PTAB

IPR2017-00914

Google Inc v. BlackBerry Ltd

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Petition
petition

1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: Device, system and method for displaying preview information
  • Brief Description: The ’466 patent relates to a graphical user interface method for displaying dynamic preview information, such as new message counts or contact availability, in a "dynamic bar" on a device's display. The dynamic bar can be expanded in response to a user input to display additional, more detailed preview information.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground 1: Claims 1, 4, 6, 12-14, 17, 22, and 24 are obvious over Cadiz

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Cadiz (Application # 2002/0186257).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that Cadiz, which discloses a system for providing peripheral awareness of communications and information, teaches every limitation of the challenged independent claims. Cadiz’s persistent "sidebar" was mapped to the claimed "dynamic bar," and it was shown to display dynamic preview information through both a "person-centric interface" (showing contact availability) and an "email-centric interface" (showing new message counts). Petitioner contended that user selection of an item in Cadiz's sidebar opens an "enhanced tooltip window" (e.g., a person window or email window), which corresponds to the claimed "expanded dynamic bar" displaying "additional dynamic preview information." For the claim limitation requiring a "selectable link" to invoke a software application, Petitioner argued that while Cadiz discloses "action buttons," it would have been an obvious modification for a person of ordinary skill in the art (POSA) to use a selectable link instead.
    • Motivation to Combine (for Obvious Modification): A POSA would have been motivated to implement the functionality of Cadiz's action buttons as selectable links using well-known web-based techniques. This modification would have improved the user experience by reducing visual clutter, allowing the displayed information itself to be the selectable element rather than requiring a separate button.
    • Expectation of Success: The proposed modification involved the simple application of conventional hyperlink technology to a GUI element to achieve a predictable result, which was well within the capabilities of a POSA.

Ground 2: Claims 2, 3, 15, and 23 are obvious over Cadiz in view of Hawkins

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Cadiz (Application # 2002/0186257) and Hawkins (Patent 7,007,239).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner asserted that Cadiz provides the base system for a dynamic and expandable preview bar, but does not expressly teach filtering or searching the preview information. Hawkins was introduced for its teaching of a "filter system to search the database of personal contact information" on a handheld device. Hawkins describes a search field where a user can enter characters to display a "filtered subset" of information from a larger list.
    • Motivation to Combine: A POSITA would combine Hawkins’s filtering functionality with Cadiz’s dynamic preview bar to enhance usability. As the amount of preview information (e.g., emails, contacts) displayed in Cadiz's expanded bar increases, a filtering or search capability would become essential for a user to quickly locate desired information. This modification would further Cadiz's stated goal of minimizing user distraction by making information access more efficient.
    • Expectation of Success: Integrating a known search/filter function into a GUI that displays lists of information was a routine and predictable task for a POSA at the time of the invention.

Ground 3: Claims 7-9, 18, 19, and 25 are obvious over Cadiz in view of Siedlikowski

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Cadiz (Application # 2002/0186257) and Siedlikowski (Patent 6,741,232).

  • Core Argument for this Ground:

    • Prior Art Mapping: This ground addressed claims requiring the display and use of configuration options within the expanded dynamic bar. While Cadiz teaches the expanded bar, Siedlikowski was cited for its disclosure of a "quick settings menu" on a wireless device. This menu includes interface elements that allow a user to change configuration options, such as turning the wireless networking "radio" on or off.
    • Motivation to Combine: A POSITA would be motivated to incorporate Siedlikowski's quick settings into Cadiz's expanded dynamic bar to improve the convenience and efficiency of the user interface. This combination would allow a user to conveniently change relevant device settings (e.g., notifications, wireless functions) directly from the preview interface, rather than having to close the window and navigate to a separate settings application.
    • Expectation of Success: Adding configuration toggles to a pop-up menu or interface was a common design pattern for mobile device GUIs, and a POSA would have had a reasonable expectation of successfully implementing such features.

  • Additional Grounds: Petitioner asserted additional obviousness challenges for claims 5, 10, 11, 16, 20, 21, and 26 based on the combination of Cadiz and Yamadera (Application # 2002/0123368). This combination relied on similar design modification theories, arguing it would have been obvious to add other known GUI features to Cadiz’s system, such as changing an item's focus based on navigation input and providing drop-down menus with associated functions.

4. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requests institution of an inter partes review and cancellation of claims 1-26 of Patent 8,713,466 as unpatentable.