DCT

2:18-cv-01076

VoIP Palcom Inc v. Amazon.com Inc

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I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information

  • Parties & Counsel:
  • Case Identification: 2:18-cv-01076, D. Nev., 06/15/2018
  • Venue Allegations: The complaint asserts that venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b).
  • Core Dispute: Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s Amazon Alexa Calling and Messaging System infringes four patents related to methods for routing Voice over IP (VoIP) communications.
  • Technical Context: The patents address methods for intelligently routing internet-based communications by classifying whether the recipient is within the same proprietary network or on an external network, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
  • Key Procedural History: The complaint does not allege any significant procedural history, such as prior litigation between the parties, licensing negotiations, or administrative challenges to the patents-in-suit.

Case Timeline

Date Event
2006-11-02 Earliest Priority Date for all Patents-in-Suit
2017-01-03 U.S. Patent No. 9,537,762 Issues
2017-11-07 U.S. Patent No. 9,813,330 Issues
2017-11-21 U.S. Patent No. 9,826,002 Issues
2018-04-12 Alleged date of Defendants' knowledge via press release
2018-04-17 U.S. Patent No. 9,948,549 Issues
2018-06-11 Alleged date of Defendants' knowledge via written correspondence
2018-06-15 Complaint Filing Date

II. Technology and Patent(s)-in-Suit Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 9,537,762 - "Producing Routing Messages For Voice Over IP Communications"

  • Patent Identification: U.S. Patent No. 9537762, “Producing Routing Messages For Voice Over IP Communications,” Issued January 3, 2017 (Compl. ¶11).

The Invention Explained

  • Problem Addressed: The patent’s background section describes existing Voice over IP (VoIP) systems as lacking the high availability and resiliency of traditional public switched telephone networks (PSTN), noting that failures at a central node can cause significant service outages (’762 Patent, col. 1:41-48).
  • The Patented Solution: The invention is a process for a call routing controller that receives caller and callee identifiers and uses "call classification criteria" associated with the caller to classify the call as either a "private network call" (within the system) or a "public network call" (to an external network). Based on this classification, the system produces a routing message identifying either an address on the private network or a gateway to the public network, thereby directing the call traffic appropriately (’762 Patent, Abstract; col. 2:55-67).
  • Technical Importance: The complaint alleges that this approach represents a fundamental advancement in internet-based communication by improving the functioning, routing, and reliability of such systems (Compl. ¶21).

Key Claims at a Glance

  • The complaint asserts at least exemplary claim 1 (Compl. ¶31).
  • The essential elements of independent claim 1 are:
    • Receiving a first participant identifier and a second participant identifier from a first participant device.
    • Using the first participant identifier to locate a first participant profile from a database, the profile comprising one or more attributes.
    • Processing the second participant identifier based on at least one of the attributes from the first participant profile to produce a new second participant identifier.
    • Classifying the communication, using the new identifier, as a first network communication if a first criterion is met and as a second network communication if a second criterion is met.
    • When the first criterion is met, producing a first network routing message identifying an address within the system.
    • When the second criterion is met, producing a second network routing message identifying an address associated with a gateway to an external network, where the criterion is met if the second participant is not registered with the system.
  • The complaint does not explicitly reserve the right to assert dependent claims but refers to "one or more claims" (Compl. ¶31).

U.S. Patent No. 9,813,330 - "Producing Routing Messages For Voice Over IP Communications"

  • Patent Identification: U.S. Patent No. 9813330, “Producing Routing Messages For Voice Over IP Communications,” Issued November 7, 2017 (Compl. ¶12).

The Invention Explained

  • Problem Addressed: As part of the same patent family, the ’330 Patent addresses the same resiliency and reliability problems in VoIP systems described in the ’762 Patent (’330 Patent, col. 1:41-48).
  • The Patented Solution: This patent claims a method where a controller receives participant identifiers over an IP network, accesses a database of user profiles to find attributes for the first participant, and then compares a portion of the second participant's identifier with at least one of the first participant's attributes. Based on this comparison, the system classifies the call as a "system communication" or an "external network communication" and generates the appropriate routing message to either a system node or an external gateway (’330 Patent, Abstract; col. 2:55-67).
  • Technical Importance: The complaint frames this invention as a fundamental advancement in IP-based communication, similar to the ’762 patent (Compl. ¶21).

Key Claims at a Glance

  • The complaint asserts at least exemplary claim 1 (Compl. ¶40).
  • The essential elements of independent claim 1 are:
    • Receiving a first and second participant identifier over an IP network.
    • Causing a processor to access a database of user profiles to locate a user profile for the first participant, which includes a plurality of attributes.
    • Comparing at least a portion of the second participant identifier with at least one of the first participant's attributes.
    • Causing the processor to search the database for a user profile for the second participant.
    • Classifying the communication, based on the comparing, as a system communication or an external network communication.
    • When classified as a system communication, producing a system routing message identifying an Internet address of a system node.
    • When classified as an external network communication, producing an external network routing message identifying an Internet address of a gateway to an external network.
  • The complaint refers to "one or more claims" (Compl. ¶40).

U.S. Patent No. 9,826,002 - "Producing Routing Messages For Voice Over IP Communications"

  • Patent Identification: U.S. Patent No. 9826002, “Producing Routing Messages For Voice Over IP Communications,” Issued November 21, 2017 (Compl. ¶13).
  • Technology Synopsis: This patent claims a method for routing communications by receiving participant identifiers, accessing a database to locate attributes for the first participant, and processing the second participant's identifier based on those attributes to produce a "new second participant identifier." The communication is then classified as "system" or "external" based on this new identifier, and a corresponding routing message is generated (’002 Patent, Abstract).
  • Asserted Claims: The complaint asserts at least exemplary claim 1 (Compl. ¶49).
  • Accused Features: The complaint alleges that the Amazon Alexa Calling and Messaging System, devices, and software practice the claimed method (Compl. ¶50).

U.S. Patent No. 9,948,549 - "Producing Routing Messages For Voice Over IP Communications"

  • Patent Identification: U.S. Patent No. 9948549, “Producing Routing Messages For Voice Over IP Communications,” Issued April 17, 2018 (Compl. ¶14).
  • Technology Synopsis: This patent claims a method where a processor accesses a memory storing a first participant's profile and attributes, receives a second participant identifier inputted by the first participant, and processes that identifier based on the first participant's attributes to produce a "new second participant identifier." Based on this new identifier, the system classifies the communication and produces a routing message to either a network element's IP address (for a system communication) or an external gateway (’549 Patent, Abstract).
  • Asserted Claims: The complaint asserts at least exemplary claim 1 (Compl. ¶58).
  • Accused Features: The complaint alleges that the Amazon Alexa Calling and Messaging System, devices, and software practice the claimed method (Compl. ¶59).

III. The Accused Instrumentality

Product Identification

  • The accused instrumentalities are the "Amazon Alexa Calling and Messaging System," associated "Amazon Alexa Calling Devices" (including Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Fire devices), and the Amazon Alexa software and mobile apps (Compl. ¶¶27-28, 31).

Functionality and Market Context

  • The complaint alleges the accused system allows users with registered Amazon Alexa devices to initiate calls and send voice messages to other users (Compl. ¶29). The recipient may be another subscriber within the Amazon system or a non-subscriber reachable via an external network like the PSTN (Compl. ¶29). The system allegedly uses a user "profile that includes attributes" to perform a classification of the call or message to determine the routing path (Compl. ¶29). The complaint also notes that Defendants provide SDKs and APIs to third parties to integrate Alexa communication features into their own products (Compl. ¶¶29-30).

No probative visual evidence provided in complaint.

IV. Analysis of Infringement Allegations

9,537,762 Patent Infringement Allegations

Claim Element (from Independent Claim 1) Alleged Infringing Functionality Complaint Citation Patent Citation
...receiving the first participant identifier and the second participant identifier from the first participant device; The system receives a first participant ID and a second participant ID when a user initiates a call or message from an Alexa device. ¶32 col. 2:3-5
using the first participant identifier to locate, via the at least one processor, a first participant profile from among a plurality of participant profiles that are stored in a database, the first participant profile comprising one or more attributes... Amazon servers allegedly locate a first participant's profile from a database using their ID; the profile contains attributes such as contact lists or device connection information. ¶32 col. 2:6-10
processing the second participant identifier, via the at least one processor, based on at least one of the one or more attributes from the first participant profile, to produce a new second participant identifier; The system allegedly processes the receiver's ID based on attributes from the sender's profile (e.g., if the recipient's name is in the sender's contacts but is not an Alexa subscriber, the new identifier becomes a phone number). ¶32 col. 2:11-14
classifying the communication, via the at least one processor, using the new second participant identifier, as a first network communication if a first network classification criterion is met and as a second network communication if a second network classification criterion is met; The system classifies the communication as an internal "Amazon Alexa" call or an external "PSTN" call based on whether the new identifier indicates the recipient is an Alexa device user. ¶32 col. 2:15-19
when the first network classification criterion is met, producing... a first network routing message... identifying an address in the system... associated with the second participant device; When the communication is classified as an internal system call, a routing message is produced that identifies an address within the Amazon system for the recipient's device. ¶32 col. 2:20-24
and when the second network classification criterion is met, producing... a second network routing message... identifying an address associated with a gateway to a network external to the system, wherein the second network classification criterion is met if the second participant is not registered with the system. When the communication is classified as an external call, a routing message is produced identifying an address outside the Amazon system, such as a telephone number for the PSTN. ¶32 col. 2:25-31

9,813,330 Patent Infringement Allegations

Claim Element (from Independent Claim 1) Alleged Infringing Functionality Complaint Citation Patent Citation
...receiving, by a controller... over an Internet protocol (IP) network a first participant identifier and a second participant identifier; The system receives the caller and callee IDs over an IP network when an Alexa user initiates a call. ¶41 col. 6:22-25
causing the at least one processor to access at least one database comprising user profiles... to locate a user profile for the first participant including a plurality of first participant attributes; Amazon servers allegedly access a database of user profiles to locate the caller's profile, which contains attributes such as contact lists and device settings. ¶41 col. 6:26-30
comparing at least a portion of the second participant identifier... with at least one of the plurality of first participant attributes obtained from the user profile for the first participant; The system allegedly compares the callee's identifier (e.g., a name) against the caller's attributes (e.g., the caller's contact list or address book). ¶41 col. 7:1-3
causing the at least one processor to access the at least one database to search for a user profile for the second participant; A database of Alexa subscribers is allegedly searched to determine if the callee has a user profile in the system. ¶41 col. 7:4-5
classifying the communication, based on the comparing, as a system communication or an external network communication...; The system classifies the call as either an internal Alexa communication or an external PSTN communication based on the preceding comparison step. ¶41 col. 7:6-8
when the communication is classified as a system communication, producing a system routing message identifying an Internet address of a communication system node...; When classified as a system communication, a routing message is produced that identifies an address for the recipient's device within the Alexa system. ¶41 col. 7:8-12
and when the communication is classified as an external network communication, producing an external network routing message identifying an Internet address associated with a gateway to an external network... When classified as an external communication, a routing message is produced identifying an address for a gateway to an external network like the PSTN. ¶41 col. 7:13-17

Identified Points of Contention

  • Scope Questions: The dispute may center on the scope of the term "participant profile comprising one or more attributes." The patents' specifications provide detailed examples of structured "Dialing Profile" tables containing specific fields for dialing rules (e.g., NDD, IDD, country codes) (’762 Patent, FIG. 9). A central question may be whether the user data allegedly used by Amazon, such as a general contact list or device settings (Compl. ¶32), falls within the scope of this term as construed in light of the patent's disclosure.
  • Technical Questions: A key evidentiary question may be whether the accused system actually performs the claimed step of "processing" or "comparing" the callee's identifier based on attributes from the caller's profile to determine the routing path. The complaint alleges this occurs (Compl. ¶¶32, 41), but the case may turn on evidence demonstrating that the caller's specific attributes—and not a global system directory or a simple check of the callee's identifier—are the basis for the classification logic that distinguishes between an internal system call and an external PSTN call.

V. Key Claim Terms for Construction

  • The Term: "classifying the communication"

  • Context and Importance: This term is central to the claimed invention, as the classification step dictates whether an internal "system" routing message or an external "gateway" routing message is generated. Practitioners may focus on this term because the infringement analysis will depend on whether Amazon's method for determining if a call is Alexa-to-Alexa or Alexa-to-PSTN performs the specific classification method claimed in the patents.

  • Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:

    • Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The patent abstract describes the step broadly as to "classify the call as a public network call or a private network call" based on "call classification criteria" (’762 Patent, Abstract). This language could support an interpretation where any system that differentiates between two network types based on some criteria performs the claimed step.
    • Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The detailed description and flowcharts illustrate classification as a multi-step process of parsing a callee's identifier against specific dialing attributes in the caller's profile, such as international dialing digits (IDD), national dialing digits (NDD), and area codes (’762 Patent, FIG. 8B, steps 257, 380, 390). This may support a narrower construction requiring a specific, rule-based analysis of the callee's number.

  • The Term: "participant profile comprising one or more attributes"

  • Context and Importance: The patents require that the routing and classification decisions be based on information from this "profile." The viability of the infringement claim may depend on whether Amazon's user account data, such as a contact list or device settings as alleged in the complaint (Compl. ¶32), meets the patent's definition of this term.

  • Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:

    • Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The language in Claim 1 of the ’762 Patent, "a first participant profile comprising one or more attributes associated with the first participant," is facially broad and could be argued to encompass any data associated with a user's account (’762 Patent, col. 6:8-10).
    • Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification provides a specific embodiment of a "Dialing Profile for a User" in a structured table format that includes specific, technical fields such as "NDD", "IDD", "Country Code", "Local Area Codes", and "Caller Minimum Local Length" (’762 Patent, FIG. 9). This detailed embodiment may be used to argue for a narrower construction that requires a more structured profile containing specific dialing-related data, rather than just general user information like a contact list.

VI. Other Allegations

  • Indirect Infringement: The complaint alleges that Defendants induce infringement by selling and supplying the accused Alexa system with "the knowledge and intent that third parties will use" it in an infringing manner (Compl. ¶¶35, 44, 53, 62). The basis for inducement includes the alleged provision of promotional materials, product manuals, SDKs, and APIs that instruct and encourage customers to use the system in its ordinary, allegedly infringing way (Compl. ¶¶36, 45, 54, 63).
  • Willful Infringement: The complaint alleges willful infringement based on Defendants’ purported knowledge of the patents-in-suit since at least April 12, 2018, from a press release, and through written correspondence sent on June 11, 2018 (Compl. ¶¶33, 42, 51, 60). It is alleged that despite this notice, Defendants have continued their infringing activities (Compl. ¶¶34, 43, 52, 61).

VII. Analyst’s Conclusion: Key Questions for the Case

  • A core issue will be one of definitional scope: does the user data allegedly used by Amazon's Alexa system, such as a contact list, constitute a "participant profile comprising one or more attributes" as contemplated by the patents, which provide detailed specification examples of structured profiles with specific dialing rules and codes?
  • A key evidentiary question will be one of technical operation: does the accused system perform the claimed step of "classifying" a communication by actively using attributes from the caller's profile to process the callee's identifier and select between an internal system path and an external gateway path, or is the routing decision based on a different logic, such as a simple lookup of the callee's identifier in a global directory?