`Tel: 571-272-7822
`
`Paper 13
`Entered: April 13, 2018
`
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`____________
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`____________
`UNITED INDUSTRIES CORPORATION,
`Petitioner,
`v.
`SUSAN McKNIGHT, INC.,
`Patent Owner.
`____________
`
`Case IPR2017-01686
`Patent 9,253,973 B2
`____________
`
`
`Before JAMES A. TARTAL, TIMOTHY J. GOODSON, and
`RICHARD H. MARSCHALL, Administrative Patent Judges.
`
`TARTAL, Administrative Patent Judge.
`
`
`ORDER
`Conduct of the Proceeding
`37 C.F.R. § 42.5
`
`
`
`
`
`
`IPR2017-01686
`Patent 9,253,973 B2
`A conference call was held on April 11, 2018, between United
`Industries Corporation (“Petitioner”), Susan McKnight, Inc. (“Patent
`Owner”), and Judges Tartal, Goodson, and Marschall in response to Patent’s
`Owner’s request to discuss its intent to file a motion to amend claims of
`U.S. Patent No. 9,253,973 B2 (“the ’973 patent”). See 37 C.F.R.
`§ 42.121(a); see also Paper 8, 4 (Case Management and Scheduling Order).
`The requirements for filing a motion to amend were discussed
`generally during the conference call. For additional guidance, see
`Memorandum re: Guidance on Motions to Amend in view of Aqua Products
`(Nov. 21, 2017)1 and Sprint Spectrum L.P. v. General Access Solutions,
`Ltd., Case IPR2017-01885, slip op. 3–9 (PTAB March 9, 2018) (Paper 8).
`ORDER
`In consideration of the foregoing, it is:
`ORDERED that Patent Owner has satisfied the requirement of
`conferring with the Board prior to filing a motion to amend under
`37 C.F.R. § 42.121(a), and,
`FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner shall contact the Board
`promptly if it determines it will seek leave to file a surreply with respect to a
`motion to amend and that, if leave is granted, the surreply shall be filed by
`Due Date 4 set forth in the Case Management and Scheduling Order
`(Paper 8, 8).
`
`
`
`1 https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/guidance_on_motions
`_to_amend_11_2017.pdf
`
`2
`
`
`
`IPR2017-01686
`Patent 9,253,973 B2
`For PETITIONER:
`Michael R. Houston
`Jeffrey R. Lomprey
`FOLEY & LARDNER LLP
`mhouston@foley.com
`jlomprey@foley.com
`
`
`For PATENT OWNER:
`John Linderman
`Justin Durelli
`MCCORMICK, PAULDING & HUBER LLP
`lind@ip-lawyers.com
`durelli@ip-lawyers.com
`
`3
`
`