`Trials@uspto.gov
`571-272-7822 Entered: March 30, 2015
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`____________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`____________
`
`FORD MOTOR COMPANY,
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`PAICE LLC & THE ABELL FOUNDATION, INC.,
`Patent Owner.
`____________
`
`Case IPR2015-006061
`Patent 7,237,634 B2
`____________
`
`
`
`Before SALLY C. MEDLEY, KALYAN K. DESHPANDE, and
`CARL M. DeFRANCO, Administrative Patent Judges.
`
`MEDLEY, Administrative Patent Judge.
`
`
`ORDER
`Conduct of the Proceeding
`37 C.F.R. § 42.5(a)
`
`
`1 This Order addresses the same issues in the inter partes reviews listed in
`the Appendix. Therefore, we issue one Order to be filed in all of the cases.
`The parties, however, are not authorized to use this style of filing in
`subsequent papers.
`
`
`
`Case IPR2015-00606
`Patent 7,237,634 B2
`
`
`I. INTRODUCTION
`
`Petitioner, Ford Motor Company, filed a total of twenty-five petitions
`on six patents assigned to Patent Owner, Paice LLC & The Abell
`Foundation, Inc. Ten of the petitions, in ten of the inter partes proceedings
`(“earlier proceedings”), were filed between July and December of 2014.
`The other fifteen petitions, in the last filed fifteen inter partes proceedings
`(“later proceedings”), were filed between the end of January and late
`February of 2015. A Notice of Filing Date Accorded to Petition (“Notice”)
`was filed in each one of the later proceedings within the first two weeks of
`March, 2015. See, e.g., IPR2015-00606, Paper 7. Each Notice specifies the
`time for Patent Owner to file its preliminary response in each proceeding,
`which is three months from the date of the Notice. Id. Notwithstanding the
`Notices, this order sets forth a new schedule for Patent Owner to file
`preliminary responses in the later proceedings.
`
`II. DISCUSSION
`
`We instituted review of several patents involved in eight of the first
`
`ten earlier proceedings. The hearing for six of the eight proceedings is
`scheduled for July 1, 2015, and the statutory deadline for the Board to issue
`final written decisions in some of those six proceedings is September 30,
`2015. Conceivably, some of the decisions on whether to institute inter
`partes review in the later proceedings would be due around the same time as
`the final written decisions in some of the earlier proceedings. The final
`written decisions, however, in some of the earlier proceedings may affect
`
`2
`
`
`
`Case IPR2015-00606
`Patent 7,237,634 B2
`
`whether we institute inter partes review on all of the challenged claims in
`some of the later proceedings. See, e.g., 35 U.S.C. §§ 315(e), 325(d).
`Moreover, it would be difficult for the same panel to produce several final
`decisions in some of the earlier proceedings, while at the same time produce
`multiple decisions on whether to institute inter partes review in the later
`proceedings.
`The Board may determine a proper course of conduct in a proceeding
`for any situation not specifically covered by the rules and may enter non-
`final orders to administer a proceeding. 37 C.F.R. § 42.5(a). Based on the
`records of these proceedings, we exercise our discretion to alter the due
`dates for Patent Owner’s preliminary responses in connection with the later
`proceedings. Patent Owner’s preliminary responses are due in accordance
`with the Appendix attached to this order.
`
`III. ORDER
`
`Upon consideration of the record before us, it is
`
`ORDERED that notwithstanding the dates specified in the Notices
`
`filed in the later proceedings, Patent Owner may file a preliminary response
`in the later proceedings in accordance with the Appendix schedule attached
`to this Order; and
`
`FURTHER ORDERED that if Patent Owner wants to file any
`preliminary response for any of the proceedings listed in the Appendix prior
`to the due dates listed there, Patent Owner must arrange a conference call
`with opposing counsel and the Board.
`
`
`3
`
`
`
`Case IPR2015-00606
`Patent 7,237,634 B2
`
`
`U.S. Patent No.
`
`7,104,347 B2
`
`7,237,634 B2
`
`7,455,134
`8,214,097 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`APPENDIX
`Inter Partes Review
`
`IPR2015-00794
`IPR2015-00795
`IPR2015-00606
`IPR2015-00722
`IPR2015-00758
`IPR2015-00784
`IPR2015-00785
`IPR2015-00787
`IPR2015-00790
`IPR2015-00791
`IPR2015-00799
`IPR2015-00800
`IPR2015-00801
`IPR2015-00767
`IPR2015-00792
`
`Patent Owner
`Preliminary Response
`Due Date
`August 3, 2015
`
`August 10, 2015
`
`June 17, 2015
`July 27, 2015
`
`4
`
`
`
`Case IPR2015-00606
`Patent 7,237,634 B2
`
`FOR PETITIONER:
`
`Sangeeta G. Shah
`Frank Angileri
`Michael D. Cushion
`Andrew Turner
`Brooks Kushman P.C.
`FPGP0110IPR3@brookskushman.com
`
`Lissi Mojica
`Kevin Greenleaf
`Dentons US LLP
`iptdocketchi@dentons.com
`
`
`FOR PATENT OWNER:
`
`Timothy W. Riffe
`riffe@fr.com
`
`Kevin E. Greene
`Greene@fr.com
`
`Ruffin B. Cordell
`Linda Kordziel
`Brian Livedalen
`IPR36351-0013IP3@fr.com
`
`
`
`
`5
`
`