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Case 2:21-cv-00040-JRG Document 56 Filed 07/21/21 Page 1 of 8 PageID #: 922
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`MARSHALL DIVISION
`
`
`
`CASE NO. 2:21-cv-00040-JRG
`(Lead Case)
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`
`
`CASE NO. 2:21-cv-00041-JRG
`(Member Case)
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`











`
` §
`
`










`
`GESTURE TECHNOLOGY
`PARTNERS, LLC,
`
`Plaintiff
`
`v.
`
`HUAWEI DEVICE CO., LTD.,
`HUAWEI DEVICE USA, INC.,
`
`Defendants.
`
`
`GESTURE TECHNOLOGY
`PARTNERS, LLC,
`
`Plaintiff
`
`v.
`
`SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
`AND SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS
`AMERICA, INC.,
`
`Defendants.
`
`SAMSUNG DEFENDANTS’ REPLY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION TO STRIKE
`PLAINTIFF’S INFRINGEMENT CONTENTIONS AND/OR COMPEL
`INFRINGEMENT CONTENTIONS COMPLYING WITH THE COURT’S PATENT
`RULES
`
`

`

`Case 2:21-cv-00040-JRG Document 56 Filed 07/21/21 Page 2 of 8 PageID #: 923
`
`
`
`I.
`
`INTRODUCTION
`
`For three months, Samsung has attempted unsuccessfully to obtain fair and adequate notice
`
`of GTP’s theory of infringement as to each Accused Instrumentality, pursuant to the Court’s local
`
`rules. GTP’s Response concedes that its Amended Infringement Contentions (“AICs”) do not
`
`identify GTP’s theory of infringement for each Asserted Claim, do not provide documentation or
`
`other explanation of how each Accused Feature when used by the Accused Products is alleged to
`
`infringe, and do not identify any claimed “gesture” (even as an example) allegedly performed in
`
`connection with each Accused Feature. GTP excuses these omissions by arguing that because the
`
`Asserted Claims are “predominantly” apparatus claims, and GTP now purports not to accuse any
`
`features of infringement, GTP has no obligation to identify its theory of infringement for each
`
`Accused Feature with respect to each Asserted Claim. GTP’s position is untenable.
`
`GTP asserts many method claims, which allegedly implicate the Accused Features when
`
`used by the Accused Products. GTP cannot ignore the method claims to justify failure to comply
`
`with the requirements of the local rules. In its Complaint, GTP itself designated the features at
`
`issue as “Accused Features,” which when used by the Accused Products allegedly infringe the
`
`Asserted Patents. Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 25. GTP cannot reasonably argue now that the “Accused Features”
`
`are somehow not accused, such that its disclosure obligations under the local rules do not apply.
`
`Moreover, GTP’s refusal to provide fair and adequate notice of its theory of infringement as to
`
`each Accused Instrumentality (i.e., Accused Feature) has frustrated Samsung’s ability to provide
`
`timely discovery and prepare its defenses. Despite diligent efforts, Samsung is unable to ascertain
`
`GTP’s theory as to how each Asserted Claim is infringed when each Accused Feature is used by
`
`the Accused Products. More is required of GTP than it has been willing to provide.1
`
`
`1 GTP cites no supporting authority that Samsung’s Motion is discovery-related under the Court’s
`Joint Discovery Order. This Court regularly rules on similar motions exceeding seven pages. See,
`
`-1-
`
`

`

`Case 2:21-cv-00040-JRG Document 56 Filed 07/21/21 Page 3 of 8 PageID #: 924
`
`
`
`II.
`
`ARGUMENT
`A.
`
`GTP’s Response Concedes That It Has Not Properly Accused or Charted the
`Asserted Method Claims
`
`GTP argues that because the “Asserted Claims comprise predominantly apparatus claims,”
`
`GTP is somehow excused from satisfying the local rules as to the asserted method claims. Resp.
`
`at 4 (emphasis added). GTP fails to provide a single authority in support. GTP asserts 39 method
`
`claims across three of the four Asserted Patents.2 For each asserted method claim, GTP’s AICs
`
`fail to identify how the Accused Features “when used allegedly result in the practice of the claimed
`
`method or process” as required by Patent Rule 3-1(c). Instead of addressing this deficiency, GTP’s
`
`Response instead focuses on an uncontested issue—that GTP has provided sufficient notice as to
`
`the relevant components of the Accused Products. But GTP’s listing of components does not
`
`excuse its further obligation to identify specifically where each element of each asserted claim is
`
`found within “each . . . process, method, [or] act” as required by P.R. 3-1(b). By GTP’s admission,
`
`its AICs are deficient at least as to the asserted method claims. At a minimum, GTP’s AICs as to
`
`those claims should be supplemented to comply or be struck for non-compliance.
`
`B.
`
`GTP’s Response Concedes That GTP Has Not Provided Fair and Adequate
`Notice of GTP’s Theory of Infringement for Each Accused Feature
`
`GTP’s AICs fail to provide fair and adequate notice of GTP’s theory of infringement for
`
`each Accused Instrumentality as required by the Court’s local rules. Accused Instrumentalities
`
`include “each accused apparatus, product, device, process, method, act, or other instrumentality.”
`
`
`e.g., Scorpcast, LLC v. Boutique Media, No. 20-cv-00193, Dkt. Nos. 108, 111, 114, 116, 118, 120,
`152 (E.D. Tex.).
`2 Asserted method claims include: Claims 1-6, 8, 9, 21-26, 28, and 30 of the ’079 Patent; Claims
`8, 9, 11, and 12 of the ’949 Patent; and Claims 1-4, 6, 14-22, 25-28, and 30 of the ’431 Patent.
`While GTP asserts no method claims for the ’924 Patent, it alleges Samsung infringes that patent
`by “advising or directing end users and other third-parties to use the Accused Features in the
`Accused Products in an infringing manner.” Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 46 (emphasis added).
`
`-2-
`
`

`

`Case 2:21-cv-00040-JRG Document 56 Filed 07/21/21 Page 4 of 8 PageID #: 925
`
`
`
`P.R. 3-1(b) (emphasis added). Each of the 18 “Accused Features” identified in GTP’s Complaint
`
`(and that GTP has not voluntarily withdrawn) is unique, having its own individual functions and
`
`operation as used by the Accused Products. Yet GTP’s AICs fail to describe how each Accused
`
`Feature, when used by the Accused Products, allegedly infringes each Asserted Claim.
`
`GTP’s Response does not dispute these critical deficiencies but instead attempts to excuse
`
`them by asserting that “GTP is [not] accusing software ‘features’ of infringement.” Resp. at 8.
`
`GTP’s argument is belied by its own Complaint explicitly designating these features as “Accused
`
`Features” alleged to infringe when used by the Accused Products.3 But even aside from GTP’s
`
`attempt to distance itself here from the live allegations in its Complaint, each of these software
`
`features constitutes or involves a “process, method, or act” that must be charted as to each Asserted
`
`Claim (including the method claims) under P.R. 3-1(b). Unless and until GTP formally withdraws
`
`all infringement allegations with respect to the Accused Features, the Court should compel GTP
`
`to provide AICs compliant with the local rules or strike those allegations altogether.
`
`Further, GTP’s Response concedes it has not identified documentation for each of the 18
`
`Accused Features, i.e., for each Accused Instrumentality. The only documentation in the AICs as
`
`to the Accused Features, across all of the Asserted Claims, consists of the same three website links.
`
`Neither the links nor anything else in the AICs specify what Accused Features the links allegedly
`
`relate to or how any Accused Feature, when used by the Accused Products, allegedly infringes
`
`any Asserted Claim. See Motion at 8-9. GTP’s Response provides, for the first time, five more
`
`
`3 GTP’s Complaint lists the features under the heading “Examples of Samsung’s Marketing of the
`Accused Features.” Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 25 (emphasis added). GTP’s Complaint accuses Samsung of
`infringing the ’924 Patent, for example, by “advising or directing end users and other third-parties
`to use the Accused Features in the Accused Products in an infringing manner.” Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 46
`(emphasis added). Even GTP’s Response asserts that “components and their related software
`allow the detection of detect [sic] numerous types of gestures.” Resp. at 2 (emphasis added).
`
`-3-
`
`

`

`Case 2:21-cv-00040-JRG Document 56 Filed 07/21/21 Page 5 of 8 PageID #: 926
`
`
`
`links describing some, but not all, of the Accused Features and how they relate to the Asserted
`
`Claims. See Resp. at nn. 3-4, 11-14. Notably, GTP did not include any of these newly-identified
`
`links in its Complaint, its PICs, its AICs, or in response to Samsung’s repeated requests. The fact
`
`that GTP is able to provide this further detail to explain how some Accused Features allegedly
`
`infringe the Asserted Claims highlights the failure of the AICs to provide the requisite detail with
`
`respect to each Accused Feature and each Asserted Claim. Resp. at 3. While GTP’s refusal to
`
`provide this information for all of the Accused Features remains unexplained (as is its refusal to
`
`voluntarily provide this information for any of the Accused Features before requiring Samsung to
`
`involve the Court), “The Patent Rules demonstrate high expectations as to plaintiffs’ preparedness
`
`before bringing suit.” Connectel, LLC v. Cisco Sys., 391 F. Supp. 2d 526, 527-28 (E.D. Tex. 2005)
`
`(citation omitted). GTP’s deficient AICs should be supplemented to comply or struck.
`
`C.
`
`GTP’s AICs and Response Fail to Identify Any Claimed “Gesture”
`
`GTP argues that the “asserted claims do not claim ‘gestures’—they claim only devices that
`
`have components that respond to ‘gestures.’” Resp. at 1. From this assertion, GTP posits that it
`
`need not identify any “gesture” that purportedly causes the Accused Features, when used by the
`
`Accused Products, to infringe the claims. However, as detailed in Samsung’s Motion, three of the
`
`Asserted Patents have Asserted Claims explicitly requiring the recited devices to determine that a
`
`“gesture” has been performed. See Mot. at 10-12. Thus, GTP must at least identify a purported
`
`“gesture” for each Accused Feature. Yet, GTP refuses to do so.
`
`For example, none of GTP’s website links, whether in its AICs or its Response, identifies
`
`any “gesture” for the Iris Scan Unlock, Bixby Vision, or QR Codes Accused Features, nor do they
`
`identify how these Accused Features determine any gesture as the Asserted Claims require. After
`
`diligent investigation, Samsung is unable to discern what possible “gesture” can be determined for
`
`a human eye, a restaurant in the world, or a barcode such that these Accused Features, when used
`
`-4-
`
`

`

`Case 2:21-cv-00040-JRG Document 56 Filed 07/21/21 Page 6 of 8 PageID #: 927
`
`
`
`by the Accused Products, allegedly satisfy the Asserted Claims. GTP’s failure to provide fair and
`
`adequate notice of its theory of infringement exists similarly for the remainder of the 18 Accused
`
`Features. As a result, Samsung is left to speculate regarding the claimed “gesture” with respect to
`
`each Accused Feature and each Asserted Claim.
`
`GTP’s arguments that Samsung is “demanding GTP’s trial evidence and arguments without
`
`discovery” and “requir[ing] GTP to list every possible gesture that could be detected” (Resp. at 5-
`
`6, 9) are red herrings. Samsung merely requests that GTP be ordered to comply with the local
`
`rules by identifying “at least one ‘gesture’ for each Accused Feature” to provide “reasonable notice
`
`of GTP’s theory of infringement for each Accused Feature as used by the Accused Products.”
`
`Mot. at 12, 15. It is revealing that GTP must distort Samsung’s request for relief and supporting
`
`arguments rather than confront their merits.
`
`D.
`
`GTP’s Has Not Shown Good Cause to Accuse Two Additional Products
`
`GTP had a duty to limit its allegations to products it reasonably believes infringe based on
`
`diligent pre-suit investigation. The two devices GTP seeks to add, the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy
`
`Tab A 8.0, are both flagship models. GTP’s Complaint, which accuses the entire Galaxy S and
`
`Galaxy Tab product lines, and GTP’s PICs, which accused variants of both products, show that
`
`GTP was or should have been aware of both models when it served its PICs. GTP has not shown
`
`good cause to allow the amendments now. GTP amended its PICs to include these models only
`
`after Samsung informed GTP that certain other Accused Products were not sold in the United
`
`States, and until GTP’s Response it had never sought leave to add these models as the local rules
`
`require, evidencing a lack of diligence that undermines GTP’s arguments as to good cause.
`
`III. CONCLUSION
`
`Accordingly, Samsung respectfully requests that the Court compel GTP to supplement its
`
`AICs to comply with Patent Rule 3-1(c) or strike all allegations that do not comply.
`
`-5-
`
`

`

`Case 2:21-cv-00040-JRG Document 56 Filed 07/21/21 Page 7 of 8 PageID #: 928
`
`
`
`DATED: July 21, 2021
`
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`
`By: /s/ Christopher W. Kennerly
`Christopher W. Kennerly (TX Bar No. 00795077)
`chriskennerly@paulhastings.com
`Radhesh Devendran (pro hac vice)
`radheshdevendran@paulhastings.com
`PAUL HASTINGS LLP
`1117 S. California Avenue
`Palo Alto, CA 94304
`Telephone: (650) 320-1800
`Facsimile: (650) 320-1900
`
`Allan M. Soobert
`allansoobert@paulhastings.com
`PAUL HASTINGS LLP
`2050 M Street NW
`Washington, D.C. 20036
`Telephone: 202-551-1700
`Facsimile: 202-551-1705
`
`Elizabeth L. Brann
`elizabethbrann@paulhastings.com
`PAUL HASTINGS LLP
`4747 Executive Drive, 12th Floor
`San Diego, CA 92121
`Telephone: (858) 458-3000
`Facsimile: (858) 458-3005
`
`Robert Laurenzi
`robertlaurenzi@paulhastings.com
`PAUL HASTINGS LLP
`200 Park Avenue
`New York, NY 10166
`Telephone: (212) 318-6000
`Facsimile: (212) 319-4090
`
`Melissa R. Smith (TX Bar No. 24001351)
`GILLAM & SMITH, LLP
`303 S. Washington Ave.
`Marshall, TX 75670
`Telephone: (903) 934-8450
`Facsimile: (903) 934-9257
`melissa@gillamsmithlaw.com
`
`Attorneys for Defendants Samsung Electronics
`Co., Ltd and Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
`
`-6-
`
`

`

`Case 2:21-cv-00040-JRG Document 56 Filed 07/21/21 Page 8 of 8 PageID #: 929
`
`
`
`
`
`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
`
`I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was filed
`
`electronically in compliance with Local Rule CV-5 on July 21, 2021. As of this date, all counsel
`
`of record had consented to electronic service and are being served with a copy of this document
`
`through the Court’s CM/ECF system under Local Rule CV-5(a)(3)(A).
`
` /s/ Christopher W. Kennerly
`Christopher W. Kennerly
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`-7-
`
`

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