Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_15-cv-04525/USCOURTS-cand-3_15-cv-04525-8/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 830
Nature of Suit: Patent
Cause of Action: 35:271 Patent Infringement

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION 

AVAGO TECHNOLOGIES GENERAL IP 

(SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD., 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

ASUSTEK COMPUTER INC. and ASUS 

COMPUTER INTERNATIONAL, 

Defendants. 

Case No. 3:15-CV-04525-EMC 

REQUEST FOR INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL ASSISTANCE 

(LETTER ROGATORY) 

TO THE APPROPRIATE JUDICIAL AUTHORITY OF JAPAN: 

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California presents its 

compliments to the Appropriate Judicial Authority of Japan, and requests international 

assistance to obtain evidence to be used in a civil proceeding before this Court in the abovecaptioned matter. 

The Court requests the assistance described herein in the interests of justice. 

I. REQUEST 

The Court requests that the Appropriate Judicial Authority of Japan compel production 

of documents from the following corporate entity: 

Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corp. 

72-34, Horikawa-cho, 

Saiwai-ku Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 212-8585 Japan 

Specifically, the Court requests that Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corp. (“TSST”) 

produce the documents and things set out in Exhibit A to this Request. 

The Court further requests that the Appropriate Judicial Authority of Japan compel 

Case 3:15-cv-04525-EMC Document 137 Filed 12/10/15 Page 1 of 11
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TSST to provide testimony as to the topics set forth in Exhibit B to this Request. With respect 

to methods and procedures to be followed in connection with the testimony topics, the Court 

respectfully requests that, to the extent possible under Japanese law: (a) TSST be required to 

designate one or more officers, directors, or managing agents, or other person(s) who consent to 

testify on its behalf as to the topics set forth in Exhibit B; (b) an appropriate judicial officer of 

Japan direct that the TSST witness(es) be duly sworn in accordance with the applicable laws 

and procedures of Japan; (c) the examination be conducted orally; (d) the parties’ legal 

representatives, their interpreters, and a stenographer be permitted to be present during the 

examination; and (e) the stenographer be permitted to record verbatim the examination, and a 

full transcript of the examination, in English, be made at the time of the examination. 

The Court understands that the documents and information requested may be of a 

confidential nature. As such, there is an protective order in this case to protect the 

confidentiality of any documents produced and of any responses to the written questions. A 

copy of the protective order is attached hereto as Exhibit C. The parties in the above-captioned 

matter may negotiate a more-detailed protective order. If the Court enters a new order, it will 

be sent separately. 

II. FACTS 

Plaintiff Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) PTE. Ltd. (“Avago”) filed suit 

against Defendants ASUSTeK Computer Inc. and ASUS Computer International (collectively 

“ASUS”) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, seeking a 

judgment that ASUS infringes Avago’s U.S. Patent Nos. 5,670,730, 5,870,087, 5,982,830, 

6,188,835, 6,430,148, 6,744,387, and 6,982,663 (collectively, the “Asserted Patents”). The 

case was then transferred to the Northern District of California on September 25, 2015, and was 

assigned to Judge Edward M. Chen. Avago seeks an award of damages from ASUS to 

compensate for the alleged patent infringement. The technology described and claimed in the 

Asserted Patents relates to, among other things: decoding electronic video and/or audio files 

(e.g., MPEG); storing audio files (e.g., MP3) on an integrated circuit chip; reading data from an 

Case 3:15-cv-04525-EMC Document 137 Filed 12/10/15 Page 2 of 11
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optical disc (e.g., DVD or Blu-ray disc); and use of or compatibility with the IEEE 802.11 

wireless standard. 

Through an investigation, Avago has determined that TSST makes components that are 

used in the allegedly infringing devices made and sold by ASUS. Thus, it appears that TSST 

possesses information of relevance to Avago’s claims of infringement in this patent litigation. 

III. EVIDENCE 

The documents requested to be produced are identified in Exhibit A. The deposition 

topics to which TSST’s testimony are requested are set forth in Exhibit B. The Court’s 

protective order in this case, attached as Exhibit C, protects the confidentiality of any 

documents or information TSST provides. 

IV. OFFER OF RECIPROCAL ASSISTANCE 

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California is willing to 

provide similar assistance to the Appropriate Judicial Authority of Japan. See 28 U.S.C. § 1782. 

V. REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS 

Avago’s counsel (David E. Sipiora, 1400 Wewatta Street, Suite 600, Denver, CO 

80202) is willing to reimburse the Appropriate Judicial Authority of Japan for costs and 

expenses incurred in executing this Letter Rogatory. 

Dated: 

Hon. Edward M. Chen 

United States District Judge 

United States District Court for the Northern District of 

California 

450 Golden Gate Avenue, 

San Francisco, CA 94102 

United States of America 

 

December 9, 2015

U

NITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

IT IS SO ORDERED

Judge Edward M. Chen

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EXHIBIT A 

DOCUMENTS REQUESTED 

DEFINITIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS 

DEFINITIONS 

1. “TSST,” “You,” “you,” “Your,” or “your” shall mean and refer to Toshiba 

Samsung Storage Technology Corp. and all predecessors, successors, subsidiaries, divisions, 

parents and affiliates thereof, past or present, joint ventures, and other legal entities that are or 

were wholly or partially owned or controlled by TSST, either directly or indirectly, and all past 

or present directors, officers, owners, agents, attorneys, and others acting for or on behalf of 

these same entities. 

2. “Defendants” shall mean and refer to Defendants ASUSTeK Computer Inc. and 

ASUS Computer International, and all predecessors, successors, subsidiaries, divisions, parents, 

and affiliates thereof, past or present, joint ventures, and other legal entities that are or were 

wholly owned or controlled by Defendants, either directly or indirectly, and all past or present 

directors, officers, owners, employees, agents, representatives, consultants, attorneys, and others 

acting for or on behalf of these same entities. 

3. “Plaintiff” or “Avago” shall mean and refer to Avago Technologies General IP 

(Singapore) Pte. Ltd., its officers, directors, employees, partners, corporate parent, subsidiaries, 

or affiliates, and any persons or entities who are, or at any time to which the Letter relates were 

acting on behalf of Avago. 

4. The “‘730 patent” means U.S. Patent No. 5,670,730. 

5. The “‘087 patent” means U.S. Patent No. 5,870,087. 

6. The “‘835 patent” means U.S. Patent No. 6,188,835. 

Case 3:15-cv-04525-EMC Document 137 Filed 12/10/15 Page 4 of 11
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7. The “‘148 patent” means U.S. Patent No. 6,430,148. 

8. The “‘663 patent” means U.S. Patent No. 6,982,663. 

9. The “‘387 patent” means U.S. Patent No. 6,744,387. 

10. The “‘830 patent” means U.S. Patent No. 5,982,830. 

11. The term “Patents-in-Suit” means and refers to, individually and collectively, the 

‘730, ‘087, ‘835, ‘148, ‘663, ‘387, and ‘830 patents, as defined herein. 

12. The term “Component(s)” means component(s) adapted to or capable of reading 

data from an optical disc (such as a DVD or Blu-ray disc), including without limitation optical 

disk drives such as TSST Product No. SN-406AB. 

13. “Accused Product(s)” means any activity, product, process, method, system, 

apparatus, or thing made, used, sold, or offered for sale by Defendants or imported into the 

United States by Defendants that infringes one or more claims of the Patents-in-Suit, including, 

without limitation, ASUS Model Nos. T100TAF, G751JM, M11BB-B07, X102BA, and/or 

TF701T. “Accused Product(s)” includes but is not limited to Defendants’ products containing 

Components. 

14. “Source Code” means computer source and/or object code (e.g., RTL, HDL, 

VHDL, Verilog, etc.), whether in printed or electronic form. 

15. The term “document” refers to documents and electronically stored information—

including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, sound recordings, images, and other 

data or data compilations—stored in any medium from which information can be obtained, and 

includes all preliminary and final drafts of any such item. 

16. The term “all documents” means any and all documents that TSST can locate 

through a diligent search of all locations likely to contain the documents requested herein and 

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through a reasonable inquiry of all persons likely to know of the existence of the documents 

requested herein. 

17. “Concerning” means regarding, relating to, concerning, pertaining to, referring 

to, describing, discussing, reflecting, stating, mentioning, comprising, containing, including, 

summarizing, explaining, providing context to, commenting upon, embodying, showing, 

demonstrating, evidencing, constituting, consisting of, supporting, contradicting, resulting from, 

or to be in any way logically or factually connected with the matter specified. 

18. The terms “and,” “or,” and “and/or” shall be construed conjunctively or 

disjunctively, whichever maximizes the scope of the document request, and shall not be 

interpreted to limit the scope of these requests. 

19. The terms “any” and “all” mean “any and all.” 

20. The terms “each” and “every” mean “each and every.” 

21. The use of a verb in any tense shall be construed as the use of the verb in all other 

tenses. 

22. The singular form of any word shall be construed to include the plural. The plural 

form of any word shall be construed to include the singular. 

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. In responding to the following document requests, furnish all available 

documents in the possession, custody, or control of TSST. 

2. If you lack the ability to comply with a particular document request, specify 

whether the inability to comply is because the particular document or category of documents 

requested never existed; has been destroyed; has been lost or misplaced; has been stolen; or has 

never been or is no longer in your possession, custody, or control. If the particular document or 

category of documents is no longer in your possession, custody, or control, identify the name 

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and address of any person or entity known or believed by you to have possession, custody, or 

control of that document or category of documents. 

3. If you contend a particular document or category of documents contains trade 

secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information, please mark the 

document or documents as such, as required by the protective order attached to this Letter 

Rogatory as Exhibit C. 

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DOCUMENT REQUESTS 

1. Documents sufficient to identify each of Your products or Components sold or 

otherwise provided to Defendants (including those products or Components sold or otherwise 

provided to any entities participating in the design, manufacture, assembly, or testing of any 

product of Defendants) into any product of Defendants since 2009. 

2. For each of Your products or Components identified in response to Request No. 

1, documents sufficient to identify the product name, model and revision number, and product 

family. 

3. For each of Your products or Components identified in response to Request No. 

1, documents sufficient to describe the identification and meaning of all chip or die markings or 

codes, such as model number, lot code, and the like. 

4. Documents sufficient to show each product of Defendants into which any of your 

products or Components are incorporated. 

5. For each of Your products or Components identified in response to Request No. 

1, Documents sufficient to show the supply, manufacturing, and distribution chain for each of 

Your products or Components, from their point(s) of manufacture to their point(s) of 

incorporation into any product of Defendants. 

6. For each of Your products or Components identified in response to Request No. 

1, all Documents Concerning the design, layout, operation, and/or function of any product or 

Component used in any product sold by or on behalf of Defendants, including but not limited to, 

manufacturing drawings, datasheets, blueprints or other technical diagrams, design and 

engineering specifications, computer modeling information, Source Code, and development and 

testing information. 

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7. All Source Code designed, written, compiled, produced and/or used by You 

Concerning any Component used in any product sold by or for the benefit of Defendants, and all 

Documents Concerning such Source Code.

8. All Documents relating to testing and/or certification of any of Your products 

and/or Components used in any product sold by or for the benefit of Defendants, including 

Documents relating to compliance with any standard (e.g., MPEG-2, ISO/IEC 14496-10 

(MPEG-4 Part 10)/ITU-T H.264, 802.11, etc.) 

9. All Documents and Communications with Defendants Concerning the Accused 

Products, any Components, Avago, the Litigation, the Patents-in-Suit, or the Letter, including 

without limitation Documents Concerning the purchase, sale and/or pricing of any product.

10. All Documents Concerning supply agreements, statements of work, plans of 

record, purchase orders, engineering requirement specifications, mechanical outlines, and/or the 

pricing of Components and associated technology between You and Defendants or between You 

and any third-party for any product or Component used in any Accused Products.

11. Documents sufficient to identify on a monthly basis products or Components sold 

and/or shipped to Defendants.

 

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EXHIBIT B 

DEPOSITION TOPICS 

1. The origins and maintenance of Documents produced by You in response to the 

Letter including: (a) authentication of the Document(s); (b) its status as a business record; and (c) 

the circumstances under which the Document was prepared, for what purpose, to whom it was 

distributed or intended to be distributed, and how it was preserved and maintained. 

2. The design, development, and manufacture of any Component(s) sold or 

otherwise provided to Defendants or to any third-party for inclusion or use within any product 

sold by or on behalf of Defendants. 

3. The product name, model and revision number, and product family of 

Components sold or otherwise provided to Defendants or any third-party for inclusion or use 

within any product sold by or on behalf of Defendants, including without limitation identification 

and meaning of all chip or die markings or codes, such as model number, date, and lot code. 

4. The products made, sole, or offered for sale by Defendants into which Your 

products or Components are incorporated. 

5. Sales (including the number of units shipped and associated revenue) of each 

product or Component sold or otherwise provided to Defendants or any third-party for inclusion 

or use within any product sold by or on behalf of Defendants. 

6. The supply and distribution chain for Your products and Components, from their 

point(s) of manufacture to their point(s) of incorporation into any product sold by or for the 

benefit of Defendants. 

7. The structure, function, and operation of Your products and Components sold or 

otherwise provided to Defendants. 

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8. Systems, methods, instructions, or protocols for controlling, programming, 

interacting with, or communicating with Your products and/or Components for use with any 

product sold by or for the benefit of Defendants. 

9. All Source Code designed, written, compiled, produced and/or used by You 

Concerning any Component used in any product sold by or for the benefit of Defendants.

10. Testing and/or certification of Your products and/or Components with respect to 

use of or compliance with any standard (e.g., MPEG-2, ISO/IEC 14496-10 (MPEG-4 Part 

10)/ITU-T H.264 standard, IEEE 802.11, etc.) 

11. Requests by Defendants for documents or information within the possession, 

custody, or control of You or any entity related, directly or indirectly, with You. 

12. Communications between You and Defendant Concerning Your products and/or 

Components and any product of Defendants. 

13. Communications between You and Defendants Concerning Avago, the Litigation, 

the Patents-in-Suit, and/or this Letter. 

67190863V.4 

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