Source: http://www.patentofficetrials.com/
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 14:07:28+00:00

Document:
The Board has discretion to deny institution of an inter partes review under 35 U.S.C. 325(d) when “the same or substantially the same prior art or arguments previously were presented to the Office.” In SMR Automotive Systems USA, Inc. (“SMR Auto”) v. Magna Mirrors of America, Inc. (“Magna Mirrors”), IPR2018-00536 (PTAB Dec. July 9, 2018), the Board denied institution of an inter partes review, in part, because Petitioner did not include any discussion about the prosecution history of a related patent that the Board considered relevant to the § 325(d) inquiry.
In January 2018, SMR Auto filed a Petition for inter partes review for review of claims 1-11 of U.S. Patent No. 8,550,642 (“the ‘642 patent”). The ‘642 patent is directed to an exterior rearview mirror that includes a plano reflective element and an auxiliary reflective element mounted adjacent to each other (Decision, page 3).
In Ground 1, SMR Auto asserted that claims 1-11 are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102(a), (b), and (e), as being anticipated by U.S. Publication No. 2002/0072026, filed Dec. 20, 2000, published June 13, 2002 (“the ’026 publication”). The ’026 publication lists Niall R. Lynam, John O. Lindahl, and Hahns Y. Fuchs as inventors. The application that issued as the ’642 patent lists Niall R. Lynam as the sole inventor, and was filed August 21, 2012. (Id., pages 10-11).
SMR Auto alleged the ‘026 publication is prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) because the ‘642 patent should not be entitled to the May 20, 2003 priority date of the ‘872 provisional application, but rather is entitled only the priority date of its great grandparent U.S. Patent No. 7,934,843 (“the ‘843 patent”), which was filed on August 5, 2010. (Id., page 11). Further, SMR Auto alleged the ‘026 publication is prior art under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102(a) and 102(e) because the ‘026 publication is “by another” and was published on June 13, 2002, which is prior to the earliest possible effective filing date of May 20, 2003. (Id.).
In response, Magna Mirrors argued that the above issues of (1) whether the ‘642 patent is entitled to the May 20, 2003 priority date, and (2) whether the ‘026 publication qualifies as prior art because it is not the work of another were considered repeatedly during prosecution of the ’642 patent and its family. (Id.). During the prosecution of the ‘642 patent and the great grandparent ‘843 patent, the Examiner alleged that the claims were not entitled to the benefit of an earlier filing date. (Id., page 13). In response, Applicant submitted a Declaration from Niall R. Lynam declaring that the invention of the independent claims of the ‘843 patent was reduced to practice prior to June 13, 2002. Based on the Declaration, the Examiner allowed the claims. (Id., page 13).
Based on the prosecution history of the ‘843 patent, Magna Mirrors argued the Board should deny institution under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d) (Id., page 15). The Board agreed with Magna Mirrors that the issues of (1) whether the ‘642 patent is entitled to the May 20, 2003 priority date, and (2) whether the ‘026 publication qualifies as prior art were previously considered by the office. In explaining its reasoning, the Board stated that it was fatal to SMR Auto’s argument to not discuss the prosecution history of the ‘843 patent because the ‘843 patent is nearly identical to the ‘642 patent. (Id., pages 18-19).
Thus, the Board exercised its discretion under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d) and declined to institute inter partes review of claims 1-11 on the ground that the claims are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102(a), (b), and (e) as being anticipated by the ’026 publication. (Id., page 19).
In Campbell Soup Company, et al. v. Gamon Plus, Inc., IPR2017-00087, Paper 75 (PTAB 2018) (Final Written Decision), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) found that “an appreciable amount of Campbell’s increased commercial success of soup” was attributable to Gamon’s product covered by the claims and, thus, found claim 27 of U.S. Patent 8,827,111 B2 (“’111 patent”) patentable in view of this commercial success.
Campbell purchased from Gamon approximately $31 million of its iQ Maximizer gravity feed display racks over a seven-year period. The parties agreed that these display racks fell within the scope of at least claim 27 of the ‘111 patent, of which Gamon was the owner. During this seven-year period, Campbell noted a year-over-year positive sales lift in its condensed-soup brand by maintaining the same level of productivity while reducing inventory in stores of the products by 15%, thereby cutting costs to the stores. In a 2005 report to its investors, Campbell touted the benefits of the iQ Maximizer, reporting increased sales of soup by 8% by using gravity-feed shelving systems such as the iQ Maximizer. Campbell’s investor reports in subsequent years showed further sales increases and attributed these sales increases, at least partially, on gravity feed shelving display racks.
In an attempt to invalidate the claims of the patent, Campbell set forth several grounds of unpatentability, alleging the claims were invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a). Ultimately, the Board relied on the Graham factors, in particular the commercial success factor, in determining that the claims were not obvious over the combination of references set forth by Campbell.
In asserting that the claims were nonobvious based on commercial success, Gamon relied on both its sales of the iQ Maximizer gravity feed display racks and Campbell’s increased sale of soup that was displayed using the iQ Maximizer racks. Campbell argued, however, that Gamon was required to show a nexus “directly attributable” to one or more limitations of claim 27 that were allegedly novel to succeed on its commercial success argument. The Board did not find Campbell’s argument persuasive, citing the Federal Circuit’s holding in WBIP, LLC v. Kohler Co. that “there is a presumption of nexus for objective considerations when the patentee shows that the asserted objective evidence is tied to a specific product and that product ‘is the invention disclosed and claimed in the patent.’” 829 F.3d 1317, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2016). The Board found that Gamon tied the objective evidence to a specific product, i.e., the iQ Maximizer gravity feed display racks, and Campbell failed to rebut the presumption of a nexus.
Notably, the Board relied on Campbell’s expert that at least some of the increased soup sales were attributable to the iQ Maximizer gravity feed display racks. While it agreed that other factors impacted the commercial sales of the soup, the Board found that Gamon’s sales of the iQ Maximizer gravity feed display racks to Campbell and Campbell’s attribution of some increased soup sales to these gravity feed display racks provided a strong showing of commercial success, thereby finding claim 27 of the ‘111 nonobvious.
In view of the Board’s decision, it is clear that the commercial success is not limited to commercial success of the product within the scope of the claim at issue. Rather, if a patent owner can show that increased sales of another product are attributable to the product within the scope of the claim at issue, this may be sufficient to show commercial success of the product. Further, to rebut a patent owner’s “nexus” argument, a petitioner must show that the objective considerations are not tied to the entire product, not certain limitations within the claim(s) at issue.
In Cisco Systems v. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, IPR2017-01933, Paper 9 (PTAB 2018) (Decision Denying Institution of Review), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”) held that a merger between Cisco and another company called Springboard that was completed after Cisco filed a petition for inter partes review (IPR) created a real party in interest relationship, and subsequently denied institution of the IPR.
On September 15, 2015, Hewlett Packard (HP) served Springpath with a complaint for patent infringement. On September 14, 2016, one day before the statutory deadline set forth in 35 U.S.C. § 315(b), Springpath filed a petition for IPR.
Cisco Systems filed a petition for IPR against HP on August 11, 2017, after Springpath had already filed for IPR. Subsequently, Cisco announced its intent to acquire Springpath on August 21, 2017, and completed the acquisition of Springpath on September 22, 2017, more than one month after Cisco’s petition had been filed.
The Board found that Springpath was a real party in interest, and that Cisco was merely acting as a proxy for Springpath. The PTAB then denied institution of the IPR for the following reasons. First, Cisco never disclosed the ongoing merger with Springpath in its petition or via updated mandatory disclosures. Although the merger was not yet complete at the time Cisco’s petition was filed, the Board found that Cisco should have advised the Board of the ongoing acquisition as well as the completion of the acquisition.
Second, the Board also found that Cisco could not provide any specific reasons why Cisco wanted to file for IPR independently of Springpath. Although Cisco stated that it filed the petition “for its own reasons,” the Board found this argument to be conclusory and unpersuasive. Also, since Cisco was not a party to the district court litigation, Cisco had no clear reason to file for IPR. Thus the Board concluded that Cisco was merely acting as a proxy for Springpath, which was barred under §315(b) from filing for IPR.
Cisco Systems v. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company departs from previous Board decisions in two ways. First, prior Board decisions have heavily relied on the control factor to determine who is or is not a real party in interest. The control factor asks the question: does the party alleged to be a real party in interest have control over the petitioner, for the purpose of the IPR? In Cisco Systems, the petitioner was Cisco, a large publically-traded company, and the alleged real party in interest was Springpath, a much smaller company that Cisco acquired for $320 million. Presumably, Springpath was not exercising any control over Cisco. Instead, the Board’s decision hinged on whether Cisco was acting as a proxy for Springpath, regardless of the level of control Springpath had over Cisco.
Secondly, the Board’s decision in Cisco Systems might be construed as being inconsistent with the Board’s prior case of Synopsys v. Mentor Graphics Corp, IPR2012-00042, Paper 60 (PTAB 2014). In Synopsys, the Board held that it is “only privity relationships up until the time a petition is filed that matter; any later-acquired privies are irrelevant.” Paper 60 at 12.
In Synopsys v. Mentor, the patent owner Mentor Graphics had previously settled a patent infringement lawsuit with a company called EVE in 2006. Id. at 11-16. The petitioner Synopsys filed a petition on September 26, 2012, and subsequently Synopsys entered into an agreement to acquire EVE on September 27, 2012, one day after the petition was filed. Id. at 11-16. The Board held that the petition was not barred because there was neither a real party in interest relationship nor a privity relationship between Synopsys and EVE at the time the petition was filed, citing to 37 C.F.R. § 42.101(b). Id. at 11-16.
Accordingly, if the holding from Synopsys had been applied to the case of Cisco Systems, the result in Cisco Systems might have been quite different, because Cisco’s merger with Springpath was completed after Cisco filed a petition for IPR.
However, in Synopsys, Synopsys had an ongoing patent licensing dispute with Mentor Graphics prior to filing the IPR, and Synopsys therefore had a clear reason to file the IPR before acquiring EVE. See Mentor Graphics Corp. v. EVE-USA, 851 F.3d 1275, 1280-81 (Fed. Cir. 2017). In contrast, in Cisco Systems, Cisco could not explain why it had filed the IPR, and therefore the Board seemed to infer that Cisco’s reason for filing the IPR was to act as a proxy for Springpath, thus indicating that the real party in interest was Springpath, not Cisco.
Arun Shome is an associate in the firm’s Electrical/Mechanical Group. He practices in all areas of patent law, including the preparation and prosecution of patent applications. He has experience across a broad range of technologies, such as implantable medical devices, automotive braking systems, valves, electronic cigarettes, manufacturing systems, and electrical motors.
Mr. Shome previously served as a Patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, where he examined medical device patent applications. He also has experience conducting prior art searches for patentability, invalidity, and freedom to operate purposes.
Becton, Dickinson and Co. v. B. Braun Melsungen AG, IPR2017-01586, Paper 8 (PTAB Dec. 15, 2017) (Decision, Institution of Inter Partes Review) (Informative).
Kayak Software Corp. v. IBM Corp., CBM2016-00075, Paper 16 (PTAB Dec. 15, 2016) (Decision, Declining to Institute Covered Business Method Patent Review) (Informational).
In two decisions, designated as informative on March 21, 2018, the Board has offered guidance on when the Board will exercise its discretion, under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d), to deny institution of a post-grant proceeding because the USPTO has already considered the same or substantially the same prior art or arguments. “Informative” decisions provide the Board’s guidance on an issue but are not binding authority.
(f) the extent to which additional evidence and facts presented in the Petition warrant reconsideration of the prior art or arguments.
The Board was careful to note this list is “non-exclusive” and merely a list of commonly considered factors. Becton at 17 (emphasis in original).
In applying the factors, the Board gave little weight to the Petitioner’s use of a new reference, finding the new reference was mostly cumulative. The Board also gave little weight to the Petitioner’s submission of an expert declaration because the declaration did not: why the new reference would not be cumulative; explain how the Patent Owner’s previous arguments, made during prosecution, were in error; or offer sufficient underlying facts or data to support its position. Becton at 25, 27, 28. Accordingly, the Board found the factors weighed in the Patent Owner’s favor and denied institution on that ground. Becton at 28.
In Kayak Software Corp., the Board considered the effect of at patent’s prosecution history on determinations under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d). The patent at issue was filed over 12 years before it was issued which led to an extensive prosecution history including seven Office Actions and two decisions by the Board, both of which entered new grounds for rejection. See Kayak at 6-7; see also U.S. Patent No. 7,072,849.
The Petition was based on various combinations of four prior art references. However, three of these references had been thoroughly considered during the patent’s prosecution by both the Examiner and the Board. Kayak at 8. The prosecution history contained dozens of pages devoted to each reference. Kayak at 9. As such, the Board was unconvinced that any combination of these three references, regardless of whether or not that exact combination had been used in a rejection, could be the basis for institution in light of § 325(d). Kayak at 9. The Board found the fourth reference to be cumulative in part because the Petitioner relied on one of the three references to teach the same subject matter in another part of the Petition. Kayak at 10. The Board noted this was at least circumstantial evidence that the fourth reference was substantially similar. Kayak at 10.
Additionally, in dicta, the Board offered several possible scenarios in which similar prior art could still lead to institution, such as: clear error in the original prosecution; when the prior art was only cursorily considered; or raising an issue the USPTO was unaware of, like evidence of priority dates. Kayak at 11.
Brendan O’Shea is an associate in the firm’s Electrical and Mechanical Patent Prosecution practice group, where he prosecutes patent applications for domestic and international clients.
Mr. O’Shea’s patent prosecution experience spans a wide range of technologies, including software and Internet-based applications, business methods, telecommunications, biomedical devices, and mechanical arts.
When a combination of prior art references is cited for the purpose of determining that a claim is unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103, a showing that a skilled artisan would have been motivated to combine the references in order to achieve the claimed combination is required. The Supreme Court has stated that “a patent composed of several elements is not proved obvious merely by demonstrating that each of its elements was, independently, known in the prior art.” KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 418-19 (2007). Instead, “a range of real-world facts to determine ‘whether there was an apparent reason to combine the known elements in the fashion claimed by the patent at issue'” must be considered. Intercontinental Great Brands LLC v. Kellogg N. Am. Co., 869 F.d 1336, 1344 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (quoting KSR, 550 U.S. at 418).
The critical feature of the challenged claims of the ‘641 patent is the use of a heater wire for heating the conduit and also for carrying electrical signals from measuring sensors. The Petitioner, Resmed, relied on one cited reference, Edirisuriya, as teaching that “the heater wire itself could be used to carry electrical signals from measuring sensors,” although Edirisuriya does not explain how the heater wire can be used to carry electrical signals from a sensor. In response, the Patent Owner argued that a skilled artisan would not have been motivated to combine Edirisuriya with the other two cited references, MR810 and Gradon, because the use of the heater wire to carry electrical signals would have increased complexity and rendered the MR810-Gradon system inoperable. In particular, the Patent Owner argued that a temperature sensor cannot simply be added in series with a heater wire, because the heater wire requires a relatively high electrical current and power dissipation, whereas the temperature sensor requires a relatively low electrical current and power dissipation, and therefore, a simple substitution would lead to self heating.
In its analysis, the PTAB stated that “[w]ith respect to each of the proposed circuit designs that Petitioner contends a skilled artisan would have been aware of to implement the combined teachings, a skilled artisan would have been faced with the real-world fact that there was uncertainty as to the operability of the design,” because the proposed circuit designs “are not based on disclosure in the prior art” – Petitioner’s expert “confirms that he did not locate any prior art references disclosing a circuit design in which the heater wire is utilized to carry electrical signals from measuring sensors” – and because Petitioner did not provide sufficient evidence that any of the proposed circuit designs would be operable in any device.
This case illustrates that a challenge to the validity of a patent claim can be effectively countered by the testimony of Patent Owner’s expert that there is no motivation to combine references. In particular, a convincing demonstration that there is uncertainty as to the operability of the proposed combination and/or a showing that practical, real-world considerations tend to weigh against combining the references may be decisive.
Mr. Gromada practices in all areas of patent law, including: patent preparation and prosection; patent litigation; patent reexamination (ex parte and inter partes); and counseling clients on intellectual property matters. He also engages in patent infringement and validity opinion practice and counseling, freedom-to-operate analysis, and due diligence work.
His experience includes a wide range of electrical and mechanical technologies, including radio frequent (RF) communcations technologies and equipment, cellular networks, medical devices, computer and Internet-related technologies, televisions and image display devices, computer gaming applications, and financial systems. Mr. Gromada was previously employed with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) as a research engineer in the defense intelligence industry.

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