Opinion ID: 210343
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Limitations at issue in this appeal

Text: Verizon alleges that features of Vonage's system correspond to limitations described in Verizon's patents. The first relevant feature of Vonage's system relates to transmission of the telephone number dialed by a Vonage subscriber. The Vonage system transmits this telephone number in a string of text known as a SIP Invite. The telephone number is later extracted and reformatted by Vonage's server. Verizon alleges that this extraction corresponds to the translation required by each of the asserted claims of Verizon's '574 and '711 patents. The asserted claims of those patents specify translation of a name into a telephone number or into an internet address. Vonage does not agree that the extraction of a telephone number from a SIP invite can be a translation and argues that translation within the meaning of Verizon's patents must involve a change in protocol (or language) from a higher-level protocol  apparently meaning one that is closer to everyday expression than a native computer language  to a lower-level protocolapparently meaning the opposite. Vonage concludes that the conversion from SIP invite to telephone number performed by its system cannot infringe because it does not involve a translation from a higher-level to a lower-level protocol. Vonage also argues that several other terms in the asserted claims of Verizon's '574 and '711 patents should be limited based on language in the specification of those patents, and that if so limited, Vonage's system does not satisfy those limitations. Vonage argues that the conditional analysis of claims 15 and 20 of the '711 patent must be responsive to the called party's needs. Vonage argues that, by contrast, in its system the conditional analysis merely results in redirecting calls involving a delinquent Vonage subscriber and thus is not related to the called party's needs. Vonage also argues that the server of claims 26 and 27 of the '574 patent and claims 15 and 20 of the '711 patent should be restricted beyond its ordinary meaning and must manage an enhanced name translation service. Finally, Vonage argues that the destination address of claims 15 and 20 of the '711 patent must refer to the final destination on the network and that the address of certain intermediary points on Vonage's system called RTP relays do not qualify as destinations under the proper construction of the term. Verizon argues that several Vonage devices infringe claims 1 and 6-8 of the '880 patent. These devices include traditional cordless telephones that interact with a base station owned by the Vonage subscriber (such as the V-Tech IP 8100 and Uniden UIP1869V cordless telephones) and wi-fi devices that can be used at wi-fi hot spots throughout a city. Vonage makes a number of arguments with respect to the '880 patent. It argues that the patented localized wireless gateway system must be read as limited in several ways. First, Vonage argues that it should be limited to a system that operates with a range of only a few feet, whereas the Vonage devices operate with a range of several hundred feet. Vonage also argues that the gateway itself compresses/decompresses and packetizes/depacketizes voice signals. These functions in the conversion of analog voice signals to digital signals are required to operate a hybrid system such as Vonage's where calls are transmitted through the internet but also through normal telephone lines when the called party is not a Vonage subscriber. But Vonage contends that these functions are performed at the subscriber's terminal rather than at the gateway as required by the '880 claims. Finally Vonage argues that the patented localized wireless gateway system and Wireless Telephone Terminal, requirements of the '880 patent, must provide more than one base station and allow users to roam among different base stations, whereas users do not roam on Vonage's system.