PTAB

IPR2016-01660

WhatsApp v. TriPlay Inc

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Key Events
Petition
petition

1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: Messaging System and Method
  • Brief Description: The ’574 patent describes a messaging system and method that receives a message from an originating device and adapts it for delivery to a destination device that may have different capabilities. The system can replace media items, like audio files, with a clickable icon that allows the recipient to stream or download the content, thereby overcoming device incompatibilities.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground 1: Obviousness over Bellordre, Han, Coulombe, and Ruppert - Claims 1-2, 4-6, 9-11 are obvious over Bellordre in view of Han, Coulombe, and Ruppert.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Bellordre (Application # 2006/0176902), Han (Patent 7,464,337), Coulombe (Application # 2003/0236892), and Ruppert (Application # 2001/0054073).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that Bellordre discloses the core method of the challenged claims. Specifically, Bellordre taught a messaging system that receives an initial multimedia message (containing an audio/video object), generates an adapted "substitute message" (the notification) for the recipient, and in that substitute message, replaces the audio/video object with a hyperlink for later download. Petitioner contended the secondary references supply the remaining claim limitations. Han was cited to teach using an image icon based on a sender's avatar in a messaging interface. Coulombe was cited for its express teaching of adapting message layouts based on the capabilities of the recipient's terminal to ensure interoperability. Finally, Ruppert was cited for disclosing that a hyperlink replacing a file attachment can be represented as a clickable icon, rather than just text.
    • Motivation to Combine: Petitioner asserted a POSITA would combine these references to achieve predictable results. A POSITA would combine Han with Bellordre to improve the user interface with a familiar visual cue (an avatar). Coulombe would be combined to address the known problem of interoperability by adapting message layouts for different devices, a direct solution to the problem Bellordre addresses. Ruppert would be combined because representing a hyperlink as a clickable icon was a well-known design choice, and both Ruppert and Bellordre teach the similar concept of replacing attached files with links to save space and improve message handling.
    • Expectation of Success: A POSITA would have had a reasonable expectation of success in making these combinations, as they involved applying known user interface enhancements and interoperability solutions to a conventional messaging system.

Ground 2: Obviousness over Bellordre, Han, Coulombe, Ruppert, and Huynh - Claim 3 is obvious over Bellordre in view of Han, Coulombe, Ruppert, and Huynh.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Bellordre (Application # 2006/0176902), Han (Patent 7,464,337), Coulombe (Application # 2003/0236892), Ruppert (Application # 2001/0054073), and Huynh (Application # 2005/0060381).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: This ground built upon the combination in Ground 1 to address dependent claim 3, which requires that the initial message layout is "based on a template." Petitioner argued that Huynh provides this missing element. Huynh explicitly discloses using "predefined message templates" that specify cell layout, color, size, and location of content elements to facilitate the generation of electronic messages. Petitioner asserted that Huynh's disclosure of a base message having a layout specified by a message template directly meets the limitation of claim 3.
    • Motivation to Combine: Petitioner argued that a POSITA would be motivated to incorporate Huynh’s teachings into the Bellordre system. Templates were a widely used concept in computer science to standardize layouts and streamline document creation. Since Bellordre’s system already involved adapting message layouts, using a template as the starting point for the initial message layout would be a logical and predictable improvement to facilitate the message creation and adaptation process. All cited references are from the analogous field of electronic messaging.
    • Expectation of Success: There would be no technical hurdle to implementing a template-based layout system as taught by Huynh in the messaging framework of Bellordre, as it was a straightforward application of a known organizational tool.

4. Key Claim Construction Positions

  • "Layout": Petitioner argued this term should be construed as its plain and ordinary meaning of "visual arrangement." This construction was critical because it supported the argument that adapting a message by replacing a media file with an icon, as in Bellordre, necessarily results in a different "visual arrangement" and thus an "adapted layout" as required by the claims.
  • "Notification of the Initial Message that Includes the Audio File": Petitioner proposed construing this term as a "message that gives notice of content (of the initial message that includes the audio file) for downloading." This construction was important to frame Bellordre's "substitute multimedia message" (which replaces the audio file with a hyperlink) as the claimed "notification," thereby mapping the primary reference to the core functionality of the independent claim.

5. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requests institution of inter partes review and cancellation of claims 1-6 and 9-11 of the ’574 patent as unpatentable.