`
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`MARSHALL DIVISION
`
`CYWEE GROUP LTD.,
`
`Plaintiff
`
`v.
`
`SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO. LTD.
`AND SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS
`AMERICA, INC.,
`
`Defendants.
`
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
`
`
`
`NO. 2:17-CV-00140-RWS-RSP
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`
`
`DEFENDANTS SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. AND SAMSUNG
`ELECTRONICS AMERICA, INC.’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
`OF INVALIDITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 101
`
`
`
`
`
`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 2 of 18 PageID #: 8830
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`
`Page
`INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1
`STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES TO BE DECIDED BY THE COURT .......................... 1
`STATEMENT OF UNDISPUTED MATERIAL FACTS ................................................ 1
`A.
`U.S. Patent No. 8,441,438...................................................................................... 1
`B.
`U.S. Patent No. 8,552,978...................................................................................... 5
`LEGAL STANDARD ........................................................................................................ 7
`ARGUMENT ..................................................................................................................... 8
`A.
`Alice Step 1: The Asserted Claims Are Directed to an Abstract Concept ............. 8
`1.
`The Asserted Claims Are Directed to an Unpatentable
`Mathematical Algorithm for Combining Sensor Data ............................... 8
`Alice Step 2: The Asserted Claims Do Not Recite An Inventive Concept .......... 10
`The Dependent Claims Do Not Add Anything of Substance That Would
`Affect the Patentability of the Claims .................................................................. 12
`CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 13
`
`B.
`C.
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`I.
`II.
`III.
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`IV.
`V.
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`VI.
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`-i-
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 3 of 18 PageID #: 8831
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`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
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`
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`Page(s)
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`Cases
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`Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l,
`134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014) ..................................................................................................... passim
`
`Diamond v. Diehr,
`450 U.S. 175 (1981) .................................................................................................................12
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`Digitech Image Techs., LLC v. Elecs. for Imaging, Inc.,
`758 F.3d 1344 (Fed. Cir. 2014)..............................................................................................8, 9
`
`Gottschalk v. Benson,
`409 U.S. 63 (1972) .....................................................................................................................8
`
`Internet Patents Corp. v. Active Network, Inc.,
`790 F.3d 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2015)................................................................................................10
`
`Mayo Collab. Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc.,
`132 S. Ct. 1289 (2012) .........................................................................................................8, 11
`
`Parker v. Flook,
`437 U.S. 584 (1978) ...............................................................................................................8, 9
`
`Thales Visionix Inc. v. United States,
`850 F.3d 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2017)................................................................................................10
`
`In re TLI Commc’ns LLC Patent Litig.,
`823 F.3d 607 (Fed. Cir. 2016)..................................................................................................12
`
`Statutes
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`35 U.S.C. § 101 ...................................................................................................................... passim
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`Other Authorities
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`Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c) ........................................................................................................................7
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`-ii-
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 4 of 18 PageID #: 8832
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`I.
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`INTRODUCTION
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`This motion presents a simple question for the Court: Does claiming basic, well-known
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`sensors and other off-the-shelf components convert a mathematical algorithm into patentable
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`subject matter? Plaintiff CyWee Group Ltd.’s (“CyWee”) experts admit that the claims of the
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`patents-in-suit set forth an open-ended framework of mathematical equations. It is well
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`established that such claims do not recite patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
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`CyWee argues that the patent claims set forth a particular configuration of sensors in a
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`hand-held device and are thus patent eligible. The claims, however, merely recite well-known
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`sensors performing their usual functions without any restriction about how they are physically
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`configured. The prosecution histories confirm that the alleged point of novelty was the claimed
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`algorithms, not the sensors or their configuration. Because there is no plausible reading of the
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`claims that renders them patentable subject matter, Samsung respectfully requests that the Court
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`grants its motion and find the asserted claims invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
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`II.
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`STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES TO BE DECIDED BY THE COURT
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`Algorithms are not patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. CyWee’s patent
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`claims merely recite algorithms that operate on data obtained from conventional sensors and
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`were allowed because of the details of those algorithms, not the sensors or their configuration.
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`Given this, are CyWee’s patent claims invalid?
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`III.
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`STATEMENT OF UNDISPUTED MATERIAL FACTS
`
`A.
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,441,438
`
`CyWee has asserted Claims 1, 3–5, 14–17 and 19 of
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`-1-
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 5 of 18 PageID #: 8833
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,441,438 (“the ’438 Patent””) (Ex. 1)1 a
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`variants of the same basic conceppt of calculaating the atti
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`gainst Sams
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`ung. These cclaims are mminor
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`tude or orienntation of a ““3D pointingg
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`device” using well-known matheematical formmulas. In a pparallel laws
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`uit, in its oppposition to
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`Google’s motion to dismiss undeer Section 1001, CyWee mmapped a floow chart fromm the ’438 PPatent
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`to a paraphrased version of the allgorithm reccited in Clai
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`m 14:
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`m literally r
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`ecited in Claaim 14:
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`Ex. 2 at 5.
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`CyWee further mapped thhe above to tthe algorith
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`A method for obtaaining a resuulting deviatiion includinng resultant
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`angles in a spatiall pointer refeerence fram
`e of a three-
`dimensional
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`(3D) pointing devvice utilizingg a six-axis mmotion sensoor module
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`therein and subjecct to movements and rot
`ations in dy
`namic
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`1 Unless otherwise stated, all exhhibits referennced herein
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`
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`Elizabeth L. Brann, filed concurrrently herewwith.
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`
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`to the Declaaration of
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`are attached
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`-2-
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 6 of 18 PageID #: 8834
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`environments in said spatial pointer reference frame, comprising
`the steps of:
`obtaining a previous state of the six-axis motion sensor module;
`wherein the previous state includes an initial-value set associated
`with previous angular velocities gained from the motion sensor
`signals of the six-axis motion sensor module at a previous time
`T−1;
`obtaining a current state of the six-axis motion sensor module by
`obtaining measured angular velocities ωx, ωy, ωz gained from the
`motion sensor signals of the six-axis motion sensor module at a
`current time T;
`obtaining a measured state of the six-axis motion sensor module by
`obtaining measured axial accelerations Ax, Ay, Az gained from the
`motion sensor signals of the six-axis motion sensor module at the
`current time T and calculating predicted axial accelerations Ax′,
`Ay′, Az′ based on the measured angular velocities ωx, ωy,ωz of
`the current state of the six-axis motion sensor module without
`using any derivatives of the measured angular velocities ωx, ωy,
`ωz; said current state of the six-axis motion sensor module is a
`second quaternion with respect to said current time T; comparing
`the second quaternion in relation to the measured angular
`velocities ωx, ωy, ωz of the current state at current time T with the
`measured axial accelerations Ax, Ay, Az and the predicted axial
`accelerations Ax′, Ay′, Az′ also at current time T;
`obtaining an updated state of the six-axis motion sensor module by
`comparing the current state with the measured state of the six-axis
`motion sensor module; and
`calculating and converting the updated state of the six axis motion
`sensor module to said resulting deviation comprising said resultant
`angles in said spatial pointer reference frame of the 3D pointing
`device.
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`Id. at 5–6.
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`
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`The sole portion of the claim that is not color coded (aside from the preamble) merely
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`recites comparing velocities in quaternion format to measured and predicted axial accelerations,
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`which is a mathematical operation that CyWee’s expert claims is reflected in Equation 11 of the
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`specification. Ex. 3 at 61:20–22. Therefore, all of Claim 14 is directed to a mathematical
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`algorithm.
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`-3-
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 7 of 18 PageID #: 8835
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`Claim 14 does refer to stnlcture, such as a “3D pointing device” and a “six-axis motion
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`module.”—
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`— The ’438 Patent itself acknowledges 3D pointing devices
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`were known in the art. Ex. 1, Figs. 1—2, 223—47.—
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`— eytew ttmttt gg tontgttgg gyggggg g
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`accelerometers into three-axis sensors was known and conventional as of 2010, before the
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`earliest possible priority dates of the asserted patents. Ex. 7 1[ 9.
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`The remainder of the intlinsic evidence confums that the ’438 Patent is directed to an
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`algorithm. The specification states that the claims are directed to a mathematical algorithm for
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`calculating the orientation of a 3D pointing device: “The present invention generally relates to a
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`three-dimensional (3D) pointing device utilizing a motion sensor module and method of
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`compensating and mapping signals of the motion sensor module subject to movements and
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`rotations of said 3D pointing device.” Ex. 1 at C01. 1:17—21. The PTO allowed the claims based
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`solely on the algorithm. The claims were rejected in View of Nasiri (U.S. Pat. Pub.
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`2009/0262074), a reference that discloses a device using accelerometers and gyroscopes.) Ex. 8
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`at 3—4; Ex. 9. Therefore. CyWee could not argue that the claims were novel because they recite a
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`six-axis motion sensor module or other components. Instead. CyWee obtained allowance of the
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`claims because of the recited algorithm. specifically the fact that the predicted axial accelerations
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`are calculated without using derivatives of the measured angular velocities. Ex. 10.
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`The other asserted claims are very similar to Claim 14. Claim 1 is an apparatus claim
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 8 of 18 PageID #: 8836
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`requiring a housing, printed circuit board (“PCB”), a six-axis motion sensor module, and a
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`processing and transmitting module. For the reasons stated above, these structural limitations are
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`merely generic hardware and were never described by CyWee or the inventors as being novel
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`aspect of the claimed invention. Claims 3 and 5 are directed to trivial design elements of the PCB
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`and the data transmitting unit. Claims 4 and 15–17 relate to further specifics of the algorithm.
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`And Claim 19 is essentially the same as Claim 14.
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`B.
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`U.S. Patent No. 8,552,978
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`The ’978 Patent claims priority to the ’438 Patent and similarly claims a mathematical
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`algorithm for calculating the attitude or orientation of a 3D pointing device, although at a much
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`higher level. Ex. 11 at Abstract. CyWee has asserted Claims 10 and 12 of the ’978 Patent. Claim
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`10 recites:
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`10. A method for compensating rotations of a 3D pointing device,
`comprising:
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`generating an orientation output associated with an orientation of
`the 3D pointing device associated with three coordinate axes of a
`global reference frame associated with Earth;
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`generatinq [sic] a first signal set comprising axial accelerations
`associated with movements and rotations of the 3D pointing device
`in the spatial reference frame;
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`generating a second signal set associated with Earth's magnetism;
`generating the orientation output based on the first signal set, the
`second signal set and the rotation output or based on the first signal
`set and the second signal set;
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`generating a rotation output associated with a rotation of the 3D
`pointing device associated with three coordinate axes of a spatial
`reference frame associated with the 3D pointing device; and
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`using the orientation output and the rotation output to generate a
`transformed output associated with a fixed reference frame
`associated with a display device, wherein the orientation output
`and the rotation output is generated by a nine-axis motion sensor
`module; obtaining one or more resultant deviation including a
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`-5-
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 9 of 18 PageID #: 8837
`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 9 of 18 PageID #: 8837
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`plurality of deviation angles using a plurality of measured
`magnetisms Mx, My, MZ and a plurality of predicted magnetism
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`Mx' My' and M2' for the second signal set.
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`CyWee admits that the ’978 Patent claims include the
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`m
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`same seven-step algorithm described above with respect
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`“$33"
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`to the ’438 Patent. Ex. 2 at 4. Unlike the ’438 Patent, the
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`
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`’978 Patent incorporates measured and predicted
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`-
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`
`:
`Data
`.
`.
`Transmzttrr
`Unit
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`9
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`- --» -----“2-~—‘ — - -
`-
`Computnq
`Processor
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`magnetisms generated by a nine—axis motion sensor
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`module. Specifically, Claim 10 uses magnetic data, in
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`FIG. 4
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`combination with angular velocity and axial acceleration data. to determine the direction the 3D
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`pointing device is pointing.
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`Notably, Claim 10 does not refer to any structure except for a 3D pointing device, which
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`the ’978 Patent specification admits is in the prior art, and a nine-axis motion sensor module. Ex.
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`— eyvvee admits
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`configuring magnetometers into three-axis sensor's was known and conventional as of 2010,
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`before the earliest possible priority dates of the asserted patents. Ex. 7 1] 9.
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`That fact is confmned in the prosecution history. Similar to the ’438 Patent, the ’978
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`Patent application was rejected based on Nasiri, which discloses gyroscopes, accelerometers, and
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`magnetometers. Ex. 12 at 4—5. The claims were eventually allowed after they were amended to
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`incorporate magnetisms into the recited algorithm. Ex. 13 at 2—3.
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 10 of 18 PageID #: 8838
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`Claim 12 of the ’978 Patent depends from Claim 10. Claim 12 merely recites a minor
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`variation in which the orientation of the 3D pointing device can be expressed in one of four
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`commonly known ways, and thus relates closely to the unpatentable mathematical algorithm
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`recited in Claim 10.
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`IV.
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`LEGAL STANDARD
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`Summary judgment is appropriate when “there is no genuine issue as to any material
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`fact” and the moving party “is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). 35
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`U.S.C. § 101 defines patentable subject matter. Judicial precedent has “long held that this
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`provision contains an important implicit exception” in that “[l]aws of nature, natural phenomena,
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`and abstract ideas are not patentable.” Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 134 S. Ct. 2347,
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`2354 (2014) (citation omitted).
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`
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`There is a two-step process to determine whether a patent claims ineligible subject matter
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`under 35 U.S.C. § 101. First, the court must “determine whether the claims at issue are directed
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`to one of [the] patent-ineligible concepts”—laws of nature, natural phenomena, or abstract ideas.
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`Id. at 2355. The court must “consider the elements of each claim both individually and as an
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`ordered combination to determine whether the additional elements transform that nature of the
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`claim into a patent-eligible application.” Id. at 2356–57 (citations and internal quotation marks
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`omitted). “The abstract ideas category embodies the longstanding rule that an idea of itself is not
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`patentable.” Id. at 2355 (internal quotations and alteration marks omitted).
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`
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`Second, if the court determines that the patent is drawn to an abstract idea or otherwise
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`ineligible subject matter, it must then “examine the elements of the claim to determine whether it
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`contains an ‘inventive concept’ sufficient to ‘transform’ the claimed abstract idea into a patent-
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`eligible application.” Id. at 2357. “Stating an abstract idea ‘while adding the words “apply it”’ is
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`-7-
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 11 of 18 PageID #: 8839
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`not enough for patent eligibility.” Id. at 2358 (quoting Mayo Collab. Servs. v. Prometheus Labs.,
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`Inc., 566 U.S. 66, 72, 132 S. Ct. 1289, 1294 (2012)).
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`V.
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`ARGUMENT
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`A.
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`Alice Step 1: The Asserted Claims Are Directed to an Abstract Concept
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`1.
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`The Asserted Claims Are Directed to an Unpatentable Mathematical
`Algorithm for Combining Sensor Data
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`The asserted claims are plainly directed to an unpatentable mathematical algorithm and
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`therefore fail step 1 of the Alice test. Under any plausible reading, the ’438 and ’978 Patents
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`claim a mathematical algorithm for computing the direction a 3D pointing device is pointing by
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`combining two (’438 Patent) or three (’978 Patent) sets of sensor data. It is well-established,
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`however, that abstract principles like mathematical algorithms are not patentable under Section
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`101. See Mayo, 566 U.S. 66, 89 (holding that there is “a bright-line prohibition against
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`patenting . . . mathematical formulas . . . .”); Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 67 (1972) (“[A]
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`scientific truth, or the mathematical expression of it, is not a patentable invention . . . .”);
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`Digitech Image Techs., LLC v. Elecs. for Imaging, Inc., 758 F.3d 1344, 1351 (Fed. Cir. 2014)
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`(“If a claim is directed essentially to a method of calculating, using a mathematical formula, even
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`if the solution is for a specific purpose, the claimed method is nonstatutory.”) (citing Parker v.
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`Flook, 437 U.S. 584, 595 (1978)).
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`Here, the basic character of the alleged inventions claimed in the ’438 and ’978 Patents is
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`an algorithm for using acceleration, rotational, and/or magnetic data obtained from sensors as
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`inputs into a series of mathematical formulas that calculate attitude or orientation. CyWee has
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`admitted that “the patented inventions teach how to determine a device’s current orientation
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`based on the motion data detected by its motion sensors, such as an accelerometer, gyroscope,
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`and magnetometer.” Ex. 7 ¶ 8. In fact, CyWee’s expert has characterized the inventions as an
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`-8-
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 12 of 18 PageID #: 8840
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`open-ended mathematical framework. Ex. 3 at 138:11–14.
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`Further, the PTO noted that the ’438 Patent claims were allowable because of the claimed
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`algorithms. Ex. 10. Claim 10 of the ’978 Patent was allowed because it claimed obtaining a
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`deviation using measured and predicted magnetisms. Ex. 13 at 5–6. Indeed, each asserted
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`independent claim recites little more than steps for: (i) “detecting,” “generating” and “obtaining”
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`data and then (ii) “using,” “comparing,” or “calculating” a result using this data.
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`The Supreme Court’s holding in Parker v. Flook, 437 U.S. 584 (1978), is instructive.
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`There, the relevant claim required: (i) measuring a present value; (ii) calculating an updated
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`alarm-limit; and (iii) adjusting the actual alarm limit to the updated value. Id. at 585–86. The
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`only difference between the alleged invention and conventional methods of charging alarm limits
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`was the “mathematical algorithm or formula.” Id. at 586. The claims were broad but did not
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`cover every conceivable application of the algorithm or formula. See id. However, the Court
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`found that the claims were directed to a mathematical formula and thus unpatentable. Id. at 593.
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`Similarly, in Digitech Image Technologies, LLC v. Electronics for Imaging, Inc., the
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`Federal Circuit found that patent claims directed to combining a first data set of color
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`information with a second data set of spatial information was unpatentable under Section 101.
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`758 F.3d at 1350–51. In so doing, the Court specifically held that “a process that employs
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`mathematical algorithms to manipulate existing information to generate additional information is
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`not patent eligible.” Id. at 1351.
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`The asserted claims of the ’438 and ’978 Patents are analogous to those at issue in Flook
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`and Digitech. These claims comprise two steps: (i) measuring data—axial acceleration, angular
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`velocity, and/or magnetism; and (ii) applying a mathematical algorithm that combines the data
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`sets to calculate the updated orientation of the device. These are exactly the type of claims that
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`-9-
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 13 of 18 PageID #: 8841
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`courts have found to recite unpatentable subject matter.
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`In opposition to motions from LG and Google in parallel lawsuits, CyWee relied heavily
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`on Thales Visionix Inc. v. United States, 850 F.3d 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2017), but that case is
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`unavailing. CyWee is correct that the Thales case also related to inertial sensors like those at
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`issue here. The case states that “[i]nertial sensors, such as accelerometers and gyroscopes,
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`measure the specific forces associated with changes in a sensor’s position and orientation relative
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`to a known starting position. . . . [I]nertial systems generally include at least one other type of
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`sensor, such as an optical or magnetic sensor, to intermittently correct these errors that
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`compound over time.” Thales, 850 F.3d at 1344–45. However, the relevant claims in Thales
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`recited two sensors in a specific physical configuration—one mounted on a tracked object and
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`the other mounted on a moving reference frame. Id. at 1345–46. The placement of the sensors
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`was non-conventional and reduced errors “in measuring the relative position and orientation of a
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`moving object on a moving reference frame.” Id. at 1348–49. Here, however, none of the
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`asserted claims requires anything specific or non-conventional with respect to the sensors or their
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`configuration. Instead, the sensors are merely to collect data to be used in the allegedly novel
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`recited algorithm.
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`The patentee’s statements in the prosecution history further demonstrate what CyWee
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`considered to be the innovation over the prior art and the essential aspect of its patent claims. See
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`Internet Patents Corp. v. Active Network, Inc., 790 F.3d 1343, 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2015). To obtain
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`allowance, CyWee pointed to the algorithms recited in the claims, not the claimed sensors or any
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`particular configuration of the sensors. Ex. 10; Ex. 13 at 5–6.
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`Therefore, the asserted claims fail step one of the Alice test.
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`B.
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`Alice Step 2: The Asserted Claims Do Not Recite An Inventive Concept
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`
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` the patents’ file histories show that the remaining
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`-10-
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 14 of 18 PageID #: 8842
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`elements of the asserted claims merely recite common components and do not contain an
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`inventive concept. “[T]he elements of each claim both individually and as an ordered
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`combination” should be considered to determine whether the additional elements “transform the
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`nature of the claim into a patent-eligible application.” Alice, 134 S. Ct. at 2355 (internal
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`quotation marks omitted). A “claim that recites an abstract idea must include ‘additional
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`features’ to ensure ‘that the [claim] is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the
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`[abstract idea].’” Id. at 2357 (quoting Mayo, 132 S. Ct. at 1297) (alteration in original). Those
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`additional features, moreover, must be more than “‘well-understood, routine, conventional
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`activit[ies]’ previously known to the industry.” Id. at 2359 (quoting Mayo, 132 S. Ct. at 1299)
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`(alteration in original).
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`
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`Here, the asserted claims of the ’438 and ’978 Patents fail to claim anything more than an
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`abstract mathematical algorithm with, at best, several additional generic components previously
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`known in the industry. The only asserted independent system claim is Claim 1 of the ’438 Patent,
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`which requires a housing, a printed circuit board (“PCB”), a six-axis motion sensor module
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`comprising a rotation sensor and accelerometer, and a processing and transmitting module. Ex. 1
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`at Claim 1. The remaining asserted independent claims are all method claims listing the steps of
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`the algorithm and referring only to a 3D pointing device and a six-axis or nine-axis motion
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`sensor module. Id., Claims 14, 19; Ex. 11, Claim 10.
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`. The PTO further noted that devices
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`including these components were known in the prior art. Ex. 8 at 3–4; Ex. 12 at 4–5. The
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`remaining limitations recite only algorithmic calculations and resulting data outputs. It is well
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`established that “merely provid[ing] a generic environment in which to carry out the abstract
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 15 of 18 PageID #: 8843
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`idea” is insufficient to confer patentability to those limitations. In re TLI Commc’ns LLC Patent
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`Litig., 823 F.3d 607, 611–12 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
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`The Supreme Court has made clear that the fact that claims may be directed to a specific
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`application of an abstract idea does not by itself render them patentable. In Diamond v. Diehr,
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`450 U.S. 175, 191–92 (1981), the Court explained that the prohibition against patenting an
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`abstract idea such as a mathematical formula “cannot be circumvented by attempting to limit the
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`use of the formula to a particular technological environment.” Although the claims in this case
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`may not cover all uses of the recited algorithms, a modest reduction in the scope of the abstract
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`idea does not render the claims patent eligible. Even with the 3D pointing device limitations, the
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`asserted claims would still have sweeping preemptive effects. This is especially true under the
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`Court’s construction of “3D pointing device,” which (over Defendants’ objections) has been
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`given its plain and ordinary meaning. Dkt. No. 117 at 8.
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`Therefore, the asserted claims also fail step two of the Alice test and are not directed to
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`patentable subject matter.
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`C.
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`The Dependent Claims Do Not Add Anything of Substance That Would
`Affect the Patentability of the Claims
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`Finally, the marginal differences in the dependent claims do not make them patentable.
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`The dependent claims of the ’438 and ’978 Patents merely recite either additional algorithmic
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`steps, slightly different hardware configurations, or different (but commonly known) ways to
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`express the calculated results of the algorithms. Because these limitations are fundamentally
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`directed to the same mathematical algorithms recited in the independent claims, the asserted
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`claims as a whole remain directed to unpatentable subject matter.
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`Specifically, Claims 3 and 5 of the ’438 Patent are directed to slight variations in the
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`configuration of the foundational hardware used in the claimed algorithm. Claim 3 recites the
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 16 of 18 PageID #: 8844
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`printed circuit board of the 3D pointing device being parallel to the housing. Claim 5 recites a
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`generic unit that transmits the data collected from the sensors to an equally generic processor.
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`Neither of these variations changes the fundamental nature of the asserted claims.
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`Claims 4 and 15 of the ’438 Patent merely recite a minor variation in which the change in
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`orientation of the 3D pointing device is expressed in yaw, pitch and roll angles, otherwise known
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`as Euler angles. This is simply a slight difference in how the result of the algorithm is expressed.
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`Like Claims 4 and 15 of the ’438 Patent, Claim 12 of the ’978 Patent merely recites commonly
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`known methods in how the orientation of the 3D pointing device is expressed.
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`Likewise, Claim 16 of the ’438 Patent recites that various results from the algorithm are
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`expressed in a mathematical format known as a quaternion, which merely represents orientation.
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`Ex. 3 at 45:21–46:11. Again, this is a very minor difference in how the algorithm is executed.
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`Finally, Claim 17 of the ’438 Patent recites nothing more than the additional algorithmic
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`step of setting the initial values to the algorithm. These marginal differences do not change the
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`essential character of what the asserted claims are directed to under Alice Step 1, nor do they
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`disclose an “inventive concept” under Alice Step 2.
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`Accordingly, each of the asserted dependent claims are also unpatentable under 35 U.S.C.
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`§ 101.
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`VI. CONCLUSION
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`CyWee’s own experts admit that the ’438 and ’978 Patents are drawn solely to an open-
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`ended mathematical framework. This claimed algorithm can be implemented on any device with
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`sensors. Such mathematical formulas are quintessentially unpatentable abstract ideas. Therefore,
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`Samsung respectfully requests that the Court grant its motion for summary judgment and find the
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`claims of the ’438 and ’978 Patents unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 17 of 18 PageID #: 8845
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`DATED: October 3, 2018
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`Respectfully submitted,
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`
`
`By: /s/ Christopher W. Kennerly
`Christopher W. Kennerly
`TX Bar No. 00795077
`chriskennerly@paulhastings.com
`PAUL HASTINGS LLP
`1117 S. California Ave.
`Palo Alto, California 94304
`Telephone: (650) 320-1800
`Facsimile:
`(650) 320-1900
`
`Elizabeth L. Brann (pro hac vice)
`CA Bar No. 222873
`elizabethbrann@paulhastings.com
`Bob Chen (pro hac vice)
`CA Bar No. 273098
`bobchen@paulhastings.com
`PAUL HASTINGS LLP
`4747 Executive Drive, 12th Floor
`San Diego, California 92121
`Telephone: (858) 458-3000
`Facsimile:
`(858) 458-3005
`
`Melissa R. Smith
`TX Bar No. 24001351
`melissa@gillamsmithlaw.com
`GILLAM & SMITH, LLP
`303 S. Washington Ave.
`Marshall, TX 75670
`Telephone: (903) 934-8450
`Facsimile: (903) 934-9257
`
`Attorneys for Defendants
`SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD AND
`SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS AMERICA,
`INC.
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`Case 2:17-cv-00140-WCB-RSP Document 188 Filed 10/05/18 Page 18 of 18 PageID #: 8846
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`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
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`I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was filed
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`electronically in compliance with Local Rule CV-5 on October 3, 2018. As of this date, all
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`counsel of record had consented to electronic service and are being served with a copy of this
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`document through the Court’s CM/ECF system under Local Rule CV-5(a)(3)(A) and by email.
`
` /s/ Christopher W. Kennerly
`Christopher W. Kennerly
`
`
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`CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORIZATION TO SEAL
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`
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`I hereby certify that under Local Rule CV-5(a)(7), the foregoing document is filed under
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`
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`seal pursuant to the Court’s Protective Order entered in this matter.
`
` /s/ Christopher W. Kennerly
`Christopher W. Kennerly
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`