Corephotonics, Ltd. v. Apple Inc.
Citation84 F.4th 990
Date Filed2023-10-16
Docket22-1340
Cited30 times
StatusPublished
Full Opinion (html_with_citations)
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 1 Filed: 10/16/2023
United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________
COREPHOTONICS, LTD.,
Appellant
v.
APPLE INC.,
Appellee
______________________
2022-1340, 2022-1341
______________________
Appeals from the United States Patent and Trademark
Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board in Nos. IPR2020-
00487, IPR2020-00860.
-------------------------------------------------
COREPHOTONICS, LTD.,
Appellant
v.
APPLE INC.,
Appellee
______________________
2022-1455, 2022-1456
______________________
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 2 Filed: 10/16/2023
2 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
Appeals from the United States Patent and Trademark
Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board in Nos. IPR2020-
00861, IPR2020-00862.
______________________
Decided: October 16, 2023
______________________
BRIAN DAVID LEDAHL, Russ August & Kabat, Los Ange-
les, CA, argued for appellant. Also represented by MARC A.
FENSTER, NEIL RUBIN, JAMES S. TSUEI.
DEBRA JANECE MCCOMAS, Haynes and Boone, LLP,
Dallas, TX, argued for appellee in 2022-1340. Also repre-
sented by ANDREW S. EHMKE; DAVID W. O'BRIEN, HONG SHI,
Austin, TX; ANGELA M. OLIVER, Washington, DC. Also ar-
gued by ERIN MARIE BOYD LEACH, Orrick, Herrington &
Sutcliffe LLP, Irvine, CA, in 2022-1455. Also represented
by MARK S. DAVIES, Washington, DC.
______________________
Before STOLL, LINN, and STARK, Circuit Judges.
STARK, Circuit Judge.
Corephotonics, Ltd. (âCorephotonicsâ) appeals final
written decisions (âDecisionsâ) of the Patent Trial and Ap-
peal Board (âBoardâ) concluding that claims of U.S. Patent
Nos. 9,661,233 (ââ233 patentâ), 10,230,898 (ââ898 patentâ),
10,326,942 (ââ942 patentâ), and 10,356,332 (ââ332 patentâ)
(collectively, the âChallenged Patentsâ) are unpatentable
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 3 Filed: 10/16/2023
COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 3
as obvious. The Decisions were each issued in inter partes
reviews (âIPRâ) initiated by Apple Inc. (âAppleâ). 1
Corephotonics principally challenges the Boardâs anal-
ogous art findings, arguing that the Board made two pro-
cedural errors and one substantive error. In terms of
procedure, Corephotonics contends that the Board
erred (1) by permitting Apple to cure the legally flawed
analogous art contention it made in its petition and (2) by
making analogous art findings that deviated from the con-
tentions Apple advocated for in its petition and reply. As
for substance, Corephotonics asserts that prior art refer-
ences U.S. Patent Application Publication No.
2012/0026366 (âGolanâ) and U.S. Patent No. 8,081,206
(âMartinâ) are not analogous art.
We identify no procedural error in the Boardâs handling
of whether Golan and Martin are analogous art. We
1 Appeal Nos. 22-1340 and 22-1341 concern the â233
and â942 patents, respectively. Appeal Nos. 22-1455 and
22-1456 concern the â898 and â332 patents, respectively.
We consolidated Appeal Nos. 22-1340 and 22-1341 and sep-
arately consolidated Appeal Nos. 22-1455 and 22-1456.
Each of the consolidated appeals has its own Joint Appen-
dix. For simplicity, when we cite to a reference included in
both Joint Appendices, we include the citation only for No.
22-1340/1341. We make clear where we are citing solely to
the appendix in No. 22-1455/1456 (which we refer to with
the designation âNo. 1455â).
There are no material differences between the written
descriptions of the â233 and â942 patents or between the
written descriptions of the â898 and â332 patents. We cite
to the â233 patent alone when describing both the â233 and
â942 patents and to the â898 patent alone when describing
both the â898 and â332 patents.
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4 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
further hold that the Boardâs determination that Golan is
analogous art is supported by substantial evidence. How-
ever, we vacate and remand the Boardâs obviousness deter-
mination for the Board to explain why Martin is (or is not)
analogous art and how this finding affects its overall con-
clusion as to obviousness.
I
A
The Challenged Patents relate to dual-aperture cam-
era systems and disclose techniques for using the images
from both lenses when zooming while capturing video. â233
patent 3:28-30, 49-54; â898 patent 3:26-28, 36-41. Typi-
cally, a dual-aperture camera system includes a wide-lens
camera and a tele-lens camera. 2 When zooming in, the dis-
closed dual-aperture camera systems can switch from the
wide-lens camera to the tele-lens camera, and when zoom-
ing out the opposite can occur.
The wide-lens camera has a larger field of view than
the tele-lens camera. âField of viewâ refers to the extent of
the observable world a camera system is capable of captur-
ing; that is, whether the camera captures a relatively
larger or smaller area. Generally, a wide-lens camera pro-
duces images with a larger field of view than a tele-lens
camera can, as the tele-lens camera has greater magnifica-
tion. Field of view is a mechanical property of the camera
(including the lens) and does not change when the camera
is moved to a different location.
2 Each imaging device in the camera system contains
both a lens assembly and a sensor array. The field of view
is determined by the lens assemblyâs properties. For sim-
plicity, we refer to the imaging devices in their entirety
based on their lenses.
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COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 5
Within a dual-aperture camera system, the wide-lens
camera and the tele-lens camera are placed in different lo-
cations (e.g., adjacent to one another) and, thus, capture
images from slightly different perspectives. This results in
the wide-lens and tele-lens cameras having different points
of view. In this context, âpoint of viewâ refers to how the
observable world appears (and thus how it can be captured)
from a particular location; that is, the perspective a camera
captures from a location. A lensâ point of view, therefore,
changes when the cameraâs location is changed.
Consequently, when the dual-aperture camera system
switches from the wide-lens camera to the tele-lens camera
(or vice versa) while zooming in (or out), a user may see a
âjumpâ or a discontinuous image change, because the tele
lens and wide lens are in different locations and, thus, have
different points of view. â233 patent 10:32-34; â898 patent
7:42-44. The Challenged Patents teach minimizing this
âjumpâ effect by partially âmatching the position, scale,
brightness and color of the output image before and after
the transitionâ from one lens to the other. â233 patent
10:36-40; see also â898 patent 7:46-50. In this regard, the
patents explain that matching an entire image from one
camera with an entire image from another camera is often
impossible because the distance between an observed ob-
ject and the two cameras will differ at least slightly. The
patents teach that engaging in position matching only in
the region of interest (âROIâ) may generate a âsmooth tran-
sition.â â233 patent 10:43-46; see also â898 patent 7:53-56.
Within the portions of the field of view that are com-
mon to both the tele-lens camera and the wide-lens camera,
the tele-lens camera often, but not always, produces a
clearer image. See, e.g., â898 patent 10:15-19. Where this
is untrue â for example, if the subject of a video is out of
focus in the tele-lens image â âthere is no point in perform-
ing the transition [from wide-lens to tele-lens image] be-
cause no . . . resolution[] is gained.â â898 Patent 10:16-17.
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6 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
To account for such scenarios, the â898 and â332 patents
teach not switching to the tele lens when the tele-lens cam-
eraâs âeffective resolutionâ is lower than that of the wide
lens. â898 patent 10:2-7, 15-19. The patents explain that
one way to implement the determination of when to engage
in âno switchingâ is through calculating an âeffective reso-
lution score.â â898 patent 6:16-24, 10:15-19.
Claim 1 of the â233 patent is illustrative of the claims
in that patent, reciting:
A multiple aperture zoom digital camera, compris-
ing:
a) a Wide imaging section that includes a Wide
sensor and a fixed focal length Wide lens with a
Wide field of view (POV), the Wide imaging sec-
tion operative to output a Wide image;
b) a Tele imaging section that includes a Tele
sensor and a fixed focal length Tele lens with a
Tele POV that is narrower than the Wide POV,
the Tele imaging section operative to output a
Tele image; and
c) a camera controller operatively coupled to the
Wide and Tele imaging sections and configured
to reduce an image jump effect seen in video out-
put images and to provide continuous zoom
video output images by executing registration
between the Wide and Tele images for perform-
ing position matching to the video output images
when switching from an output of the Tele im-
aging section to an output of the Wide imaging
section or vice versa.
Claim 1 of the â942 patent is illustrative of the claims
in that patent and is similar to claim 1 of the â233 patent,
except that claim element c) in the â942 patent recites:
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COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 7
a camera controller operatively coupled to the Wide
and Tele imaging sections and configured, when
providing video output images, to:
reduce an image jump effect seen in the video
output images when switching from a Wide im-
age to a Tele image by shifting the Tele image
relative to the Wide image according to a dis-
tance of an object in a Tele image region of inter-
est (ROI), and/or
reduce an image jump effect seen in the video
output images when switching from a Tele im-
age to a Wide image by shifting the Wide image
relative to the Tele image according to a distance
of an object in a Wide image ROI.
Claim 1 of the â898 patent is illustrative of the claims
in the â898 and â332 patents:
A zoom digital camera comprising:
a) a Wide imaging section that includes a fixed
focal length Wide lens with a Wide field of view
(FOV) and a Wide sensor, the Wide imaging sec-
tion operative to provide Wide image data of an
object or scene;
b) a Tele imaging section that includes a fixed
focal length Tele lens with a Tele FOV that is
narrower than the Wide FOV and a Tele sensor,
the Tele imaging section operative to provide
Tele image data of the object or scene; and
c) a camera controller operatively coupled to the
Wide and Tele imaging sections and configured
to evaluate if a no-switching criterion is fulfilled
or not fulfilled, wherein if the no-switching cri-
terion is fulfilled in a zoom-in operation between
a lower zoom factor (ZF) value and a higher ZF
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 8 Filed: 10/16/2023
8 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
value at a zoom factor (ZF) higher than an up-
transfer ZF, the camera controller is further con-
figured to output a zoom video output image that
includes only Wide image data, and wherein if
the no-switching criterion is not fulfilled, the
camera controller is further configured to output
a zoom video output image that includes only
transformed, digitally zoomed Tele image data.
Claims 4 and 15 of the â898 patent and claims 5 and 17
of the â332 patent (the âEffective Resolution Claimsâ) fur-
ther include the âeffective resolutionâ âno-switching crite-
rionâ limitation. Claim 4 of the â898 patent is
representative of the Effective Resolution Claims:
The camera of claim 1; wherein the no-switching
criterion includes an effective resolution of the Tele
image being lower than an effective resolution of
the Wide image.
B
Two prior art references are part of all of the obvious-
ness grounds Apple presented in its IPR petitions: Golan
and Martin.
Golan describes camera systems using multiple imag-
ing sensors and lens assemblies to zoom without using a
lens with a mechanically adjustable focal length. By
providing âmultiple imaging devices each with a different
fixed field of view (FOV),â Golanâs system âfacilitates a light
weight electronic zoom with a large lossless zooming
range.â J.A. 5525 (Golan Âś 9). Specifically, Golan teaches
digitally zooming with the wide lens until a higher resolu-
tion image is fully capturable with the tele lens and then
digitally zooming with that higher resolution tele-lens im-
age. To prevent a discontinuity or âjumpâ from occurring
when switching between images while zooming, Golan
teaches a one-time calibration technique to correct for the
lensesâ different points of view.
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COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 9
Martin describes methods âfor producing two-dimen-
sional images that, upon display, can be perceived to be
three-dimensional without the use of special viewing aids.â
J.A. 5535 (Martin 1:17-20). Among other things, Martin
teaches capturing images of the same scene from two dif-
ferent points of view (that is, parallax images) and then
displaying the images in an alternating fashion to the
viewer to create the appearance of three-dimensionality.
Martin further discloses âcritically aligningâ the images to
create a stable three-dimensional image. This alignment
process requires manipulating the captured images so that
âa region of interest in [one] image . . . is positioned such
that it occupies the same location within the frame ofâ an-
other image. J.A. 5536 (Martin 4:33-35).
Apple additionally relies on Japanese Patent Applica-
tion No. JP2011-55246 (âTogoâ) for the teaching of the âef-
fective resolutionâ âno-switching criterionâ limitation in the
Effective Resolution Claims. 3 Togo explains that using a
wide lens together with a tele lens to zoom can create prob-
lems if the subject of the image is out of focus for one of the
lenses. Typically, a tele lens is designed to have subjects
that are far from the camera be in focus. This means that
if the subject is close to the tele lens, the subject will be
blurry. Togo teaches using a tele lens that is focused in the
distance, but suggests not switching to it while zooming if
the subject of the camera is sufficiently close.
C
Corephotonics filed suit against Apple alleging in-
fringement of the Challenged Patents (among others). See
Complaint, Corephotonics, Ltd. v. Apple, Inc., No. 3:17-cv-
06457 (N.D. Cal Nov. 6, 2017). In response, Apple
3 We rely on an English translation of Togo, the ac-
curacy of which is not at issue in this appeal.
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10 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
petitioned for IPR on all claims (i.e., claims 1-18) of the â233
patent; claims 1, 4, 8-12, 15, and 19-20 of the â898 patent;
all claims (i.e., claims 1-25) of the â942 patent; and claims
1-2, 5, 9-14, 17, and 21-22 of the â332 patent. Each of Ap-
pleâs grounds for unpatentability relied on combining Go-
lan and Martin along with other references. With the
exception of Togo, these other references are not relevant
to the issues raised on appeal. The Board instituted the
IPRs and ultimately found all challenged claims of the
Challenged Patents unpatentable as obvious over Appleâs
combinations of prior art.
Broadly, three of the Boardâs conclusions are at issue
on appeal. First, the Board found that both Golan and
Martin are analogous prior art. Second, the Board con-
strued âshifting the [t]ele image relative to the [w]ide im-
age according to a distance of an object in a [t]ele image
region of interest (ROI)â and âby shifting the [w]ide image
relative to the [t]ele image according to a distance of an ob-
ject in a [w]ide image ROIâ in the â942 patent to include
translating or shifting images based on indirect measures
of distance (rather than only direct measures). Based in
part on this understanding of the âshiftingâ terms, the
Board found that Martin discloses the âshiftingâ limitation
of the challenged claims of the â942 patent. Third, the
Board rejected Corephotonicsâ proposed construction of âef-
fective resolutionâ as âeffective resolution score,â constru-
ing it instead as âimage quality including but not limited to
blurriness and sharpness.â Based on this construction, the
Board found that Togo taught the âeffective resolutionâ âno-
switching criterionâ limitation contained in the âEffective
Resolution Claims.â
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COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 11
Corephotonics timely appealed. 4
II
A
We review Board decisions pursuant to the standards
of the Administrative Procedure Act (âAPAâ), 5 U.S.C.
§ 550et seq. Under the APA, we âhold unlawful and set aside agency action . . . not in accordance with law [or] . . . without observance of procedure required by law.â5 U.S.C. § 706
. Thus, in an appeal from an IPR, we review the Boardâs legal determinations de novo and its factual find- ings for substantial evidence. See Almirall, LLC v. Amneal Pharms. LLC,28 F.4th 265, 271
(Fed. Cir. 2022). Substan- tial evidence is âsuch relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.â Consol. Edison Co. v. NLRB,305 U.S. 197, 229
(1938). â[T]he possibility of drawing two inconsistent conclusions from the evidence does not prevent an administrative agencyâs finding from being supported by substantial evi- dence.â Consolo v. Fed. Mar. Commân,383 U.S. 607, 620
(1966).
Because IPRs are formal adjudications, the APA also
requires that the parties to IPRs receive notice of argu-
ments and evidence and have an opportunity to be heard
with respect to them. See Genzyme Therapeutic Prods. Ltd.
v. Biomarin Pharm. Inc., 825 F.3d 1360, 1365-66(Fed. Cir. 2016). â[F]air notice and an opportunity to respondâ is re- quired in âall aspects of an IPR proceeding.â Nike, Inc. v. Adidas AG,955 F.3d 45, 53
(Fed. Cir. 2020).
4 The Board had jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C.
§ 316(c). We have jurisdiction under28 U.S.C. § 1295
(a)(4)(A) and35 U.S.C. §§ 141
(c), 319.
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12 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
IPR proceedings are creations of the America Invents
Act (AIA), 35 U.S.C. § 311, and must also proceed according to the requirements set out by that statute. As the Su- preme Court has stated, in an IPR âthe petitionerâs conten- tions, not the Directorâs discretion, define the scope of the litigation all the way from institution through to conclu- sion.â SAS Inst., Inc. v. Iancu,138 S. Ct. 1348, 1357
(2018); see also35 U.S.C. § 312
(a)(4). The IPR petition, thus, must provide an understandable explanation of the element-by- element specifics of the patentability challenges, including the identification of particular portions of prior art on which the petitioner is relying. See35 U.S.C. § 312
(a)(3);37 C.F.R. §§ 42.22
(a)(2), 42.104(b)(3)-(4); Harmonic Inc. v. Avid Tech., Inc.,815 F.3d 1356, 1363-64
(Fed. Cir. 2016); Ariosa Diagnostics v. Verinata Health, Inc.,805 F.3d 1359, 1367
(Fed. Cir. 2015). âIt is of the utmost importance that petitioners in the IPR proceedings adhere to the require- ment that the initial petition identify âwith particularityâ the âevidence that supports the grounds for the challenge to each claim.ââ Intelligent Bio-Sys., Inc. v. Illumina Cam- bridge Ltd.,821 F.3d 1359, 1369
(Fed. Cir. 2016) (quoting35 U.S.C. § 312
(a)(3)). âUnlike district court litigation â where parties have greater freedom to revise and develop their arguments over time and in response to newly discov- ered material â the expedited nature of IPRs bring with it an obligation for petitioners to make their case in their pe- tition to institute.âId.
Given these âstrict . . . require- ments,âid.,
the Board is not permitted to entertain â[s]hifting argumentsâ but must, instead, reject any âen- tirely new theory of prima facie obviousness absent from the petition,â if the petitioner attempts to inject such a the- ory into the proceeding post-petition, Wasica Fin. GmbH v. Contâl Auto. Sys., Inc.,853 F.3d 1272, 1286
(Fed. Cir. 2017); see also Sirona Dental Sys. GmbH v. Institut Straumann AG,892 F.3d 1349, 1356
(Fed. Cir. 2018) (stating Board is not permitted âto deviate from the grounds in the petition and raise its own obviousness theoryâ); Koninklijke Philips N.V. v. Google LLC,948 F.3d 1330, 1336
(Fed. Cir. 2020)
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COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 13
(holding Board erred by raising its own obviousness theory
based on combination of references not provided in peti-
tion).
The patent owner may file a preliminary patent owner
response to a petition. See 37 C.F.R. § 42.107(a). Thereaf- ter, the Board makes a decision whether to institute the requested IPR, based on whether it finds, as a preliminary matter, a reasonable likelihood the petitioner will succeed. See35 U.S.C. § 314
. This institution decision is not review- able. See Cuozzo Speed Techs., LLC v. Lee,579 U.S. 261, 276
(2016) (âWe therefore conclude that § 314(d) bars Cuozzoâs efforts to attack the Patent Officeâs determination to institute inter partes review in this case.â). We may, however, âreview determinations made during institution that are subsequently incorporated into the Boardâs final written decision.â In re Magnum Oil Tools Intâl, Ltd.,829 F.3d 1364, 1374
(Fed. Cir. 2016).
After institution, the patent owner files a response, to
which the petitioner then replies. See 37 C.F.R.
§§ 42.23(b), 42.120(a). The petitionerâs âreply may only re- spond to arguments raised in the corresponding opposition, patent owner preliminary response, patent owner re- sponse, or decision on institution.â § 42.23(b). â[A]n IPR petitioner may not raise in reply an entirely new rationale for why a claim would have been obvious.â Henny Penny Corp. v. Frymaster LLC,938 F.3d 1324, 1330-31
(Fed. Cir. 2019) (internal quotation marks omitted). Any marked de- parture from the grounds identified with particularity in the petition would impose âunfair surpriseâ on the patent owner and, consequently, violate both the APA and the IPR statute. Arthrex Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc.,935 F.3d 1319, 1328
(Fed. Cir. 2019).
It is for the Board to determine what grounds are being
articulated in a petition and what arguments and evidence
are being referred to in the responses and any replies. See,
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14 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
e.g., Yita LLC v. MacNeil IP LLC, 69 F.4th 1356, 1366(Fed. Cir. 2023); Ariosa Diagnostics,805 F.3d at 1368
. In partic- ular, the Board has discretion to determine âwhether a [p]etition identified the specific evidence relied on in a [r]eply and when a [r]eply contention crosses the line from the responsive to the new.â Ariosa,805 F.3d at 1368
. We review the Boardâs assessments of what has been argued to and put before it in an IPR for abuse of discretion. See Yita,69 F.4th at 1366
. The Board abuses its discretion when its decision â(1) is clearly unreasonable, arbitrary, or fanciful; (2) is based on an erroneous conclusion of law; (3) rests on clearly erroneous fact finding; or (4) involves a record that contains no evidence on which the Board could rationally base its decision.â Ericsson Inc. v. Intell. Ventures I LLC,901 F.3d 1374, 1379
(Fed. Cir. 2018).
Following completion of all briefing and oral hearing,
the petitioner must prove invalidity of any challenged
claim by a preponderance of the evidence. See Magnum
Oil, 829 F.3d at 1375(citing35 U.S.C. § 316
(e)). This bur- den of persuasion remains with the petitioner at all times. See Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH v. Mylan Pharms. Inc.,66 F.4th 1373, 1377
(Fed. Cir. 2023). In evaluating whether the petitioner has met its burden, the Board must consider all evidence and argument properly submitted in connection with the petitionerâs reply, as well as all that is submitted in connection with the petition. See Magnum Oil,829 F.3d at 1376
(â[The] fact finder must consider all evidence of obviousness and nonobviousness before reach- ing a determination.â). Once an issue is fairly presented in a petition and made the subject of dispute by the patent ownerâs response, the Board is free to make its own factual findings grounded in the evidence presented to it, without being bound to choose between the specific positions the parties advocated. See Fanduel, Inc. v. Interactive Games LLC,966 F.3d 1334, 1344
(Fed. Cir. 2020) (â[I]n every case,
it remains the Boardâs essential function to make factual
findings based on its view of the record.â) (emphasis added).
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COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 15
B
A patent is invalid as obvious âif the differences be-
tween the claimed invention and the prior art are such that
the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious
before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a
person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed
invention pertains.â 35 U.S.C. § 103(2011). 5 In determin- ing whether a claim is invalid as obvious, we compare the prior art to the claim language, and if necessary, after the claim language has been properly construed when the meaning or scope is in dispute. See U.S. Surgical Corp. v. Ethicon, Inc.,103 F.3d 1554, 1568
(Fed. Cir. 1997). Claim construction based solely on intrinsic evidence is a question of law. See Teva Pharms. USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc.,574 U.S. 318
, 331 (2015).
âObviousness is a legal question based on underlying
findings of fact.â Fleming v. Cirrus Design Corp., 28 F.4th
1214, 1221(Fed. Cir. 2022). Among those issues of fact is what the prior art discloses to an ordinarily skilled artisan. Seeid.
âWhat the prior art discloses and whether a person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to combine prior-art references are both fact questions that we review for substantial evidence.â Intel Corp. v. PACT XPP Schweiz AG,61 F.4th 1373, 1378
(Fed. Cir. 2023); see also Bot M8 LLC v. Sony Interactive Ent. LLC,66 F.4th 1380, 1384
(Fed. Cir. 2023).
Prior art references are applicable to the obviousness
inquiry only when they are analogous to the claims being
challenged. See In re Clay, 966 F.2d 656, 658 (Fed. Cir.
5 The Challenged Patents have effective filing dates
later than March 16, 2013. Therefore, we apply § 103 as
amended by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. See 35
U.S.C. § 100note. Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 16 Filed: 10/16/2023 16 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 1992); see also In re Bigio,381 F.3d 1320, 1325
(Fed. Cir. 2004). Art that is âtoo remoteâ from the patents being at- tacked cannot be treated as prior art. In re Sovish,769 F.2d 738, 741
(Fed. Cir. 1985); see also In re Oetiker,977 F.2d 1443, 1447
(Fed. Cir. 1992) (âThe combination of ele- ments from non-analogous sources, in a manner that recon- structs the applicantâs invention only with the benefit of hindsight, is insufficient to present a prima facie case of obviousness.â). We use â[t]wo separate tests [to] define the scope of analogous art: (1) whether the art is from the same field of endeavor, regardless of the problem addressed and, (2) if the reference is not within the field of the inventorâs endeavor, whether the reference still is reasonably perti- nent to the particular problem with which the inventor is involved.â Airbus S.A.S. v. Firepass Corp.,941 F.3d 1374, 1379
(Fed. Cir. 2019) (internal quotation marks omitted). âThe Boardâs determination that a prior art reference is analogous art . . . presents an issue of fact, reviewed for substantial evidence.â In re ICON Health & Fitness, Inc.,496 F.3d 1374, 1378
(Fed. Cir. 2007).
âTo satisfy its burden of proving obviousness, a peti-
tioner cannot employ mere conclusory statements. The pe-
tition must instead articulate specific reasoning, based on
evidence of record, to support the legal conclusion of obvi-
ousness.â Magnum Oil, 829 F.3d at 1380. It is not always
necessary for a petition to expressly address analogous-
ness. For instance, it may be clear from the petitionâs de-
scription of the references and the challenged claims that
prior art is in the same field of endeavor as the challenged
patent, or the pertinence of the prior art to the problem
solved by the invention may be implicit in the petitionâs dis-
cussion of the challenged claims and why a person of ordi-
nary skill would be motivated to combine the prior art
references with a reasonable expectation of success.
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COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 17
III
Because it is central to the issues we must decide in
this appeal, we carefully set out here what the parties and
the Board said about the analogousness of Appleâs prior art
references at each stage of the proceedings below.
In its petitions, Apple said of Golan and Martin that
these âreferences are analogous prior art and are in the
same field of endeavor pertaining to imaging systems gen-
erating video output images using two imaging sections
having different points of view.â J.A. 1023-24 (emphasis
added); see also J.A. 10023-24; No. 1455 J.A. 1024, 10023.
Apple further explained that âGolan discloses providing
continuous video output images using an image acquisition
system âhaving multiple imaging devicesâ having different
points of view,â and â[s]imilarly, Martin discusses âdisplay
[of] alternating views of two or more parallax imagesâ from
cameras having different points of view to âcreate a result-
ant moving image.ââ J.A. 1023-24 (second bracketing in
original); see also J.A. 10023-24; No. 1455 J.A. 1024, 10023.
Appleâs petitions were ambiguous; they did not make clear
whether Apple was stating that Golan and Martin are in
the same field of endeavor as the Challenged Patents or,
instead, merely that Golan and Martin are in the same
field of endeavor as one another.
This ambiguity was present in the expert declaration
Apple attached to each of its petitions. In the declaration,
Dr. FrĂŠdo Durand opined:
[T]he references are analogous prior art and are in
the same field of endeavor pertaining to imaging
systems generating video output images using im-
ages from two imaging sections having different
points of view . . . . [B]oth Golan and Martin dis-
close imaging systems for generating video output
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 18 Filed: 10/16/2023
18 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
images using two imaging sections having different
points of view.
J.A. 5410-11; see also J.A. 15457; No. 1455 J.A. 5462,
15228. There is no express reference in either Appleâs pe-
titions or attached expert declarations to the field of en-
deavor of the Challenged Patents themselves. Nor is there
any explicit contention that Golan and Martin are analo-
gous because they are pertinent to the problem faced by the
inventors of the Challenged Patents.
Corephotonics did not call attention to these issues in
its patent owner preliminary response. Instead, while
Corephotonics opposed institution, and argued that the pe-
tition failed to demonstrate a motivation to combine Golan
and Martin, and more generally failed to establish the rea-
sonable likelihood that Apple could make out a prima facie
case of obviousness, Corephotonics did not specifically ar-
gue that Appleâs analogous art contentions were in any way
deficient. See Apple Inc. v. Corephotonics, Ltd., IPR2020-
00860, Paper 6 at *10 (P.T.A.B. Aug. 6, 2020) (âThe petition
argues that Golan and Martin are âanalogous prior art and
are in the same field of endeavorâ . . . . Even if these argu-
ments are accepted as true, they do not establish the nec-
essary motivation to combine the two references.â).
Unsurprisingly, then, in its institution decision, the
Board also did not address the issue of whether Apple had
said enough to satisfy its obligation to establish Golan and
Martin are analogous art. The Board found that Appleâs
rationale for a motivation to combine the references was
sufficient for the institution stage. See Apple Inc. v. Core-
photonics, Ltd., IPR2020-00860, Paper 7 at *19-27
(P.T.A.B. Nov. 5, 2020).
After the IPRs were instituted, Corephotonics filed its
patent owner response, and there it pointed to what it con-
tended was a deficiency in how Apple had addressed the
analogous art issue at the petition stage. See J.A. 1246;
J.A. 10205; No. 1455 J.A. 1499, 10507. Specifically,
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 19 Filed: 10/16/2023
COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 19
Corephotonics suggested Dr. Durandâs âanalysis appears to
be limited to comparing Golan and Martin with one another
and opining that they are in the âsame field of endeavor,ââ
which âis insufficient because it fails to apply the correct
legal test and yield the correct analysis for whether Golan
and Martin are analogous art.â J.A. 1246; see also J.A.
10205-06.
Thereafter, in its replies, Apple clarified its position,
explicitly arguing that the Challenged Patents, Golan, and
Martin are all in the same field of endeavor. J.A. 1279,
10265-66; No. 1455 J.A. 1264, 10264. Further, Appleâs re-
plies (which differed slightly across the IPRs but were ma-
terially identical) added, for the first time, that the two
prior art references were also pertinent to the problem faced
by the inventors of the Challenged Patents. The following
excerpt, from the IPR related to the â233 patent, is repre-
sentative of Appleâs replies:
[L]ike the â233 Patent, Golan and Martin are all in
the field of imaging systems, and more specifically,
imaging systems including digital cameras gener-
ating video output images using two imaging sec-
tions having different points of view . . . . [Also],
Golan and Martin are each pertinent to the problem
addressed in the â233 Patent, namely, âa âjumpâ
(discontinuous) image changeâ â[w]hen a dual-ap-
erture camera switches the camera output between
sub-cameras or points of view.â
J.A. 1279-80 (emphasis added); see also J.A.10265-67 (re-
ply in IPR of â942 patent); No. 1455 J.A. 1264, 10264 (re-
plies in IPRs of â898 and â332 patents describing pertinent
problem as âachieving a continuous, smooth zoom in video
modeâ) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Corephotonics filed a sur-reply, complaining that Ap-
pleâs reply âraises completely new arguments, supported by
Dr. Durandâs new reply declaration opinions, that Golan
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 20 Filed: 10/16/2023
20 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
and Martin are âanalogous artâ to the . . . patent for pur-
poses of its challenge.â J.A. 1318. Corephotonics stated
that it was prejudiced by being âprohibited from submitting
expert opinion or factual evidence of its own to dispute Ap-
pleâs new arguments and evidence.â J.A. 1318-19. Still,
Corephotonics proceeded to respond to Appleâs allegedly
new allegation that Martin was pertinent to the problem
addressed by the Challenged Patents:
[T]he problem addressed by the â233 patent is, in
relevant part, image discontinuities perceived by a
user of a digital camera on a display when the video
image output switches between one camera and an-
other during zoom . . . . Martin, in contrast to the
â233 patent, is not concerned with reduction of
jump effects in video output images when switch-
ing between cameras during zoom . . . . Because
Martin is âdirected to a different purposeâ than the
â233 patent, âthe inventor would accordingly have
had less motivation to consider itâ to be âanalogous
art.â In re Clay, 966 F.2d 656, 659 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
J.A. 1320-22 (sur-reply in IPR of â233 patent); see also J.A.
10315-18 (sur-reply in IPR of â942 patent); No. 1455 J.A.
1309-10, 10308-09 (sur-replies in IPRs of â898 and â332 pa-
tents).
The issue of analogous art received extensive attention
during oral argument in each of the IPRs, mostly focused
on whether Golan and Martin are analogous to the Chal-
lenged Patents. See J.A. 1514-16, 1525-26, 10575-76; No.
1455 J.A. 1363, 1399, 1402-03. But there was also some
discussion of whether Apple had lost the opportunity even
to try to satisfy the analogous art requirement, given how
it had handled the matter in its petition. Corephotonics
argued, in the IPR concerning the â233 patent, for example:
[T]he petition failed to meet their prima facie case
of showing that itâs analogous art because, as they
later admit, they didnât apply the right standard in
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 21 Filed: 10/16/2023
COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 21
their petition so they made no showing that Martin
was analogous art. Using the proper standard they
tried to do that on reply. Thatâs all new, improper
argument to meet their prima facie case.
J.A. 1514-16; see also J.A. 1525-26 (â[T]here really is no dis-
pute that everything that theyâre relying on for analogous
art is new from their reply.â); J.A. 10575-76 (â[T]hereâs re-
ally no dispute that the petition failed to apply the correct
legal test in determining whether or not the references
were analogous for purposes of their prima facie case and
so itâs fascinating that in reply then petitioner came back
and gave you a couple of pages of arguments, three pages
in this case and five pages in the companion case, trying to
convince the panel that, oh no, the references are in fact
analogous to the â942 patent or the â233 patent.â); No. 1455
J.A. 1402-03 (â[T]he petition failed to make the prima facie
case. They applied the wrong standard and thatâs not re-
ally disputed.â).
The Board squarely addressed the analogous art dis-
putes in the Decisions. First, the Board agreed with Core-
photonics that Appleâs treatment of the analogous art issue
in its petitions had been deficient. Because, at the petition
stage, Apple and its expert had not explicitly mentioned or
discussed the field of endeavor of the Challenged Patents,
the Board understood Apple as improperly âcompar[ing]
Golan and Martin to each other instead of the claimed in-
vention.â J.A. 31, 102; see also No. 1455 J.A. 39, 113.
The Board went on, however, to explain that Appleâs
replies had ârectifie[d] the improper comparison and as-
serted that Golan and Martin are in the same field of en-
deavor as the claimed invention.â J.A. 32, 102; see also No.
1455 J.A. 39, 113-14. The Board further held that Apple
âproperly replied to Patent Ownerâs criticism of its showing
regarding analogous art.â J.A. 32 n.11, 102 n.19; see also
No. 1455 J.A. 39 n.20, 114 n.20. The Board considered all
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 22 Filed: 10/16/2023
22 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
of what Apple said about the analogousness of its prior art
to be within the scope of a proper reply. See J.A. 32 n.11,
102 n.19; see also No. 1455 J.A. 39 n.20, 114 n.20.
On the merits, the Boardâs analogousness analysis was
materially uniform across the four IPRs. In all of the De-
cisions, the Board was persuaded that:
Golan is in the same field of endeavor as the
claimed invention because it describes performing
digital zoom using a wide image sensor array and
lens and a tele image sensor array and lens with
the goal of providing âcontinuous electronic zoom
with uninterrupted imaging.â
J.A. 32 (emphasis added); see also J.A. 103; No. 1455 J.A.
40, 114. The Board was also persuaded that:
Martin is reasonably pertinent to the problem faced
by the inventor: reducing an image jump effect seen
in video output images when switching between
cameras that have different fields of view. Both
Golan and Martin have multiple cameras with dif-
fering fields of view. Martin describes the problem
in terms of its solution: â[c]ritical alignment corre-
sponds to a condition where the degree of align-
ment is sufficient to achieve a stable auto
stereoscopic displayâ and â[s]tability of the whole
image may not be required, as long as at least a
particular region of interest in the auto stereo-
scopic display is stable.â
J.A. 33 (emphasis added); see also J.A. 103; No. 1455 J.A.
40, 114-15.
IV
Corephotonics argues that the Board committed proce-
dural and substantive errors in concluding Golan and Mar-
tin are analogous art. We find no procedural error. We
also find that substantial evidence supports the Boardâs
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 23 Filed: 10/16/2023
COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 23
findings with respect to Golan. With respect to whether
Martin is analogous art, we remand for further proceed-
ings.
A
Corephotonics argues that the Board committed vari-
ous procedural errors in determining that Golan and Mar-
tin are analogous art.
1
The Board concluded that Appleâs petition inade-
quately addressed the issue of analogous art, because it
made a comparison only between Golan and Martin with-
out comparing either reference to the Challenged Patents.
See J.A. 31-32. As we recently explained in Sanofi-Aventis
Deutschland GmbH v. Mylan Pharms. Inc., 66 F.4th 1373,
1380(Fed. Cir. 2023), a patent challenger cannot meet its burden of proving obviousness merely by arguing that a prior art reference âis analogous to another prior art refer- ence and not the challenged patent.â Whether Apple com- mitted this error in its petitions is not an issue we must address. Rather, our review of how the Board interprets a petition is for abuse of discretion, see Henny Penny,938 F.3d at 1330-31
, and here we find no such abuse.
2
Corephotonics argues that the Board erred by permit-
ting Apple to make new analogous art contentions in its
reply. Specifically, Corephotonics contends the Board com-
mitted reversible error by: (1) allowing Apple to make ex-
press comparisons between Golan and Martin, on the one
hand, and the Challenged Patents, on the other, when such
comparisons were absent from the petition; (2) permitting
Apple to expand its analogous art arguments from being
based on field of endeavor to also being based on pertinence
to the problem faced by the inventors of the Challenged Pa-
tents; and (3) finding that Golan and the Challenged
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 24 Filed: 10/16/2023
24 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
Patents share a field of endeavor different from the field
argued by Apple, and finding that Martin is pertinent to a
different problem faced by the inventors of the Challenged
Patents than the problem Apple identified. We reject each
of Corephotonicsâ contentions.
a
We begin by further explaining the permissible scope
of an IPR petitionerâs reply. The APA, the IPR statute, the
Boardâs regulations, and our precedents collectively impose
two separate, but related, restrictions on what a petitioner
may include in its reply. First, the arguments and evidence
in the reply must not be part of a new theory of unpatenta-
bility. Second, the arguments and evidence in the reply
must be responsive to the patent ownerâs contentions or the
Boardâs institution decision.
The ânewnessâ restriction prohibits the petitioner from
raising, in reply, âan entirely new theory of prima facie ob-
viousness absent from the petition,â even if the new theory
is responsive to the patent ownerâs response or the Boardâs
institution decision. Wasica, 853 F.3d at 1286; see also35 U.S.C. § 312
(a)(3) (requiring petition to identify âwith par-
ticularity . . . the grounds on which the challenge to each
claim is basedâ). Determining whether a reply has improp-
erly raised a new theory or argument requires a compari-
son between the petitionerâs petition and the petitionerâs
reply.
The âresponsivenessâ restriction limits the petitionerâs
reply to addressing issues presented in the patent owner
responses or the Boardâs institution decision. That is, the
reply âmay only respond to arguments raised in the corre-
sponding opposition, patent owner preliminary response,
patent owner response, or decision on institution.â 37
C.F.R. § 42.23(b); see also Anacor Pharms., Inc. v. Iancu,889 F.3d 1372, 1380-82
(Fed. Cir. 2018) (stating petitioner
âmay introduce new evidence after the petition stage if the
evidence is a legitimate reply to evidence introduced by the
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 25 Filed: 10/16/2023
COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 25
patent ownerâ). Determining whether a reply is improp-
erly non-responsive generally requires a comparison be-
tween the patent ownerâs and the Boardâs responses to the
petition, on the one hand, and the petitionerâs reply, on the
other.
Our standard of review of the Boardâs application of the
newness and responsiveness restrictions differs. The new-
ness restriction stems from the statutory mandate that the
petition govern the IPR proceeding, so âwhether a ground
the Board relied on [i]s ânewâ . . . is a question of lawâ we
review de novo. In re Nuvasive, Inc., 841 F.3d 966, 970(Fed. Cir. 2016); see also SAS,138 S. Ct. at 1357
. The re- sponsiveness restriction is grounded in the Boardâs regula- tions, compliance with which we review for abuse of discretion. See Yita LLC v. MacNeil IP LLC,69 F.4th 1356, 1366
(Fed. Cir. 2023).
Mindful of the newness and responsiveness re-
strictions, we have set down certain guideposts for what is
permitted in a petitionerâs reply. For example, the Board
may not invalidate a patent based on a prior art reference
that was not disclosed in a petition and was used in reply
for a contention that was meaningfully distinct from what
was identified in the petition. See Ariosa, 805 F.3d at 1368; see also Rembrandt Diagnostics, LP v. Alere, Inc.,76 F.4th 1376, 1385
(Fed. Cir. 2023) (â[T]he petitioner in Ariosa re- lied on an embodiment of the prior art that was not dis- cussed in the petition to switch theories between its petition and reply.â) (internal quotation marks omitted). However, a reply argument is proper when it responds to the patent ownerâs arguments or the Boardâs observations without âpoint[ing] to any new embodimentsâ of a prior art reference not previously identified in the petition. Rem- brandt,76 F.4th at 1385
; see also Apple Inc. v. Andrea El- ecs. Corp.,949 F.3d 697
, 706 (Fed. Cir. 2020) (âAppleâs legal ground did not change in its reply â its reply still asserted that claims . . . would have been obvious over [the same Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 26 Filed: 10/16/2023 26 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. prior art references]. Moreover, Appleâs reply relies on the same algorithm from the same prior art reference to sup- port the same legal argument.â). As such, âa reply may be proper if it is responsive and simply expands on previously raised arguments.â Rembrandt,76 F.4th at 1384
; see also Chamberlain Grp. Inc. v. One World Techs. Inc.,944 F.3d 919, 925
(Fed. Cir. 2019) (âParties are not barred from elab- orating on their arguments on issues previously raised.â). Furthermore, âthere is no blanket prohibition against the introduction of new evidence during an IPR,â provided it is an âexpan[sion] on and . . . fair extension of . . . [a] previ- ously raised . . . argumentâ and has a ânexusâ (and is there- fore responsive) to an argument made by the patent owner or the Board. Rembrandt,76 F.4th at 1384-85
; see also An- acor Pharms.,889 F.3d at 1380-82
(â[Petitioner] may intro- duce new evidence after the petition stage if the evidence is a legitimate reply to evidence introduced by the patent owner . . . .â). Indeed, âthe introduction of new evidence in the course of the trial is to be expected in inter partes re- view trial proceedings.â Genzyme,825 F.3d at 1366
.
b
We now turn to the specific contentions presented in
this appeal.
First, we reject Corephotonicsâ argument that the
Board abused its discretion by permitting Apple to fix the
error in its petition, which (in the Boardâs view) compared
Golan and Martin only to one another and did not also con-
tend that each reference was analogous to the Challenged
Patents. âIn evaluating whether a reference is analogous,
we have consistently held that a patent challenger must
compare the reference to the challenged patent.â Sanofi-
Aventis, 66 F.4th at 1377. In Sanofi-Aventis, the petitioner,
Mylan, committed the same error, arguing that its petition
satisfied the analogous art test by virtue of the compari-
sons it made between the prior art references themselves,
without regard to the field of endeavor or problem of the
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 27 Filed: 10/16/2023
COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 27
patent being challenged. See id. at 1378-80. After identi-
fying this mistake, we explained that â[a] petitioner is not
required to anticipate and raise analogous art arguments
in its petition; instead a petitioner can use its replyâ to re-
spond to, for example, arguments raised in a patent owner
response. Id. at 1379 (citing 37 C.F.R. § 42.23). Then we went on to consider whether Mylan had fixed its problem after filing its petition. Seeid. at 1379-80
. While we con- cluded that nothing in Mylanâs reply (or oral argument to the Board) was sufficient to cure the defect in the petition, we would not have even considered this issue had we thought it impermissible for a reply to fix the petitionâs er- ror in this regard. Seeid. at 1380
.
Second, we are not persuaded by Corephotonics that
the Board erred in permitting Apple to argue in reply that
its prior art references are analogous to the Challenged Pa-
tent because they satisfy both the field of endeavor and per-
tinent to the problem tests, even though Appleâs petition
only invoked the field of endeavor test. In reaching this
conclusion, we rely, once again, on Sanofi-Aventis, which
explained that a petitioner may âuse its replyâ to respond
to the patent ownerâs response arguments against the ref-
erences being analogous. Id. at 1379-80. Apple was not
required to anticipate in its petition that Corephotonics
would argue Golan and Martin were not in the same field
of endeavor as the Challenged Patents. Once Corephoton-
ics did so in its patent owner response, Apple was permit-
ted to respond both by bolstering its field of endeavor
argument and by adding that its prior art is pertinent to
the problem faced by the inventors of the Challenged Pa-
tents.
This conclusion is consistent with the newness and re-
sponsiveness restrictions on IPR replies. There is nothing
âentirely newâ about arguing that the same combination of
prior art references identified in a petition as being in the
same field of endeavor as the patent being challenged are
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 28 Filed: 10/16/2023
28 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
also pertinent to the same problem faced by the inventor of
the challenged patent. While âfield of endeavorâ and âper-
tinent problemâ are â[t]wo separate tests [that] define the
scope of analogous prior art,â Bigio, 381 F.3d at 1325, they do not provide independent, different grounds for obvious- ness or new ârationales,â but are, instead, related bases for the same, single ground of invalidation, obviousness, and are based on the same references identified with particu- larity in the petition. This is further reflected in the fact that the âpertinent problemâ basis for analogousness is only relevant âif the reference is not within the field of the inventorâs endeavor,â which would make it unreasonable to require a petitioner to anticipate an attack on its field of endeavor contention and always have to address pertinent problem in the petition.Id.
Corephotonics had sufficient notice of Appleâs position,
that Golan and Martin satisfy the analogous art require-
ment, and adequate opportunity to respond to both the
field of endeavor and pertinent to the problem aspects of it.
Apple consistently relied on âthe same references, the same
disclosures, and the same obviousness theories advanced
by the petition and debated by the parties.â Arthrex, 935
F.3d at 1328. After receiving Appleâs replies, Corephoton-
ics deposed and cross-examined Appleâs expert about the
statements in his declaration that accompanied Appleâs re-
ply. Corephotonics then filed a sur-reply, in which it spe-
cifically addressed Appleâs analogousness arguments.
Thus, once again, we conclude that what occurred here sat-
isfies the ânewnessâ restriction on what is proper in an IPR
reply. See Henny Penny, 938 F.3d at 1330â31.
Appleâs reply argument, that its references are analo-
gous prior art because they are pertinent to the problem
addressed by the Challenged Patents (even if they are not
found to be in the same fields of endeavor), was also
properly responsive to Corephotonicsâ patent owner re-
sponse. Corephotonics had contended in its patent owner
response that Appleâs handling of the analogous art issue
Case: 22-1340 Document: 50 Page: 29 Filed: 10/16/2023
COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 29
to that point in the process was âinsufficient because it fails
to apply the correct legal test and yield the correct analy-
sis.â J.A. 1246; see also J.A. 10205-06. This broad attack
on Appleâs showing made it appropriate for Apple to re-
spond with an elaboration of the bases on which its prior
art references satisfy the analogous art requirement, under
one or both of the tests we have set out for doing so. See
Chamberlain, 944 F.3d at 925 (âParties are not barred from
elaborating on their arguments on issues previously
raised.â).
We also disagree with Corephotonics that the Board
erred by finding analogousness based on a different field of
endeavor and different problem of the inventors than those
expressly advocated for by Apple. Apple argued that Golan
and the Challenged Patentsâ share the field of endeavor of
âimaging systems, and more specifically, imaging systems
including digital cameras [for] generating video output im-
ages using two imaging sections having different points of
view,â J.A. 1279 (internal quotation marks omitted); see
also J.A. 10265; No. 1455 J.A. 1264, 10264,while the Board
found their shared field of endeavor is âdigital zoom using
a wide image sensor array and lens and a tele image sensor
array and lens with the goal of providing continuous elec-
tronic zoom with uninterrupted imaging,â J.A. 32 (internal
quotation marks omitted). Similarly, Apple contended that
Martin was pertinent to the problem of âa jump (discontin-
uous) image change [w]hen a dual-aperture camera
switches the camera output between sub-cameras or points
of view,â J.A. 1280 (internal quotation marks omitted),
while the Board found that the pertinent problem Martin
and the Challenged Patentsâ shared was âreducing an im-
age jump effect seen in video output images when switch-
ing between cameras that have different fields of view,â
J.A. 33.
We find no procedural error in the Boardâs approach.
As long as substantial evidence supported its findings â an
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30 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
issue we turn to below, see infra Part IV.B 6 â the Board
may resolve an issue the parties put in dispute by making
findings supported by the evidence, regardless of whether
any party advocated for that particularly expressed find-
ing. See Genzyme, 825 F.3d at 1366(Board has to make factual findings based on its view of the record); Roku, Inc. v. Universal Elecs., Inc.,63 F.4th 1319, 1325
(Fed. Cir. 2023) (âThe Board, in its role as factfinder in the first in- stance, was entitled to weigh the evidence in the record . . . .â); see also Regents of Univ. of Cal. v. Broad Inst., Inc.,903 F.3d 1286, 1294
(Fed. Cir. 2018) (âIt is not our role to ask whether substantial evidence supports fact-findings not made by the Board, but instead whether such evidence supports the findings that were in fact made.â). While the Board may not invalidate patent claims on grounds it iden- tifies sua sponte that are not actually raised by the peti- tioner, see Magnum Oil,829 F.3d at 1381
, the Board is not required to use the same words in explaining its findings as the petitioner uses in its proposed findings, see Sirona Dental,892 F.3d at 1356
(explaining Board did not deviate from the petition because it used different wording). Just as the Board is not limited to selecting between the partiesâ proposed constructions of a disputed claim term, see West- ern Geco LLC v. ION Geophysical Corp.,889 F.3d 1308, 1329
(Fed. Cir. 2018), so, too, the Board may make its own
finding as to the field of endeavor or problem confronted by
the inventors â when those issues are in dispute â even if
its finding differs from the positions argued for by the par-
ties.
6 The Board made no finding with respect to whether
Golan is also reasonably pertinent to the problem faced by
the inventors of the Challenged Patents, nor any finding as
to whether Martin is also in the same field of endeavor as
the Challenged Patents, even though Apple made argu-
ments in its reply on both these points.
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COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 31
The Boardâs handling of the analogous art issue in the
Decisions neither âmarkedly . . . departedâ from the âevi-
dence and theories presented by the petition or institution
decisionâ nor âunfair[ly] surprise[d]â Corephotonics. Ar-
threx., 935 F.3d at 1328. Instead, it did nothing more than
resolve the factual disputes underlying obviousness that
were presented to it by the parties. That its findings dif-
fered slightly from what was proposed by the petitioner,
and its articulation of the field of endeavor and pertinent
problem were not identical to Appleâs advocacy, do not con-
stitute error.
In sum, we find no procedural error in the Boardâs han-
dling of the analogous art issue.
B
Having determined that the Boardâs analogousness de-
cisions were procedurally proper, we now turn to whether
substantial evidence supported its factual findings.
1
Apple argued in its replies that Golan is analogous art
because it is in the same field of endeavor as the Chal-
lenged Patents and also because it is pertinent to the prob-
lem faced by the inventors. The Board agreed with Apple
as to field of endeavor and chose not to address the alter-
native pertinent to the problem contention. Corephotonics
attacks the Boardâs finding as not supported by substantial
evidence. We agree with the Board.
The Board explained: âGolan is in the same field of en-
deavor as the claimed invention because it describes per-
forming digital zoom using a wide image sensor array and
lens and a tele image sensor array and lens with the goal
of providing âcontinuous electronic zoom with uninter-
rupted imaging.ââ J.A. 32-33 (quoting J.A. 1280); see also
J.A. 103 (same in decision for â942 patent); No. 1455 J.A.
40, 114 (same in decision for â898 and â332 patents). Golan
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32 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
teaches that âthe calibration of the alignment between the
first image sensor array and the second image sensor array
. . . facilitates continuous electronic zoom with uninter-
rupted imaging.â J.A. 5525 (Golan Âś 15). These teachings,
as supplemented by the opinions of Appleâs expert, see J.A.
6021, 16856-57, provide substantial evidence for the
Boardâs determination that Golan and the Challenged Pa-
tents are in the same field of endeavor.
Corephotonics argues that the â898 and â332 patents
are designed to âinterrupt otherwise smooth transitioning
during video zooming if a no-switching criterion is ful-
filled,â while Golan fails to describe not switching. Core-
photonics maintains that because of these differences, the
claimed inventions and Golan cannot be in the same field
of endeavor. But the Board reasonably found that the field
of endeavor for the â898 and â332 patents, and for Golan, is
broader than Corephotonics characterizes it, and is not lim-
ited to use of no-switching criteria. See No. 1455 J.A. 4
(citing â898 patent 7:57-8:29); No. 1455 J.A. 78 (same for
â332 patent).
Thus, we hold that Golan is in the same field of en-
deavor as the Challenged Patents.
2
Apple argued in its replies that Martin is analogous art
because it is in the same field of endeavor as the Chal-
lenged Patents and is also pertinent to the problem faced
by the inventors. The Board agreed with Apple as to the
pertinent to the problem test and chose not to reach the
field of endeavor contention. Corephotonics attacks the
Boardâs finding on pertinence to the problem as not sup-
ported by substantial evidence. On the present record, we
cannot determine whether substantial evidence supports
the Boardâs conclusion that Martin is analogous art.
The Board wrote, âMartin is reasonably pertinent to
the problem faced by the inventor: reducing an image jump
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COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 33
effect seen in video output images when switching between
cameras that have different fields of view. Both Golan and
Martin have multiple cameras with differing fields of
view.â J.A. 33, 103 (emphasis added); see also No. 1455 J.A.
40, 114. Apple and Corephotonics agree that these two sen-
tences are, as written, incorrect: Martin does not disclose
switching between cameras with different fields of view; ra-
ther, it is addressed to cameras with different points of
view. 7 According to Apple, the Boardâs statement is a mere
âtypographical errorâ and, therefore, is harmless. No. 1455
Appleâs Resp. Br. 57 n.6 (âRead in the proper context, the
Board clearly intended to refer to the term âpoints of viewâ
rather than âfields of viewâ in describing Martinâs perti-
nence to a problem facing the inventors of the challenged
patents.â); see also In re Watts, 354 F.3d 1362, 1369 (Fed.
Cir. 2004) (applying harmless error rule to Board).
We are unable to discern if the Boardâs error was, in
fact, merely typographical and harmless or, instead, a po-
tentially-impactful error of substance. This prevents us
from concluding either that there is, or is not, substantial
evidence to support the Boardâs conclusion that Martin is
analogous art to the Challenged Patents.
Nowhere else in its Decisions does the Board treat the
Challenged Patents as addressing a point of view problem.
Rather, the Board emphasized elsewhere that the dual-
7 The Boardâs analogous art analysis is not the only
place it appears it may have confused âfield of viewâ and
âpoint of view.â In the section of the Decision on motivation
to combine, the Board wrote, âGolan and Martin both in-
volve parallax effects caused by two cameras with different
fields of view,â but, in fact, parallax effects arise from dif-
ferent points of view. J.A. 25, 98 (emphasis added); see also
No. 1455 J.A. 33, 108.
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34 COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC.
aperture cameras described in the Challenged Patents use
lenses with different fields of view. Thus, it seems possible
that the Board truly meant to say âfield of viewâ when de-
scribing the problem to which Martin is pertinent, since
âfield of viewâ is fully consistent with the Boardâs descrip-
tion of the Challenged Patents. Martin, however, makes
no express reference to field of view, and the Board pro-
vides no explanation as to how Martinâs approach to point
of view can have anything to do with the field of view prob-
lem faced by the inventors of the Challenged Patents. This
leaves us uncertain of the Boardâs reasoning.
In these circumstances, we have no record basis to con-
clude that the Boardâs error was a harmless typographical
one and did not affect the outcome it reached. See Carter
v. McDonald, 794 F.3d 1342, 1347 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (identi-
fying error and remanding when we could not determine it
was harmless). The Boardâs determination that Martin is
pertinent to the problem that the inventors of the Chal-
lenged Patents faced may be based on its articulated view
that Martin relates to field of view when, in fact, Martin
relates to point of view. Accordingly, we remand to the
Board for further explanation and, if needed, further fact-
finding. We leave it to the Board to decide whether it
should also consider Appleâs contention that, regardless of
whether Martin is pertinent to the problem faced by the
inventors, it is in the same field of endeavor as the Chal-
lenged Patents.
V
Corephotonics raises two additional issues. First, it ar-
gues there is no substantial evidence to support the Boardâs
finding that Martin teaches the âshifting . . . according to a
distance of an objectâ limitation of the â942 patent. Second,
Corephotonics contends that the Board adopted an incor-
rect construction of the claim term âeffective resolutionâ
and compounded that error by finding that Togo teaches
the âeffective resolutionâ âno-switching criterionâ
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COREPHOTONICS, LTD. v. APPLE INC. 35
limitation of claims 4 and 15 of the â898 patent and claims
5 and 17 of the â332 patent. We decline to reach these is-
sues because they will be rendered moot if, on remand, the
Board finds Martin is not analogous art.
VI
We have considered the partiesâ remaining arguments
and find them unpersuasive. For the foregoing reasons, we
vacate and remand for further proceedings consistent with
this opinion. In particular, the Board must explain why
Martin is (or is not) analogous art and how this finding af-
fects its overall conclusion as to obviousness.
VACATED AND REMANDED
COSTS
No costs.