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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`__________________________________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`__________________________________
`
`AMAZON.COM, INC.,
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`VOCALIFE LLC,
`Patent Owner.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case No. TBD
`U.S. Patent No. RE47,049
`
`
`
`
`
`
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`
`
`DECLARATION OF DR. RICHARD M. STERN, JR., PH.D.
`IN SUPPORT OF PETITION FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
`OF U.S. PATENT NO. RE47,049
`
`
`
`
`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 1 of 235
`
`Amazon Ex. 1015
`IPR Petition - US RE47,049
`
`
`
`
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`
`
`BACKGOUND AND QUALIFICATIONS --------------------------------- 1
`
`
`
`PERSON OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART -------------------------- 3
`
` LEGAL STANDARDS -------------------------------------------------------- 3
`
`
`
`Patent Invalidity --------------------------------------------------------- 3
`
` Obviousness -------------------------------------------------------------- 4
`
`
`
`Claim Construction ------------------------------------------------------ 7
`
`1.
`
`2.
`
`General Standards ----------------------------------------------- 7
`
`Standards for Means-Plus-Function Limitations ------------ 8
`
` CLAIM CONSTRUCTION -------------------------------------------------- 10
`
` District Court Claim Construction Order ---------------------------- 10
`
`
`
`The Construction of “Sound Source Localization Unit” ---------- 11
`
` TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND ------------------------------------------ 15
`
` Microphone Array Systems Were Well-Known -------------------- 15
`
` Using Delays to Compensate for Direction of Arrival Was
`Well-Known ------------------------------------------------------------- 16
`
` Adaptive Beamforming Algorithms Were Well-Known ---------- 16
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Sound Source Localization Algorithms Were Well-Known ------ 17
`
`Noise Reduction Algorithms Were Well-Known ------------------ 19
`
`Using DSPs for Signal Processing Was Well-Known ------------- 19
`
` THE ’049 PATENT ------------------------------------------------------------ 20
`
`-i-
`
`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 2 of 235
`
`
`
` OVERVIEW OF THE GROUNDS ------------------------------------------ 30
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Explanation of Saric Grounds ----------------------------------------- 31
`
`Explanation of Li Grounds -------------------------------------------- 32
`
`Listing of the Grounds ------------------------------------------------- 34
`
` CLAIMS 1-8, 19, 20, 22-25, AND 30 OF THE ’049 PATENT
`WOULD HAVE BEEN OBVIOUS ----------------------------------------- 35
`
` Ground 1a: Saric and Dmochowski Render Obvious
`Claims 1, 7, 19-20, 22, and 30 ---------------------------------------- 35
`
`1.
`
`2.
`
`Overview of Saric ----------------------------------------------- 36
`
`Overview of Dmochowski ------------------------------------- 42
`
`3. Motivations to Combine Dmochowski’s Sound
`Source Localization Algorithm with Saric ------------------ 44
`
`4.
`
`Independent Claim 1 ------------------------------------------- 46
`
`
`
`
`
`Preamble -------------------------------------------------- 46
`
`Providing a Microphone Array System -------------- 47
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`“providing a microphone array system
`… in a linear, circular, or other
`configuration…” --------------------------------- 47
`
`“a sound source localization unit” ------------- 48
`
`“an adaptive beamforming unit” -------------- 49
`
`“a noise reduction unit” ------------------------- 50
`
`“wherein said sound source localization
`unit, said adaptive beamforming unit,
`and said noise reduction unit are
`integrated in a digital signal processor,” ----- 51
`
`ii
`
`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 3 of 235
`
`
`
`
`
`“wherein said sound source localization
`unit, said adaptive beamforming unit,
`and said noise reduction unit are in
`operative communication with said
`array of said sound sensors;” ------------------- 52
`
`Receiving Sound Signals ------------------------------- 53
`
`Determining a Delay ------------------------------------ 54
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`“determining a delay. . .when said
`target sound source that emits said
`target sound signal is in a two
`dimensional plane” ------------------------------ 54
`
`“wherein said delay is represented in
`terms of number of samples” ------------------ 57
`
`“wherein … said delay enables
`beamforming for said array of sound
`sensors in a plurality of configurations” ------ 60
`
`Estimating a Spatial Location of Target
`Sound Signal … by Said Sound Source
`Localization Unit ---------------------------------------- 62
`
`Adaptive Beamforming -------------------------------- 62
`
`Suppressing Ambient Noise --------------------------- 63
`
`Table 1: Saric+Dmochowski Claim Chart for
`Claim 1 --------------------------------------------------- 64
`
`
`
`
`
`
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`
`
`
`
`
`5.
`
`6.
`
`Independent Claim 22 ------------------------------------------ 72
`
`Independent Claims 20 and 30 -------------------------------- 73
`
`
`
`Obviousness of Three Dimensional Delay
`Calculations ---------------------------------------------- 74
`
`iii
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 4 of 235
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`
`
`Table 2: Saric+Dmochowski Claim Chart for
`Claim 20 -------------------------------------------------- 80
`
`7.
`
`Dependent Claim 7 --------------------------------------------- 82
`
`
`
`
`
`Saric Discloses a Wiener-filter Based Noise-
`Reduction Algorithm ----------------------------------- 82
`
`Table 3: Saric+Dmochowski Claim Chart for
`Claim 7 --------------------------------------------------- 83
`
`8.
`
`Dependent Claim 19 -------------------------------------------- 83
`
`
`
`
`
`Dmochowski Discloses the Delay Calculation ------ 84
`
`Table 4: Saric+Dmochowski Claim Chart for
`Claim 19 -------------------------------------------------- 85
`
` Ground 1b: Saric, Brandstein, and Dmochowski Render
`Obvious Claims 1-4, 6, 7, 19, 20, 22-24, and 30. ------------------ 87
`
`1.
`
`Overview of Brandstein ---------------------------------------- 87
`
`2. Motivations to Combine Brandstein’s SRP-PHAT
`Algorithm with Saric’s System ------------------------------- 90
`
`3. Motivation to Combine Dmochowski’s Delay
`Calculation with SRP-PHAT ---------------------------------- 94
`
`4.
`
`Independent Claim 1 ------------------------------------------- 95
`
`
`
`
`
`Preamble -------------------------------------------------- 95
`
`Providing a Microphone Array System -------------- 95
`
`
`
`“providing a microphone array system
`… in a linear, circular, or other
`configuration…” --------------------------------- 95
`
`
`
`“a sound source localization unit” ------------- 95
`
`iv
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 5 of 235
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`
`
`“an adaptive beamforming unit” -------------- 96
`
`“a noise reduction unit” ------------------------- 97
`
`“wherein said sound source localization
`unit, said adaptive beamforming unit,
`and said noise reduction unit are
`integrated in a digital signal processor,” ----- 97
`
`“wherein said sound source localization
`unit, said adaptive beamforming unit,
`and said noise reduction unit are in
`operative communication with said
`array of said sound sensors;” ------------------- 97
`
`Receiving Sound Signals ------------------------------- 98
`
`Determining a Delay ------------------------------------ 98
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`“determining a delay. . .when said
`target sound source that emits said
`target sound signal is in a two
`dimensional plane” ------------------------------ 98
`
`“wherein said delay is represented in
`terms of number of samples” ------------------ 99
`
`“wherein … said delay enables
`beamforming for said array of sound
`sensors in a plurality of configurations” ------ 99
`
`Estimating a Spatial Location of Target
`Sound Signal … by Said Sound Source
`Localization Unit -------------------------------------- 100
`
`Adaptive Beamforming ------------------------------ 100
`
`Suppressing Ambient Noise ------------------------- 101
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`v
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 6 of 235
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`
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`Table 5: Saric+Brandstein+Dmochowski
`Claim Chart for Claim 1 ------------------------------ 101
`
`5.
`
`6.
`
`7.
`
`Independent Claim 22 ---------------------------------------- 109
`
`Independent Claims 20 and 30 ------------------------------ 111
`
`Dependent Claim 2 ------------------------------------------- 111
`
`
`
`
`
`Brandstein Discloses the SRP-PHAT
`Algorithm ---------------------------------------------- 111
`
`Table 6: Saric+Brandstein+Dmochowski
`Claim Chart for Claim 2 ------------------------------ 112
`
`8.
`
`Dependent Claims 3 and 23 --------------------------------- 112
`
`
`
`Brandstein Discloses a Fixed Beamformer,
`Blocking Matrix, and Adaptive Filter -------------- 112
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Providing a Fixed Beamformer, a
`Blocking Matrix, and an Adaptive
`Filter --------------------------------------------- 114
`
`Steering Directivity Pattern of Fixed
`Beamformer ------------------------------------ 115
`
`Feeding Ambient Noise Signals to
`Adaptive Filter Using Blocking Matrix ---- 116
`
` Adaptively filtering Ambient Noise
`Signals in Response to Detecting One
`of Presence and Absence of Target
`Sound Signal ----------------------------------- 117
`
` Motivation to Combine Brandstein’s
`Adaptive Beamformer with Saric ----------- 119
`
`
`
`Table 7: Saric+Brandstein+Dmochowski
`Claim Chart for Claims 3 and 23 -------------------- 121
`
`vi
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 7 of 235
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`
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`9.
`
`Dependent Claim 4 ------------------------------------------- 123
`
`
`
`
`
`Brandstein Discloses Filtering and Summing ----- 124
`
`Table 8: Saric+Brandstein+Dmochowski
`Claim Chart for Claim 4 ------------------------------ 125
`
`10. Dependent Claims 6 and 24 --------------------------------- 125
`
`
`
`
`
`Brandstein Discloses an Adaption Control
`Unit ----------------------------------------------------- 126
`
`Table 9: Saric+Brandstein+Dmochowski
`Claim Chart for Claims 6 and 24 -------------------- 128
`
`11. Dependent Claim 7 ------------------------------------------- 131
`
`12. Dependent Claim 19 ------------------------------------------ 131
`
` Ground 1c: Saric, Dmochowski, Brandstein, and
`Greenberg Render Obvious Claims 6 and 24 --------------------- 132
`
`1.
`
`Overview of Greenberg -------------------------------------- 132
`
`2. Motivation to Combine Saric, Dmochowski,
`Brandstein, and Greenberg ---------------------------------- 132
`
`3.
`
`Dependent Claims 6 and 24 --------------------------------- 133
`
`
`
`
`
`Greenberg Discloses an Adaption Control
`Unit ----------------------------------------------------- 133
`
`Table 10:
`Saric+Brandstein+Dmochowski+Greenberg
`Claim Chart for Claims 6 and 24 -------------------- 135
`
` Ground 1d: Saric, Dmochowski, Brandstein, and
`Hoshuyama Render Obvious Claims 6 and 24 ------------------- 137
`
`1.
`
`Overview of Hoshuyama ------------------------------------ 137
`
`vii
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 8 of 235
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`
`
`2. Motivation to Combine Saric, Dmochowski,
`Brandstein, and Hoshuyama --------------------------------- 137
`
`3.
`
`Dependent Claims 6 and 24 --------------------------------- 138
`
`
`
`
`
`Hoshuyama Discloses an Adaption Control
`Unit ----------------------------------------------------- 138
`
`Table 11:
`Saric+Brandstein+Dmochowski+Hoshuyama
`Claim Chart for Claims 6 and 24 -------------------- 139
`
`
`
`Ground 1e: Saric, Dmochowski, Brandstein, and Abutalebi
`Render Obvious Claims 5, 8, and 25 ------------------------------- 140
`
`1.
`
`Overview of Abutalebi --------------------------------------- 140
`
`2. Motivations to Combine Abutalebi’s Sub-Bands
`with Brandstein ----------------------------------------------- 141
`
`3.
`
`Dependent Claim 5 ------------------------------------------- 143
`
`
`
`Abutalebi Discloses Sub-band Adaptive
`Filtering------------------------------------------------- 143
`
`
`
`
`
`Sub-band Adaptive Filtering ----------------- 143
`
`Splitting Enhanced Target Sound
`Signal and Ambient Noise Signals by
`Analysis Filterbank ---------------------------- 144
`
` Adaptively Filtering Ambient Noise
`Signals in Each Frequency Sub-Bands
`in Response to Detecting One of
`Presence and Absence of Target Sound
`Signal ------------------------------------------- 145
`
`
`
`Synthesizing a Full-Band Sound Signal ---- 146
`
`
`
`Table 12: Abutalebi Claim Chart for Claim 5 ----- 147
`
`viii
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 9 of 235
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`
`
`4.
`
`Dependent Claims 8, 25 -------------------------------------- 151
`
`
`
`
`
`Abutalebi Discloses Frequency Sub-Bands -------- 151
`
`Table 13:
`Saric+Brandstein+Dmochowski+Abutalebi
`Claim Chart for Claims 8 and 25 -------------------- 152
`
`
`
`Ground 2a: Li and Brandstein Render Obvious Claims 1-4,
`6, 7, 19, and 22-24. --------------------------------------------------- 153
`
`1.
`
`Overview of Li ------------------------------------------------ 154
`
`2. Motivation to Combine Li with Brandstein --------------- 154
`
`3.
`
`Independent Claim 1 ----------------------------------------- 157
`
`
`
`
`
`Preamble ------------------------------------------------ 157
`
`Providing a Microphone Array System ------------ 157
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`“providing a microphone array system
`comprising an array of sound sensors
`positioned in a linear, circular, or other
`configuration” ---------------------------------- 157
`
`“providing a microphone array system
`comprising … a sound source
`localization unit” ------------------------------ 157
`
`“providing a microphone array system
`comprising … an adaptive
`beamforming unit” ---------------------------- 157
`
`“providing a microphone array system
`comprising … a noise reduction unit” ------ 159
`
`“wherein said sound source localization
`unit, said adaptive beamforming unit,
`and said noise reduction unit are
`integrated in a digital signal processor,” --- 159
`
`ix
`
`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 10 of 235
`
`
`
`
`
`“wherein said sound source localization
`unit, said adaptive beamforming unit,
`and said noise reduction unit are in
`operative communication with said
`array of said sound sensors;” ----------------- 160
`
`Receiving Sound Signals ----------------------------- 161
`
`Determining a Delay ---------------------------------- 161
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`“determining a delay … when said
`target sound source that emits said
`target sound signal is in a two
`dimensional plane” ---------------------------- 162
`
`“ wherein said delay is represented in
`terms of number of samples” ---------------- 164
`
`“wherein said determination of said
`delay enables beamforming for said
`array of sound sensors in a plurality of
`configurations”--------------------------------- 164
`
`Estimating a Spatial Location of Said Target
`Signal --------------------------------------------------- 165
`
`Adaptive Beamforming ------------------------------ 165
`
`Suppressing Ambient Noise ------------------------- 167
`
`Table 14: Li+Brandstein Claim Chart for
`Claim 1 ------------------------------------------------- 167
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`4.
`
`5.
`
`6.
`
`7.
`
`Independent Claim 22 ---------------------------------------- 174
`
`Dependent Claim 2 ------------------------------------------- 176
`
`Dependent Claims 3 and 23 --------------------------------- 176
`
`Dependent Claim 4 ------------------------------------------- 178
`
`x
`
`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 11 of 235
`
`
`
`8.
`
`9.
`
`Dependent Claims 6 and 24 --------------------------------- 178
`
`Claim 7 --------------------------------------------------------- 178
`
`
`
`
`
`Li Discloses Wiener Filtering ----------------------- 178
`
`Table 15: Li+Brandstein Claim Chart for
`Claim 7 ------------------------------------------------- 178
`
`10. Claim 19 ------------------------------------------------------- 179
`
`
`
`
`
`Li Discloses the Delay Calculation ----------------- 179
`
`Table 16: Li+ Brandstein Claim Chart for
`Claim 19 ------------------------------------------------ 180
`
` Ground 2b: Li, Brandstein, and Dmochowski Render
`Obvious Claims 1-4, 6, 7, 19-20, 22-24, and 30. ----------------- 181
`
`1. Motivation to Combine Li, Brandstein, and
`Dmochowski --------------------------------------------------- 181
`
`2.
`
`Claim 1 --------------------------------------------------------- 181
`
`
`
`
`
`Determining a Delay ---------------------------------- 182
`
`Table 17: Li+Brandstein+Dmochowski Claim
`Chart for Claim 1 -------------------------------------- 182
`
`3.
`
`4.
`
`5.
`
`6.
`
`7.
`
`8.
`
`Claim 22 ------------------------------------------------------- 184
`
`Claims 20 and 30 --------------------------------------------- 184
`
`Claim 2 --------------------------------------------------------- 185
`
`Dependent Claims 3 and 23 --------------------------------- 185
`
`Dependent Claim 4 ------------------------------------------- 186
`
`Dependent Claims 6 and 24 --------------------------------- 186
`
`xi
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 12 of 235
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`
`
`9.
`
`Claim 7 --------------------------------------------------------- 186
`
`10. Claim 19 ------------------------------------------------------- 186
`
` Ground 2c: Li, Brandstein, Dmochowski, and Greenberg ------ 186
`
`
`
`
`
`Ground 2d: Li, Brandstein, Dmochowski, and Hoshuyama ---- 187
`
`Ground 2e: Li, Brandstein, Dmochowski, and Abutalebi
`Render Obvious Claims 5, 8, and 25 ------------------------------- 187
`
`1.
`
`2.
`
`Claim 5 --------------------------------------------------------- 188
`
`Claims 8, 25 --------------------------------------------------- 188
`
`
`
`
`
`xii
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 13 of 235
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`
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`
`
`TABLE OF EXHIBITS
`
`Exhibit No.
`
`Description
`
`1001
`
`1002
`
`1003
`
`1004
`
`1005
`
`1006
`
`1007
`
`1008
`
`1009
`
`1010
`
`U.S. Patent No. RE47,049 (“the ’049 patent”)
`
`Excerpts from the ’049 patent prosecution file history
`
`U.S. Patent No. 8,861,756 (“the ’756 patent”)
`
`Excerpts from the ’756 patent prosecution file history
`
`WO 2008/041878 (“Saric”)
`
`Dmochowski, Jacek, et al., Direction of Arrival Estima-
`tion Using a Parameterized Spatial Correlation Matrix,
`15 IEEE Transactions on Audio, Speech, and Language
`Processing 4 (May 2007) (“Dmochowski”)
`
`Li, Qi, et al., A Portable USB-Based Microphone Array
`Device for Robust Speech Recognition, 2009 IEEE Inter-
`national Conference of Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Pro-
`cessing (2009) (“Li”)
`
`Declaration of Gerard P. Grenier, Senior Director of Con-
`tent Management of The Institute of Electrical and Elec-
`tronics Engineers, Inc.
`
`Declaration of Lin-Shan Lee, General Chair, ICASSP
`2009
`
`Excerpts from BRANDSTEIN, MICHAEL, MICROPHONE AR-
`RAYS: SIGNAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUES AND APPLICA-
`TIONS (Springer 2001) (“Brandstein”)
`
`1011
`
`U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2004/0071284 (“Abutalebi”)
`
`Table of Exhibits, Page 1
`
`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 14 of 235
`
`
`
`Exhibit No.
`
`Description
`
`1012
`
`1013
`
`1014
`
`1015
`
`1016
`
`1017
`
`1018
`
`1019
`
`1020
`
`1021
`
`Greenberg, Julie, et al., Evaluation of an Adaptive Beam-
`forming Method for Hearing Aids, The Journal of the
`Acoustical Society of America 91 (1992) (“Greenberg”)
`
`Hoshuyama, Osamu, et al. A Realtime Robust Adaptive
`Microphone Array Controlled by an SNR Estimate, Pro-
`ceedings of the 1998 IEEE International Conference on
`Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP ’98)
`(“Hoshuyama”)
`
`Screenshot of Hoshuyama article information from pub-
`licly-available online database IEEE Xplore
`
`Declaration of Dr. Richard M. Stern, Jr., Ph.D.
`
`Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Richard M. Stern, Jr., Ph.D.
`
`Excerpts from WOLFEL, MATTHIAS, ET AL., DISTANT
`SPEECH RECOGNITION (Wiley 2009) (“Wolfel”)
`
`Excerpts from HAYKIN, SIMON AND LUI, K.J., HANDBOOK
`ON ARRAY PROCESSING AND SENSOR NETWORKS (Wiley
`2010) (“Haykin”)
`
`U.S. Patent Publication 2009/0141907 (“Kim”)
`
`U.S. Patent Publication 2004/0161121 (“Chol”)
`
`DiBiase, Joseph, A High-Accuracy, Low-Latency Tech-
`nique for Talker Localization in Reverberant Environ-
`ments Using Microphone Arrays, Thesis, Brown Univer-
`sity (May 2002) (“DiBiase”)
`
`Table of Exhibits, Page 2
`
`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 15 of 235
`
`
`
`Exhibit No.
`
`Description
`
`1022
`
`1023
`
`1024
`
`1025
`
`1026
`
`1027
`
`1028
`
`Vocalife’s Complaint for Patent Infringement in Vocalife
`LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com LLC, No.
`2:19-cv-00123-JRG (E.D. TX filed April 16, 2019)
`
`Vocalife’s Disclosure of Asserted Claims and Infringe-
`ment Contentions in Vocalife LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc.
`and Amazon.com LLC, No. 2:19-cv-00123-JRG (E.D. TX
`filed April 16, 2019)
`
`Vocalife’s First Amended Disclosure of Asserted Claims
`and Infringement Contentions in Vocalife LLC v. Ama-
`zon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com LLC, No. 2:19-cv-00123-
`JRG (E.D. TX filed April 16, 2019)
`
`Plaintiff Vocalife LLC’s Opening Claim Construction
`Brief from Vocalife LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc. and Ama-
`zon.com LLC, No. 2:19-cv-00123-JRG (E.D. TX filed
`April 16, 2019)
`
`Amazon’s Responsive Claim Construction Brief from Vo-
`calife LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com LLC,
`No. 2:19-cv-00123-JRG (E.D. TX filed April 16, 2019)
`
`Expert Report of Dr. Richard M. Stern on Claim Con-
`struction from Vocalife LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc. and Am-
`azon.com LLC, No. 2:19-cv-00123-JRG (E.D. TX filed
`April 16, 2019)
`
`Claim Construction Memorandum and Order from Vocal-
`ife LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com LLC, No.
`2:19-cv-00123-JRG (E.D. TX filed April 16, 2019)
`
`Table of Exhibits, Page 3
`
`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 16 of 235
`
`
`
`Exhibit No.
`
`1029
`
`1030
`
`1031
`
`1032
`
`1033
`
`1034
`
`1035
`
`1036
`
`1037
`
`Description
`
`Plaintiff Vocalife LLC’s Responses and Objections to
`Amazon’s Interrogatory No. 13 from Vocalife LLC v. Am-
`azon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com LLC, No. 2:19-cv-00123-
`JRG (E.D. TX filed April 16, 2019)
`
`Final Rejection from prosecution history of U.S. Patent
`Application No. 16/052,623 dated January 29, 2020
`
`Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, Congressional Record
`157, p. S5429 (2011)
`
`Excerpts from FISCHER, R.B. ET AL., DICTIONARY OF COM-
`PUTER VISION AND IMAGE PROCESSING (Wiley 2005)
`
`Excerpts from SMITH, STEVEN W., THE SCIENTIST AND EN-
`GINEER’S GUIDE TO DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING (2nd ed.
`1999)
`
`Thompson, Tom, Digital Signal Processing, Computer-
`World (May 12, 2001)
`
`Asaei, Afsaneh, et al., Verified speaker localization utiliz-
`ing voicing level in split-bands, 89 Signal Processing
`1038-1049 (2009)
`
`Excerpts from OPPENHEIM, ALAN V., ET AL., DISCRETE-
`TIME SIGNAL PROCESSING (2d ed. Prentice Hall 1999)
`
`Excerpts from TASHEV, IVAN, SOUND CAPTURE AND PRO-
`CESSING (Wiley 2009)
`
`Table of Exhibits, Page 4
`
`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 17 of 235
`
`
`
`Amazon.com v. Vocalife LLC
`Declaration of Dr. Richard M. Stern, Jr., Ph.D. – U.S. Patent No. RE47,049
`
`
`
`
`
`
`I, Dr. Richard M. Stern, Jr., Ph.D., do hereby declare:
`
`I have been retained by Petitioner Amazon.com, Inc. (“Petitioner” or
`
`“Amazon”) as an expert in this matter to provide technical expert opinions in con-
`
`nection with this Petition, including an opinion concerning the patentability of
`
`claims 1-8, 19, 20, 22-25, and 30 (“the Challenged Claims”) of U.S. Patent No.
`
`RE47,049 (“the ’049 patent”), purportedly owned by Vocalife LLC (“Patent Owner”
`
`or “Vocalife”).
`
` BACKGOUND AND QUALIFICATIONS
`
`
`
`I am a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the Department of
`
`Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Department of Computer Science, and the
`
`Language Technologies Institute. I have been on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon
`
`since 1977.
`
`
`
`I received the S.B. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of
`
`Technology (MIT) in 1970, the M.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, in
`
`1972, and the Ph.D. from MIT in 1977, all in electrical engineering.
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`
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`I am a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
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`(IEEE), the Acoustical Society of America, and the International Speech
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`Communication Association (ISCA). I was the ISCA 2008-2009 Distinguished
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`Lecturer, a recipient of the Allen Newell Award for Research Excellence in 1992,
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`-1-
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 18 of 235
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`
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`Amazon.com v. Vocalife LLC
`Declaration of Dr. Richard M. Stern, Jr., Ph.D. – U.S. Patent No. RE47,049
`and I served as the General Chair of Interspeech 2006. Interspeech is the world’s
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`largest technical conference focused on speech processing and application.
`
` Much of my current research is in spoken language systems, where I
`
`am particularly concerned with the development of techniques with which automatic
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`speech recognition can be made more robust with respect to changes in environment
`
`and acoustical ambience.
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`
`
`I have actively worked on the theory and application of systems using
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`microphone arrays over a period of decades (e.g., Stern et al. 2008; Stern and Menon,
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`2020), and my research group has developed several array-based algorithms to
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`improve speech recognition accuracy in difficult acoustical environments (e.g.,
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`Seltzer et al. 2004; Stern et al, 2007; Kim et al. 2009; Moghimi and Stern, 2019).
`
`My relevant publications, including those cited above, are available on Carnegie
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`Mellon’s web site at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/robust/www/papers.html.
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`
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`A copy of my current curriculum vitae, which lists my publications for
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`the last ten years, is attached as Appendix A. A list of cases in which I have testified
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`as an expert at trial or by deposition in the past four years is attached as Appendix
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`B.
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`
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`I am being compensated at my standard hourly rate of $500 for my work
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`on this case. My compensation does not depend on the content of this report or the
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`-2-
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 19 of 235
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`Amazon.com v. Vocalife LLC
`Declaration of Dr. Richard M. Stern, Jr., Ph.D. – U.S. Patent No. RE47,049
`outcome of these proceedings. I do not own any stock in Amazon and, to my
`
`knowledge, I have no financial interest in Amazon.
`
` PERSON OF ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART
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`
`
`I understand that the claimed priority date of the ’049 patent is
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`September 24, 2010. A person of ordinary skill in the art of microphone array
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`systems as of that date would have a graduate degree in electrical engineering,
`
`computer science, or a similar field, with course work in digital signal processing.
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`Alternatively, the person of ordinary skill would have a bachelor’s degree in such a
`
`field with 3 to 4 years of industry experience in digital signal processing.
`
` My conclusions below would remain the same even if the priority date,
`
`field of invention, or level of ordinary skill were slightly different.
`
`
`
`I meet the above definition of a person of ordinary skill in the art, and
`
`did so as of September 2010.
`
` LEGAL STANDARDS
`
`
`
`I have been instructed to follow the appropriate legal standards in
`
`providing my opinions. I am not a lawyer, but I have tried to apply the legal concepts
`
`as they have been explained to me.
`
`
`
`Patent Invalidity
`
`
`
`I understand that an issued patent is presumed valid and that a party
`
`challenging the validity of a patent must prove invalidity by “clear and convincing
`
`-3-
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 20 of 235
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`
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`Amazon.com v. Vocalife LLC
`Declaration of Dr. Richard M. Stern, Jr., Ph.D. – U.S. Patent No. RE47,049
`evidence.” I understand that clear and convincing evidence is evidence that creates
`
`an abiding conviction that a factual contention is true. I am informed that this is a
`
`lower standard than the standard used in criminal law, which is evidence “beyond a
`
`reasonable doubt.” In evaluating the validity of a patent, I understand that the
`
`validity of each asserted claim is to be evaluated independently. I also understand
`
`that if a dependent claim is invalid, the independent claim to which that dependent
`
`claim refers is not necessarily invalid. Conversely, an independent claim can be
`
`found invalid, even though a dependent claim to which it refers is valid. I have
`
`considered these principles in forming my opinions contained in this report.
`
` Obviousness
`
`
`
`I understand that an obviousness analysis involves a number of
`
`considerations. I understand that the following factors must be evaluated to
`
`determine whether any claims of the ’049 patent would have been obvious: (i) the
`
`scope and content of the prior art; (ii) the differences, if any, between each claim of
`
`the ’049 patent and the prior art; (iii) the level of ordinary skill in the art in September
`
`2010; and (iv) additional considerations, if any, that indicate that the invention was
`
`obvious or not obvious. I understand that these “additional considerations are often
`
`referred to as “secondary considerations” or “objective indicia” of non-obviousness
`
`or obviousness.
`
`-4-
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 21 of 235
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`
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`Amazon.com v. Vocalife LLC
`Declaration of Dr. Richard M. Stern, Jr., Ph.D. – U.S. Patent No. RE47,049
`
`I also understand that the frame of reference when evaluating
`
`obviousness is what a hypothetical person of ordinary skill in the pertinent art would
`
`have known in September 2010. I understand that the hypothetical person of
`
`ordinary skill is presumed to have knowledge of all pertinent prior art references.
`
`
`
`I understand that a prior art reference may be a pertinent prior art
`
`reference (or “analogous art”) if it is in the same field of endeavor as the patent or if
`
`it is pertinent to the problem that the inventors were trying to solve. Here, all of the
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`references I have reviewed in my validity analysis are in the same field of endeavor
`
`as the ’049 patent, e.g., microphone array signal processing. The references are also
`
`pertinent to a particular problem the inventor was focused on, e.g., improving sound
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`quality by beamforming and noise reduction.
`
`
`
`I understand that the following conditions may indicate that the claimed
`
`methods in the ’049 patent are obvious:
`
` combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield pre-
`
`dictable results;
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` simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predict-
`
`able results;
`
` use of known techniques to improve similar devices (methods, or prod-
`
`ucts) in the same way;
`
`-5-
`
`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 22 of 235
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`
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`Amazon.com v. Vocalife LLC
`Declaration of Dr. Richard M. Stern, Jr., Ph.D. – U.S. Patent No. RE47,049
` applying a known technique to a known device (method, or product)
`
`ready for improvement to yield predictable results;
`
` “obvious to try”—choosing from a finite number of identified, predict-
`
`able solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success;
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` known work in one field of endeavor may prompt variations of it for
`
`use in either the same field or a different one based on design incentives
`
`or other market forces if the variations would have been predictable to
`
`one of ordinary skill in the art; and
`
` some teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art that would
`
`have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to
`
`combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention.
`
`
`
`I understand that “secondary considerations” must be considered as part
`
`of the obviousness analysis when present. I further understand that the secondary
`
`considerations may include (1) a long-felt but unmet need in the prior art that was
`
`satisfied by the claimed invention; (2) the failure of others; (3) skepticism by experts;
`
`(4) commercial success of a product covered by the patent, including licensing; (5)
`
`unexpected results achieved by the claimed invention; (6) industry praise of the
`
`claimed invention; (7) deliberate copying of the invention; and (8) teaching away by
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`others. I also understand that evidence of the independent and nearly simultaneous
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`“invention” of the claimed subject matter by others is a secondary consideration
`
`-6-
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`Amazon Ex. 1051, Page 23 of 235
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`
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`Amazon.com v. Vocalife LLC
`Declaration of Dr. Richard M. Stern, Jr., Ph.D. – U.S. Patent No. RE47,049
`supporting an obviousness determination and may support a conclusion that a
`
`claimed invention was within the knowledge of a person of ordinary skill in the art
`
`as of September 2010.
`
`
`
`I understand that when assessing obviousness, using hindsight is
`
`impermissible; that is, what is known today or what was learned from the teachings
`
`of the patent should not be considered. The patent should not be used as a road map
`
`for selecting and combining items of prior art. Rather, obviousness must be
`
`considered from the perspective of a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the
`
`invention was made – September 2010 in this case.
`
`
`
`I also understand that an obviousness analysis must consider the
`
`invention as a whole, as opposed to just a part or element of the invention.
`
` Claim Construction
`
`
`
`
`
`I understand that claim limitations must be viewed from the perspective
`
`of a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the patent pertains, as of the patent’s
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`priority date.
`
`
`
`I understand that a claim limitation is generally given the plain and
`
`ordinary meaning that a person of ordinary skill would ascribe to it when viewed in
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`the context of the patent’s claims, specification, and prosecution hist
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