`U.S. Patent No. 8,646,042
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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`——————————
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`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
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`——————————
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`GOOGLE LLC,
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`Petitioner,
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`v.
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`PROXENSE, LLC,
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`Patent Owner.
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`——————————
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`Case No. IPR2024-01318
`U.S. Patent No. 8,646,042
`Filing Date: April 12, 2012
`Issue Date: February 4, 2014
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`PETITIONER’S SUPPLEMENTAL PAPER AND NOTICE RANKING
`PETITIONS1
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`1 Petitioner is filing a substantively identical document in IPR2024-00782.
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`I.
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`IPR2024-01318
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,646,042
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`Introduction
`Petitioner previously filed a petition (“Original Petition”) for inter partes
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`review of U.S. Patent No. 8,646,042 (“the ’042 patent”) in IPR2024-00782,
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`challenging the validity of claims 1-6, 8-15, and 17-20. Petitioner has now timely
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`filed a petition (“Joinder Petition”) with a conditional motion to join Microsoft’s
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`instituted proceeding in IPR2024-00573 (“Microsoft IPR”), requesting institution
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`and joinder be held in abeyance until, and only if, the Board declines to institute
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`Petitioner’s Original Petition. See Mot. for Joinder, IPR2024-01318. Since Petitioner
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`now has two concurrent petitions challenging the validity of the same patent,
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`Petitioner hereby provides: (1) “a ranking of the petitions in the order in which it
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`wishes the Board to consider the merits” and (2) “a succinct explanation of the
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`differences between the petitions, why the issues addressed by the differences are
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`material, and why the Board should exercise its discretion to institute additional
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`petitions.” Consolidated Trial Practice Guide (Nov. 2019) (“CTPG”), 60.
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`II. Ranking of Petitions
`Petitioner believes that both of its Original Petition and Joinder Petition are
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`meritorious and justified, but should the Board decide to institute only a single
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`petition against the ’042 patent, Petitioner requests that the Board institute
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`Petitioner’s Original Petition (in IPR2024-00782).
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`1
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`III. Background and Related Proceedings
`Proxense, LLC (the “Patent Owner”) is the owner of the ’042 patent. On
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`IPR2024-01318
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,646,042
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`February 15, 2024, Microsoft filed a petition for review of the ’042 patent
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`(“Microsoft Petition”) in the Microsoft IPR. Separately, Petitioner filed an Original
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`Petition2 to challenge the validity of the ’042 patent on April 19, 2024. On June 10,
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`2024, Patent Owner filed its patent owner’s preliminary response in the Microsoft
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`IPR. On August 13, 2024, the Board granted institution of the Microsoft IPR.
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`IV. Material Differences Support Instituting Multiple Petitions
`Material differences exist between Petitioner’s concurrent Joinder Petition
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`and Original Petition. For example, and as illustrated in the tables below, the two
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`petitions raise different
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`invalidity grounds relying on different prior art
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`combinations, and raise different arguments
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`Joinder Petition (materially similar to the Microsoft Petition)
`Ground
`Claim(s) Challenged
`35 U.S.C. §
`Reference(s)
`Giobbi ’157,
`Giobbi ’139
`Giobbi ’157,
`Giobbi ’139, Dua
`Broadcom3
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`1, 5, 6, 8–11, 13, 14
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`1
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`2
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`3
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`1, 5, 6, 8–11, 13, 14
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`10, 11, 13, 14
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`103
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`103
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`103
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`2 Google’s Original Petition is not a “follow-on petition” to the Microsoft Petition
`as that term is used in General Plastic. See Paper 1, IPR2024-00782, at 83.
`3 Broadcom and Buer are the same EP 1536306 reference.
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`2
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`IPR2024-01318
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,646,042
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`Original Petition (IPR2024-00782)
`Claim(s) Challenged
`35 U.S.C. §
`10
`103
`10
`103
`1, 3-6, 8-15, and 17
`103
`2
`103
`12
`103
`3 and 18-20
`103
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`Reference(s)
`Dua
`Dua, Kotola
`Buer3
`Buer, Lee
`Buer, Nishikawa
`Buer, Hoffmann
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`Ground
`1
`2
`3
`4
`5
`6
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`As shown in the above tables, Petitioner’s Original Petition challenges the ’042
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`patent based on significantly different invalidity grounds.
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`I.
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`The General Plastic Factors Favor Institution
`The Board has applied the General Plastic framework to the joinder petition
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`of a petitioner that previously filed its own petition. Apple Inc. v. Uniloc 2017 LLC,
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`IPR2020-00854, Paper 9 (PTAB Oct. 28. 2020) (precedential); General Plastic
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`Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, IPR2016-01357, Paper 19 (PTAB
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`Sept. 6, 2017) (precedential).
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`A. General Plastic factors 1-3 weigh against discretionary denial.
`General Plastic factors 1-3 weigh against discretionary denial because factor
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`1 is at worst neutral and there are no concerns under factors 2 and 3. Code200, UAB
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`v. Bright Data Ltd., IPR2022-00861, 00862, Paper 18 (PTAB Aug. 23, 2022).
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`Factor 1 is at worst neutral this Joinder Petition does not prejudice Patent
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`Owner. It is not uncommon for petitioners to submit more than one petition against
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`3
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`the same patent, and “the Board recognizes that there may be circumstances in which
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`IPR2024-01318
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,646,042
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`more than one petition may be necessary.” CTPG at 59. This is especially true when
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`the parties (Microsoft and Google) independently and separately challenged the ’042
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`patent, using different invalidity grounds, prior art references, and arguments. Any
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`concerns of prejudice are further alleviated by Petitioner’s request to hold its Joinder
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`Petition in abeyance until, and only if, the Board declines to institute the Original
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`Petition. Given the timing requirements in IPRs, such a conditional request is
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`reasonable. Apple Inc. v. Speir Techs. Ltd., IPR2023-00305, Paper 9 (PTAB May
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`15, 2023).
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`Factor 2 has limited relevance here but is also, at worst, neutral. Petitioner did
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`not “strategically stage prior art and arguments in multiple petitions.” Instead,
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`Petitioner diligently pursued its own petition based on different invalidity grounds
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`and arguments. Further, given that the Joinder Petition is based on the same grounds
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`and combinations of prior art in the Microsoft IPR, Petitioner has not gained any
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`unfair advantage over Patent Owner here in filing a Joinder Petition. There is simply
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`no risk of harassment of Patent Owner or any frustration of Congress’s intent.
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`Factor 3 weighs against discretionary denial because there are no “road-
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`mapping” concerns. Code200, at 5. The Original Petition was prepared and filed
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`prior to any preliminary response was filed, so Petitioner could not have leveraged
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`any patent owner response or Board decision as a roadmap in preparing its Original
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`4
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`Petition. Nor was the Joinder Petition prepared based on any “lessons learned from
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`IPR2024-01318
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,646,042
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`later developments,” Code200, at 5, since that petition is a “copycat” petition that is
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`substantially the same as the instituted Microsoft Petition and does not seek to
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`introduce any new grounds or claims not in the Microsoft IPR.
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`B. General Plastic factors 4-7 favor institution.
`Factors 4 and 5 have limited relevance but favor institution. The Original
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`Petition was timely prepared based on different invalidity grounds and arguments.
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`The Joinder Petition was also timely filed within the timeline set by the Board’s
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`rules, so any time elapsed between these filings is proper. Factor 7 also has limited
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`relevance because the one-year statutory time period may be adjusted for a joined
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`case. Code200, at 6. Lastly, factor 6 favors institution because there is no risk that
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`the two petitions would undermine the Board’s ability to complete the proceedings
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`in a timely manner. While the two petitions present different invalidity grounds, they
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`rely on some overlapping references, lowering the burden associated with
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`consideration of the petitions. And any remaining concerns of the Board’s resources
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`or of fairness are outweighed by the benefits “of improving patent quality by
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`reviewing the merits of the challenges raised in the petitions.” Code200, at 6.
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`5
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`Date: August 22, 2024
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`IPR2024-01318
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,646,042
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`Respectfully Submitted,
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`/Erika H. Arner/
`Erika H. Arner
`Lead Counsel
`Reg. No. 57,540
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`6
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`IPR2024-01318
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,646,042
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`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
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`The undersigned hereby certifies
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`that a copy of
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`the
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`foregoing
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`PETITIONER’S SUPPLEMENTAL PAPER AND NOTICE RANKING
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`PETITIONS was served on August 22, 2024, via FedEx Priority Overnight on the
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`correspondence address of record indicated in the Patent Office’s Patent Center
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`system for U.S. Patent No 8,646,042.
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`PATENT LAW WORKS/PROXENSE
`Greg Sueoka
`4516 South 700 East, Suite 290
`Salt Lake City, UT 84107
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`A courtesy copy is also being sent via email to Patent Owner’s counsel in
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`Proxense, LLC v. Google LLC, No. 6:23-cv-00320 (W.D. Tex.), where Patent Owner
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`has asserted the subject patent:
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`David L. Hecht
`dhecht@hechtpartners.com
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`Maxim Price
`mprice@hechtpartners.com
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`Conor B. McDonough
`cmcdonough@hechtpartners.com
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`Yi Wen Wu
`wwu@hechtpartners.com
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`HECHT PARTNERS LLP
`125 Park Avenue, 25th Floor
`New York, New York 10017
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`7
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`IPR2024-01318
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,646,042
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`Brian D. Melton
`bmelton@susmangodfrey.com
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`Geoffrey L. Harrison
`gharrison@susmangodfrey.com
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`Meng Xi
`mxi@susmangodfrey.com
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`Bryce T. Barcelo
`bbarcelo@susmangodfrey.com
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`SUSMAN GODFREY L.L.P.
`1000 Louisiana Street, Suite 5100
`Houston, Texas 77002-5096
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`Lear Jiang
`ljiang@susmangodfrey.com
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`SUSMAN GODFREY L.L.P.
`1900 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1400
`Los Angeles, California 90067-6029
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`Dated: August 22, 2024
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`By: /Daniel E. Doku/
`Daniel E. Doku
`Litigation Legal Assistant
`FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW,
`GARRETT & DUNNER, LLP
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`8
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