms used in the claims. Id. “One purpose for examining the
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`specification is to determine if the patentee has limited the scope of the claims.” Watts v. XL Sys.,
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`Inc., 232 F.3d 877, 882 (Fed. Cir. 2000).
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`When construing claims, “[t]here is a heavy presumption that claim terms are to be given
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`their ordinary and customary meaning.” Aventis Pharm. Inc. v. Amino Chems. Ltd., 715 F.3d 1363,
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`1373 (Fed. Cir. 2013) (citing Phillips, 415 F.3d at 1312–13). Courts must therefore “look to the
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`words of the claims themselves . . . to define the scope of the patented invention.” Id. (citations
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`omitted). “[T]he ordinary and customary meaning of a claim term is the meaning that the term
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`would have to a person of ordinary skill in the art in question at the time of the invention, i.e., as
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`of the effective filing date of the patent application.” Phillips, 415 F.3d at 1313. This “person of
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`ordinary skill in the art is deemed to read the claim term not only in the context of the particular
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`claim in which the disputed term appears, but in the context of the entire patent, including the
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`specification.” Id.
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`The patentee is free to be his own lexicographer, but any special definition given to a word
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`must be clearly set forth in the specification. Intellicall, Inc. v. Phonometrics, Inc., 952 F.2d 1384,
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`1388 (Fed. Cir. 1992). As the Supreme Court stated long ago, “in case of doubt or ambiguity it is
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`proper in all cases to refer back to the descriptive portions of the specification to aid in solving the
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`doubt or in ascertaining the true intent and meaning of the language employed in the claims.”
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`Bates v. Coe, 98 U.S. 31, 38 (1878). Although the specification may indicate that certain
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`embodiments are preferred, particular embodiments appearing in the specification will not be read
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`into the claims when the claim language is broader than the embodiments. Electro Med. Sys., S.A.
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`v. Cooper Life Sciences, Inc., 34 F.3d 1048, 1054 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
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`The prosecution history also continues to play an important role in claim interpretation.
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`Like the specification, the prosecution history helps to demonstrate how the inventor and the
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`United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) understood the patent. Phillips, 415 F.3d at
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`1317. Because the file history, however, “represents an ongoing negotiation between the PTO and
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`the applicant,” it may lack the clarity of the specification and thus be less useful in claim
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`construction proceedings. Id. Nevertheless, the prosecution history is intrinsic evidence that is
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`relevant to the determination of how the inventor understood the invention and whether the
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`inventor limited the invention during prosecution by narrowing the scope of the claims. Id.; see
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`Microsoft Corp. v. Multi-Tech Sys., Inc., 357 F.3d 1340, 1350 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (noting that
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`“a patentee’s statements during prosecution, whether relied on by the examiner or not, are relevant
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`to claim interpretation”).
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`
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`Intrinsic evidence, therefore, is the primary resource for claim construction. See Power-
`
`One, Inc. v. Artesyn Techs., Inc., 599 F.3d 1343, 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (citing Phillips, 415 F.3d at
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`1312). But for claim terms with less-apparent meanings, courts consider “those sources available
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`to the public that show what a person of skill in the art would have understood disputed claim
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`language to mean[,] [including] the words of the claims themselves, the remainder of the
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`specification, the prosecution history, and extrinsic evidence concerning relevant scientific
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`principles, the meaning of technical terms, and the state of the art.” Phillips, 415 F.3d at 1314
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`(quoting Innova, 381 F.3d at 1116). In those situations, “the district court will need to look beyond
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`the patent’s intrinsic evidence and to consult extrinsic evidence in order to understand, for
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`example, the background science or the meaning of a term in the relevant art during the relevant
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`time period.” Teva Pharm. USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., 135 S. Ct. 831, 841 (2015) (citation omitted).
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`“In cases where those subsidiary facts are in dispute, courts will need to make subsidiary factual
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`findings about that extrinsic evidence. These are the ‘evidentiary underpinnings’ of claim
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`construction that we discussed in Markman, and this subsidiary factfinding must be reviewed for
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`clear error on appeal.” Id. (citing 517 U.S. 370).
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`
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`However, the intrinsic record may not be sacrificed in favor of extrinsic evidence.
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`According to Phillips, reliance on dictionary definitions, for example, at the expense of the
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`specification had the effect of “focus[ing] the inquiry on the abstract meaning of words rather than
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`on the meaning of claim terms within the context of the patent.” Id. at 1321.
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`
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`The dispute over these claim terms is whether the prosecution history disclaimer applies to
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`limit the meaning as Defendants propose.
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`
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`During prosecution of the ’251 Patent, in response to an office action rejection, the
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`applicant stated in a footnote: “In the context of the present application, it is clear that a ‘media
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`player’ refers to application software for playing back the video content. Thus, the claims and
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`specification refer in some cases, for example, to ‘loading’ or ‘unloading’ a media player. . . . A
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`particular display device, therefore, may, in some cases, be able to load or store any one of different
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`media players.” (Dkt. 40-2 at 11).
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`
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`Defendants submit that their proposed construction should be adopted because it is the
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`definition Touchstream advanced during prosecution. The specification, according to Defendants,
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`confirm this definition because it makes clear that the claimed media player is application software,
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`rather than hardware, and the media player is for playing back video content as opposed to content
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`generally. Defendants further extend this construction to “media player application” and “media
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`playing application” in the ’751 and ’934 Patents because “statements from prosecution of a
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`familial patent relating to the same subject matter as the claim language at issue in the patent being
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`construed . . . are relevant in construing the claims at issue.” Ormco Corp. v. Align Tech., Inc., 498
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`F.3d 1307, 1314 (Fed. Cir. 2007). For this term, however, Defendants remove the requirement for
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`“video” content because the ’751 and ’934 Patents claims do not specify the type of content.
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`
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`Plaintiff agrees that a “media player” is software for playing media but disagrees that it is
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`a term that needs to be construed, arguing that it is a well-known, easily understood term to a jury.
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`The prosecution history statement, according to Plaintiff, is coextensive with the plain and ordinary
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`meaning and does not give rise to an actual claim scope dispute. Additionally, Plaintiff contends
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`that adding the “video content” limitation to “media player” in the ’251 Patent is unwarranted
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`because the claim language already includes that limitation. In sum, Plaintiff contends that turning
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`a well understood term like “media player” into “application software” is more likely to confuse
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`the jury than leaving the claim as is.
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`
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`The Court first considers the term “media player” in the ’251 Patent within the relevant
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`portion of claim 1. The claim language clearly sets forth a “media player for playing the video
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`content . . . including a universal playback control command for controlling playing of the video
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`content on the display device by the particular media player.” Defendants’ proposed construction,
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`“application software for playing back video content,” duplicates language already written into the
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`claim. So, including the latter clause of “for playing back video content” would repeat almost
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`identical language that is already present and cause unnecessary confusion. The Court declines to
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`add the redundant language. Accordingly, the remainder of Defendants’ proposed construction for
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`consideration is simply “application software” to replace the claim term “media player” due to
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`statements from the prosecution history.
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`
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`Turning to the ’251 Patent file history, the cited language appears in a footnote in an office
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`action response explaining that, by “media player,” the applicant “refers to application software
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`for playing back the video content” that can be loaded or unloaded onto a particular display device.
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`(Dkt. 40-2 at 11.) The footnote appears in a section where the applicant was distinguishing the
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`invention from prior art as to the limitation “one or more signals,” and not based on the “media
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`player.” (See id., at 14-17.) The purpose of the footnote appears to simply explain that the media
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`player is software that can be installed or uninstalled on a display device. It was not a narrowing
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`admission to overcome prior art. Indeed, software could not be a distinguishing feature of the
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`invention because the Applicant acknowledged earlier on that the prior art already discloses a
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`Case 2:23-cv-00059-JRG Document 74 Filed 07/09/24 Page 9 of 33 PageID #: 1582
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`software program. (Id. at 13) (“Schwartz [U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0060998A1] discloses a system and
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`method for managing Internet media content. As illustrated in FIG. 2 (reproduced below), the
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`system can include a computing device (e.g., a mobile phone) that executes an application 10 (i.e.,
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`a software program) . . . .”). Accordingly, the statement in the footnote is not the type of limiting
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`representation about an invention that comes close to disclaiming claim scope. Indeed, Defendants
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`do not even use the word “disclaimer” in making their argument here.
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`During the hearing, Defendants stated their agreement to identify the “software” within the
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`construction and drop “application.” Plaintiff also agreed that the “media player” is software.
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`Accordingly, the Court will construe the term “media player” as “software for playing media.”
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`
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`As for the “media player applications” in the ’751 Patent and the “media playing
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`applications” in the ’934 Patent, the Court agrees with Defendants that “[t]he common terminology
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`and functions of these components suggest that the terms should be construed to have similar
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`meanings with allowance for non-video content in the later two patents.” (Dkt. 40 at 11.) After all,
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`the three patents are all related, have the same specification, and similar claim structure. And in
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`these instances, the meaning of the disputed terms is even more apparent. The terms each contain
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`the word “applications,” which makes it even more clear that the media player is software.
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`The Court therefore finds the claim terms “media player” (’251 Patent claims 1, 2),
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`“media player application” (’751 Patent claims 12, 13, 14, 16), and “media playing
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`application” (’934 Patent claims 17, 18, 19) to mean “software for playing media.”
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`
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`This issue concerns whether the user must be involved in obtaining the synchronization
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`code from the display device or content presentation device and providing it to the computer device
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`or remote computing device.
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`
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`Plaintiff argues that nothing in the claims requires a user to obtain the synchronization code
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`and that Defendants are seeking to insert unclaimed limitations derived from a single embodiment
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`in the specification. Plaintiff cites to various specification disclosures that do not require user
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`action, including one example where the display device may provide the synchronization code
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`directly to the personal computing device without the user serving as an intermediary. (See ’251
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`Patent, 2:16-26, 5:10-14, 5:21-23, 5:36-38.) Plaintiff further points to statements in the
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`specification and dependent claim 9 to show that the IP and MAC addresses can be used as
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`synchronization codes as well, to suggest that these types of data are typically transmitted
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`automatically and not through acts of a user. (See e.g., id., at 2:24-26.)
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`
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`Defendants disagree, arguing that the specification makes clear that user action is
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`necessary. Defendants draw a distinction within the disclosed embodiments between, on the one
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`hand, using a synchronization code to create the association between the mobile phone and the
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`display device, and on the other hand, display devices that have been pre-initialized for
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`communication with the phone. In particular, Defendants argue that the latter example in the
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`specification that does not require use of a synchronization code is not a claimed embodiment
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`because the claims are not about pre-initialized display devices. Instead, Defendants argue that the
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`’251 Patent claims 1, 8, 9, and ’751 Patent claim 12 all recite a “synchronization code,” which
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`means they are claiming the alternate embodiment from the specification that requires user action
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`to obtain the synchronization code. As additional support, Defendants point to the prosecution
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`history of the ’251 Patent, when the examiner and applicant “discussed claim amendments that
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`could overcome the prior art of record,” and specifically the Schwartz reference. Defendants also
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`cite an examiner amendment entered following an interview that added the “synchronization code”
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`limitations before issuing a Notice of Allowability. (Dkt. 40-3 and 40-4.)
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`
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`The Court first looks at independent claim 1 of the ’251 Patent. The preamble sets forth
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`that it is a “machine-implemented method” where a “server system” performs various steps of
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`“assigning . . . a synchronization code to the display device,” “receiving . . . a message from a
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`personal computing device . . . wherein the message includes the synchronization code,” and
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`“storing . . . a record establishing an association between the personal computing device and the
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`display device based on the synchronization code.” None of the steps includes an act performed
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`by the user. The claim language leaves open how the personal computing device obtains the
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`synchronization code or how the server system receives the synchronization code from the
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`personal computing device.
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`
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`Claim 12 of the ’751 Patent is similarly worded. It is a “computer-implemented method”
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`where the “content presentation device” performs the actions of “obtaining” the synchronization
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`code and “providing” it to a remote computing device. User action is not required. Like claim 1 of
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`the ‘251 patent, there is no limitation on how the content presentation device provides the
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`synchronization code to a remote computing device.
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`
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`Turning to the specification, various embodiments are discussed, one of which is the
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`embodiment Defendants rely upon: “the user can select the display device by entering a
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`synchronization code uniquely associated with the particular display device.” (’251 Patent, 5:14–
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`16.) Also disclosed, however, are options that do not require user action at all, for example: “In
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`some implementations, the content provider is allowed to add links to videos for that web site (i.e.,
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`mobile site or an application). The link facilitates synchronization to the secondary device 22 (e.g.,
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`a television set) and allows the end-user to load and control the video on the secondary device.”
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`(Id., 9:28-33.) This is in addition to the disclosure that “[i]n some implementations, the user can
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`select the display device from a list of devices displayed on the mobile phone 20. The list can
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`include a field populated with names or identifications of display devices that previously have
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`been initialized for connection,” among other embodiments. (Id., 5:10–14; see also id., 5:21–23;
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`5:36–38.) Accordingly, the specification is not limited to the one embodiment identified by
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`Defendants.
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`
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`The prosecution history of the ’251 Patent does not support Defendants’ argument.
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`Although the Notice of Allowability filed by the examiner added the first three elements of claim
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`1 to overcome the prior art, there was no reference to “a code which can be obtained by a user
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`from the [display device / content presentation device] and provided by the user to the [personal
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`computing device / remote computing device]” as Defendants advocate. If this was a crucial
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`feature to distinguish the claim, the examiner would have included it. Nothing in the cited record
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`requires user action to perform the claimed method. Indeed, Defendants’ own proposed
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`construction does not require user action as it is written permissively (i.e., can be obtained by the
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`user).
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`“[C]laims should not be limited ‘to preferred embodiments or specific examples in the
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`specification.’” VLSI Tech. LLC v. Intel Corp., 53 F.4th 646, 652 (Fed. Cir. 2022). “[E]ven where
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`a patent describes only a single embodiment, claims will not be read restrictively unless the
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`patentee has demonstrated a clear intention to limit the claim scope using words or expressions of
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`manifest exclusion or restriction.” Akamai Techs., Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc., 805 F.3d 1368,
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`1376 (Fed. Cir. 2015). In this case, the patent describes many embodiments, and Defendants seek
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`to limit the claims to one. The Court declines to do so.
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`“When analyzing whether an order exists between steps of a method claim, the
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`presumption is that limitations may be performed in any order.” Datanet LLC v. Dropbox, Inc.,
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`2023 WL 7545234, at *3 (W.D. Tex. Nov. 10, 2023) (citing Altiris, Inc. v. Symantec Corp., 318
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`F.3d 1363, 1369 (Fed. Cir. 2003)). “Courts first look at the ‘claim language to determine if, as a
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`matter of logic or grammar, they must be performed in the order written’ and, if not, whether the
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`specification ‘directly or implicitly requires such a narrow construction.’” Id.
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`
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`Here, in most instances, the claim language establishes a certain order to the steps that
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`proceed in a logical manner. In claim 12 of the ’751 Patent, each step in the method references and
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`builds upon the preceding step, thereby creating an obvious progression of the steps, as follows:
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`12. A computer-implemented method for remotely presenting various types of
`content, comprising:
`obtaining, by a content presentation device, a synchronization code
`associated with
`the content presentation device, wherein
`the associated
`synchronization code is stored on a remote server device;
`providing, by the content presentation device, the synchronization code to
`a remote computing device in communication with the remote server device,
`wherein the provided synchronization code causes the remote server device to store
`an association between the content presentation device and the remote computing
`device;
`receiving, by the content presentation device and from the remote server
`device, a first message that includes at least one command in a first format, the first
`message being received based at least in part on the stored association and on a
`second message including at least one command in a second format having been
`sent from the associated remote computing device;
`selecting, by the content presentation device while a connection between
`the content presentation device and the remote server device is maintained, a first
`media player application from a plurality of media player applications based at least
`in part on the first format of the first message, the first media player application
`being selected to play a first piece of content referenced in the received first
`message; and
`controlling, by the content presentation device, how the selected first media
`player application plays the referenced first piece of content based on a first
`command of the at least one command in the first format having been included in
`the received first message.
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`Case 2:23-cv-00059-JRG Document 74 Filed 07/09/24 Page 17 of 33 PageID #: 1590
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`Plaintiff’s concern about the first/second message being confused appears as an internal
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`component of a step and is resolved by the language of that claim element. While a “first message”
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`is introduced first, it explicitly states that the “first message [is] . . . based at least in part . . . on a
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`second message . . . including at least one command in a second format having been sent from the
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`associated remote computing device.” Accordingly, the first message depends upon the existence
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`of the second message, which is a necessary predicate.
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`
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`Claim 17 of the ’934 Patent is similarly worded in that each step in the method references
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`and builds upon the preceding step, making the order apparent upon a plain reading, as shown:
`
`17. A computer-implemented method for controlling playback of various types of
`content, comprising:
`providing, by a media receiver, a unique identifier of the media receiver to
`a computing device in communication with a server system;
`based on the provided unique identifier, receiving, by the media receiver via
`the server system, a set of messages from the computing device, the received set of
`messages referencing a piece of content associated with a first type of media
`playing application of a plurality of media playing application types, and including
`a set of commands converted from a universal format defined by the computing
`device to a first format that corresponds to the first type of media playing
`application;
`in response to receiving the set of messages, selecting, by the media
`receiver, the first type of media playing application from the plurality of media
`playing application types based at least in part on its association with the piece of
`content referenced in the received set of messages; and
`controlling, by the media receiver, how the selected first type of media
`playing application plays the referenced piece of content based on at least one
`command of the converted set of commands included in the received set of
`messages.
`
`Turning to the ’251 Patent, in claim 1 steps (a)-(c) refer to and build upon the preceding
`
`
`
`element, which shows that they must be performed in order, as shown:
`
`1. A machine-implemented method of controlling presentation of video content on
`a display device that loads any one of a plurality of different media player players,
`the method comprising:
`
`Charter Ex. 1183
`
`

`

`Case 2:23-cv-00059-JRG Document 74 Filed 07/09/24 Page 18 of 33 PageID #: 1591
`
`(a) assigning, by a server system, a synchronization code to the display
`device;
`(b) receiving, in the server system, a message from a personal computing
`device that is separate from the server system and separate from the display device,
`wherein the message includes the synchronization code;
`(c) storing, by the server system, a record establishing an association
`between the personal computing device and the display device based on the
`synchronization code;
`(d) receiving, in the server system, one or more signals from the personal
`computing device, the one or more signals specifying a video file to be acted upon
`and identifying a particular media player for playing the video content, the one or
`more signals further including a universal playback control command for
`controlling playing of the video content on the display device by the particular
`media player,
`(e) converting, by the server system, the universal playback control
`command into corresponding programming code to control playing of the video
`content on the display device by the particular media player, wherein converting
`the universal playback control command includes selecting from among a plurality
`of specific commands, each of which represents a corresponding playback control
`command for a respective media player; and
`(f) storing, in a database associated with the server system, information for
`transmission to or retrieval by the display device, wherein the information specifies
`the video file to be acted upon, identifies the particular media player for playing the
`video content, and includes the corresponding programming code to control playing
`of the video content on the display device by the particular media player in
`accordance with the universal playback control command.
`
`Steps 1(d)-(f) also reference and build upon the preceding steps so they must be performed in
`
`sequence. However, steps 1(d)-(f) can be performed at any time in relation to steps 1(a)-(c).
`
`Claim 2 of the ’251 Patent reads as follows:
`
`2. The method of claim 1 including:
`(a) checking, in the server system, the identity of the media player identified
`in the one or more signals from the personal computing device;
`(b) loading an appropriate set of protocols or application programming
`interfaces from a library based on the identity of the media player; and
`(c) converting the command from the personal computing device into
`corresponding code to control the media player.
`
`
`
`
`
`Charter Ex. 1183
`
`

`

`Case 2:23-cv-00059-JRG Document 74 Filed 07/09/24 Page 19 of 33 PageID #: 1592
`
`Charter Ex. 1183
`
`

`

`Case 2:23-cv-00059-JRG Document 74 Filed 07/09/24 Page 20 of 33 PageID #: 1593
`
`
`
`Plaintiff argues that the relative phrase “based on the synchronization code” describes the
`
`immediately preceding object: “an association between the personal computing device and the
`
`display device.” Thus, according to Plaintiff, the server system is storing a record establishing an
`
`association, wherein the association—not the storing—is based on the synchronization code.
`
`
`
`Defendants disagree, contending that it is not clear what “based on the synchronization
`
`code” modifies and so it needs construction. Defendants say that while the relevant phrase could
`
`modify “association,” it could also equally mean that the “storing” of that association is based on
`
`the synchronization code. Defendants cite to various portions of the specification to show that the
`
`asso