PTAB

IPR2021-00237

Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC v. Intellectual Pixels Ltd

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Petition
petition

1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: Hosting an Interactive Software Application
  • Brief Description: The ’109 patent relates to a client-server system for remotely hosting an interactive software application. The system involves running the application on a server, which receives user input from a client device, generates and compresses updated images based on the input, and transmits the compressed images to the client for decompression and display.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground 1: Claims 1, 3-13, and 15-18 are obvious over Wiltshire in view of Saha

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Wiltshire (Patent 6,409,602) and Saha (Patent 6,404,817).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that Wiltshire discloses all elements of independent claim 1 except for the explicit step of decompressing the received image at the client device. Wiltshire teaches a client-server gaming system where a server executes a game, receives user input from a client, updates the game state, generates new images, and transmits them as a compressed MPEG video stream to the client for display. Petitioner asserted that Saha, which describes the predominant MPEG standards of the time, supplies the missing detail by teaching that MPEG streams consist of compressed frames that are decompressed by a remotely located decoder for display. The combination, therefore, teaches all limitations of claim 1.
    • Motivation to Combine: Petitioner contended that because Wiltshire expressly discloses using the MPEG standard for compressing and transmitting video, a person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have been directly motivated to look to a reference like Saha, which details the standard implementation of MPEG. Implementing the well-known decompression function described in Saha would be a necessary and obvious step to make Wiltshire’s system functional for displaying the compressed stream.
    • Expectation of Success: A POSITA would have had a high expectation of success, as the combination merely applies the standard features of MPEG (compression and decompression) for their intended and well-understood purpose of reducing bandwidth for video transmission.

Ground 2: Claims 2 and 14 are obvious over Wiltshire, Saha, and Chen

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Wiltshire (Patent 6,409,602), Saha (Patent 6,404,817), and Chen (IEEE Communications Magazine, May 1999).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: This ground builds upon the combination of Wiltshire and Saha to further address claims 2 and 14, which require asymmetric bandwidths (a smaller bandwidth for client-to-server user input and a larger bandwidth for server-to-client image transmission). Petitioner argued that Chen describes Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology, which was designed for this exact purpose. Chen teaches using a low-throughput upstream channel for control signals and a high-throughput downstream channel for video and audio data.
    • Motivation to Combine: Petitioner asserted that since Wiltshire discloses using the Internet as a communication pathway, a POSITA would be motivated to use a known and efficient Internet access technology. Chen describes ADSL as an "ideal vehicle for Internet access," particularly for video-on-demand services that mirror the functionality of Wiltshire’s system. The data flow in Wiltshire (small inputs upstream, large video downstream) is perfectly suited for ADSL.
    • Expectation of Success: Combining the well-understood ADSL technology described in Chen with the Wiltshire system would have been a predictable implementation of a standard communication protocol, leading to a high expectation of success.

Ground 3: Claims 6, 11, and 12 are obvious over Wiltshire, Saha, and PC Magazine

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Wiltshire (Patent 6,409,602), Saha (Patent 6,404,817), and PC Magazine (Sep. 21, 1999).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: This ground builds on the Wiltshire and Saha combination to address claims requiring the client device to be a "mobile device." Petitioner argued that Wiltshire discloses its system supports "mobile gaming" and that its client devices can be "any type" of computer, including a "Mac® PowerPC computer." The PC Magazine article describes the Apple iBook, a commercially available portable laptop computer with wireless technology and a PowerPC processor, establishing it as a known mobile device.
    • Motivation to Combine: A POSITA seeking to implement Wiltshire's disclosed "mobile gaming" environment would have been motivated to use a known mobile device as the client. PC Magazine describes a suitable, commercially available option (the iBook) that fits Wiltshire's own description of a compatible client computer (a PowerPC-based machine). The combination represents a simple substitution of one known element (a general-purpose computer) with a more specific, known type of that element (a laptop).
    • Expectation of Success: A POSITA would have reasonably expected success, as using a commercially available laptop with wireless capabilities as a client in a client-server architecture was a conventional and predictable configuration at the time.

4. Arguments Regarding Discretionary Denial

  • Petitioner argued that discretionary denial under 35 U.S.C. §314(a) based on Fintiv factors would be inappropriate. The petition contended that a stay of the parallel district court proceeding was likely, citing the presiding judge's history and a stipulation in a related case. Petitioner further argued that investment in the district court case was minimal, as discovery had just begun and no Markman hearing was scheduled. Finally, Petitioner asserted that the petition was filed diligently and that the strength of the asserted grounds weighed heavily against denial.

5. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requests institution of an inter partes review and cancellation of claims 1-18 of the ’109 patent as unpatentable.