`571-272-7822
`
`
`
`
`Paper 63
`Entered: December 18, 2020
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`_______________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`_______________
`
`ERICSSON INC. and TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON,
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA,
`Patent Owner.
`_______________
`
`IPR2017-01186 (Patent 8,774,309 B2)
`IPR2017-01197 (Patent 7,251,768 B2)
`IPR2017-01200 (Patent 8,718,185 B2)
`IPR2017-01213 (Patent 8,588,317 B2)
`IPR2017-01214 (Patent RE45,230 E)
`IPR2017-01219 (Patent RE45,230 E)1
`_______________
`
`
`Before JENNIFER S. BISK, ROBERT J. WEINSCHENK, and
`CHARLES J. BOUDREAU, Administrative Patent Judges.
`
`WEINSCHENK, Administrative Patent Judge.
`
`
`
`ORDER
`Denying Petitioner’s Motion to Expunge
`37 C.F.R. § 42.56
`
`
`
`
`1 These cases have not been joined or consolidated. Rather, this Order
`governs each case based on common issues. The parties shall not employ
`this heading style.
`
`
`
`IPR2017-01186 (Patent 8,774,309 B2)
`IPR2017-01197 (Patent 7,251,768 B2)
`IPR2017-01200 (Patent 8,718,185 B2)
`IPR2017-01213 (Patent 8,588,317 B2)
`IPR2017-01214 (Patent RE45,230 E)
`IPR2017-01219 (Patent RE45,230 E)
`
`
`INTRODUCTION
`I.
`Petitioner filed a Motion to Expunge the confidential versions of
`Exhibits 2012–2015, the Preliminary Responses, the Sur-replies, and the
`Decisions Denying Institution of Inter Partes Review (“Decisions”) in each
`of the captioned cases. See, e.g., IPR2017-01186, Paper 61 (“Motion” or
`“Mot.”).2 For the following reasons, the Motion in each case is denied.
`II. ANALYSIS
`We previously granted Petitioner’s motions to seal the confidential
`versions of Exhibits 2012–2015, as well as the Preliminary Responses and
`Sur-replies. Paper 54, 3; Paper 55, 3. We also issued a confidential version
`of the Decisions. Paper 53. The record in each case includes a redacted
`public version of the foregoing documents.
`The Consolidated Trial Practice Guide states the following regarding
`the treatment of confidential information:
`Confidential information that is subject to a protective order
`ordinarily would become public 45 days after denial of a
`petition to institute a trial or 45 days after final judgment in a
`trial. There is an expectation that information will be made
`public where the existence of the information is referred to in a
`decision to grant or deny a request to institute a review or is
`identified in a final written decision following a trial. A party
`seeking to maintain the confidentiality of information, however,
`may file a motion to expunge the information from the record
`prior to the information becoming public. 37 C.F.R. § 42.56.
`The rule balances the needs of the parties to submit confidential
`information with the public interest in maintaining a complete
`
`2 We cite to the record in IPR2017-01186, unless otherwise noted.
`
`2
`
`
`
`IPR2017-01186 (Patent 8,774,309 B2)
`IPR2017-01197 (Patent 7,251,768 B2)
`IPR2017-01200 (Patent 8,718,185 B2)
`IPR2017-01213 (Patent 8,588,317 B2)
`IPR2017-01214 (Patent RE45,230 E)
`IPR2017-01219 (Patent RE45,230 E)
`
`
`and understandable file history for public notice purposes. The
`rule encourages parties to redact sensitive information, where
`possible, rather than seeking to seal entire documents.
`Consolidated Trial Practice Guide 21–22 (Nov. 2019) (“TPG”), available at
`https://www.uspto.gov/TrialPracticeGuideConsolidated. Petitioner argues
`that the confidential versions of the identified documents “contain
`confidential, commercially-sensitive acquisition, purchase, and/or sales
`agreements between Petitioner and Petitioner’s customers or quotations from
`those agreements.” Mot. 3. According to Petitioner, because “no trial has
`been instituted in th[ese] proceeding[s],” there is “no public interest in
`making the [c]onfidential [d]ocuments publicly available.” Id. at 4.
`
`The confidential versions of the identified documents provide the
`basis for certain findings and conclusions in the Decisions. We, therefore,
`determine that it would not be appropriate to expunge the confidential
`versions of those documents from the record. Rather, we determine that it is
`appropriate to retain the confidential versions of the identified documents
`under seal in the record. The redacted public versions of the identified
`documents will be retained in the record for public access.
`III. ORDER
`
`It is hereby
`ORDERED that Petitioner’s Motion to Expunge in each of the
`captioned cases is denied; and
`FURTHER ORDERED that the confidential versions of Exhibits
`2012–2015, the Preliminary Responses (IPR2017-01186, Paper 30;
`
`3
`
`
`
`IPR2017-01186 (Patent 8,774,309 B2)
`IPR2017-01197 (Patent 7,251,768 B2)
`IPR2017-01200 (Patent 8,718,185 B2)
`IPR2017-01213 (Patent 8,588,317 B2)
`IPR2017-01214 (Patent RE45,230 E)
`IPR2017-01219 (Patent RE45,230 E)
`
`IPR2017-01197, Paper 29; IPR2017-01200, Paper 31; IPR2017-01213,
`Paper 29; IPR2017-01214, Paper 29; IPR2017-01219, Paper 31), the Sur-
`replies (IPR2017-01186, Paper 42; IPR2017-01197, Paper 41; IPR2017-
`01200, Paper 43; IPR2017-01213, Paper 41; IPR2017-01214, Paper 41;
`IPR2017-01219, Paper 42); and the Decisions Denying Institution of Inter
`Partes Review (IPR2017-01186, Paper 53; IPR2017-01197, Paper 52;
`IPR2017- 01200, Paper 54; IPR2017-01213, Paper 52; IPR2017-01214,
`Paper 52; IPR2017-01219, Paper 53) will remain under seal in the record in
`each of the captioned cases.
`
`
`4
`
`
`
`IPR2017-01186 (Patent 8,774,309 B2)
`IPR2017-01197 (Patent 7,251,768 B2)
`IPR2017-01200 (Patent 8,718,185 B2)
`IPR2017-01213 (Patent 8,588,317 B2)
`IPR2017-01214 (Patent RE45,230 E)
`IPR2017-01219 (Patent RE45,230 E)
`
`PETITIONER:
`
`J. Andrew Lowes
`John Russell Emerson
`Greg Webb
`Clint Wilkins
`HAYNES AND BOONE, LLP
`andrew.lowes.ipr@haynesboone.com
`russ.emerson@haynesboone.com
`greg.webb.ipr@haynesboone.com
`clint.wilkins.ipr@haynesboone.com
`
`
`PATENT OWNER:
`
`W. Karl Renner
`Lawrence K. Kolodney
`Christopher Hoff
`Andrew B. Patrick
`Andrew Dommer
`FISH & RICHARDSON P.C.
`axf-ptab@fr.com
`kolodney@fr.com
`hoff@fr.com
`patrick@fr.com
`dommer@fr.com
`
`5
`
`