`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`———————
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`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
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`———————
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`UNIFIED PATENTS INC.
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`Petitioner
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`- vs. -
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`SPEAKWARE, INC.
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`Patent Owner
`———————
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`IPR2019-00495
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`U.S. Patent 6,397,186
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`
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`
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`MOTION TO EXPUNGE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
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`
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`
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`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.56, Petitioner, Unified Patents Inc. (“Unified” or
`
`Petitioner’s Motion to Expunge
`IPR2019-00495 (U.S. Patent 6,397,186)
`
`“Petitioner”), hereby requests that certain confidential information in the record be
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`expunged. Specifically, Petitioner respectfully submits that Exhibit 1025 (Paper 15),
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`Confidential Agreement between the parties, should be expunged from the record as
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`this exhibit contains both Petitioner’s and Patent Owner’s hightly confidential
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`business information.
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`This motion is being timely filed within 45 days from the Decision terminating
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`the proceeding (Paper 16). See Office Patent Trial Practice Guide (“Trial Practice
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`Guide”), 77 Fed. Reg. 48756, 48761 (Aug. 14, 2012). For the reasons set forth
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`below, Petitioner requests that the Confidential Document be expunged.
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`I. Applicable Legal Standards
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`37 C.F.R. § 42.56 provides that “[a]fter a denial of a petition to institute a trial
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`or after final judgment in a trial, a party may file a motion to expunge confidential
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`information in the record.” Likewise, the Trial Practice Guide states, in pertinent
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`part, that “There is an expectation that information will be made public where the
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`existence of the information is referred to . . . in a final written decision following a
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`trial. A party seeking to maintain the confidentiality of information, however, may
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`file a motion to expunge the information from the record prior to the information
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`becoming public.” Trial Practice Guide, 77 Fed. Reg. at 48761.
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`1
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`Petitioner’s Motion to Expunge
`IPR2019-00495 (U.S. Patent 6,397,186)
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`II. Reasons for Relief Requested
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`A. Procedural Background
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`Petitioner and Patent Owner filed a Joint Motion to Keep Confidential and
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`Separate Under 35 U.S.C. § 317(b) and 37 C.F.R. § 42.74(c) in this proceeding
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`(Paper 14), requesting that the Board maintain the Confidential Document as
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`business confidential information and kept separate from the file. The Confidential
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`Document contains information related to a Confidential Agreement between the
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`parties and includes Petitioner’s members’ identities.
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`B. Good Cause Exists for Expunging the Confidential Documents
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`The Confidential Document contains Petitioner’s highly confidential business
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`information, which Petitioner guards in order to protect its own business as well as
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`its members. Specifically, the Confidential Documents contain information relating
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`to Petitioner’s membership list. In addition, the Confidential Document contains
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`Petitioner’s and Patent Owner’s highly confidential business information related to
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`a Confidential Agreement between the parties.
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`In other proceedings, the Board has granted motions to seal Petitioner’s
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`confidential information, finding that Petitioner had “shown good cause to seal the
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`identities of its members.” See Unified Patents Inc. v. Dragon Intellectual Property,
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`LLC, IPR2014-01252, Paper 40 at 6–7 (PTAB Feb. 27, 2015).
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`There is no public interest in now making the Confidential Document publicly
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`2
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`Petitioner’s Motion to Expunge
`IPR2019-00495 (U.S. Patent 6,397,186)
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`available. The Condifential Document does not relate to the merits of the case.
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`Rather it is merely a Confidential Agreement between the parties.
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`III. Conclusion
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`Because the parties have jointly requested that the Confidential Document be
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`kept confidential and separate from the file, because other panels have found that
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`similar information should be maintained under seal, and because the the
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`Confidential Document is not relevant to the merits of the case, Petitioner
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`respectfully requests that the Board protect Petitioner’s and Patent Owner’s highly
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`confidential business information and expunge the Confidential Document pursuant
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`to 37 C.F.R. § 42.56.
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`September 19, 2019
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`Respectfully submitted,
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`
`/s/ Jonathan R. Bowser
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`Jonathan R. Bowser, Reg. No. 54, 574
`Counsel for Petitioner
`Unified Patents Inc.
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`3
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`
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`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`Petitioner’s Motion to Expunge
`IPR2019-00495 (U.S. Patent 6,397,186)
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`Unified Patents, Inc.
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`Petitioner
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`§
`§
`§
`§
`§
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`Petition for Inter Partes Review
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`IPR2019-00495
`U.S. Patent No. 6,397,186
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`
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`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
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`The undersigned certifies, in accordance with 37 C.F.R. § 42.6, that service
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`was made on the Patent Owner as detailed below.
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`Date of service September 19, 2019
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`Manner of service Electronic Service by E-Mail
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`Documents served Petitioner’s Motion to Expunge
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`Persons served Sean A. Luner (sean@dovel.com)
`Simon Franzini (simon@dovel.com)
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`
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`/s/ Jonathan R. Bowser
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`Jonathan R. Bowser, Reg. No. 54, 574
`Counsel for Petitioner
`Unified Patents Inc.
`
`
`
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`4
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